Firefox 3 Beta
Some of you may be hesistant to try out the new Firefox 3 Beta, because you can’t keep your old Firefox 2 install intact. Also, some websites just don’t work that well yet on Firefox 3, even though the last beta is out. So here’s a nifty guide on how you run the Firefox 3 Beta while keeping your Firefox 2 intact on the same PC.

Before we get into the how to, just remember that you should make a backup of your profile folder, don’t uninstall Firefox 2, don’t install Firefox 3 into the same folder that Firefox 2 is installed, and don’t let Firefox 3 run with the default profile, because it will mess up your existing Firefox 2 settings.

  1. First make sure you backup your existing profile folder. It can be located at C:\Documents and Settings\(User Name)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\. If you can’t find it you may have to enable Show hidden Files And Folders by going to Tools -> Folder Options -> View -> Show hidden files and folders.
  2. Now, download the Firefox 3 Beta 5, and install it into a different directory than your Firefox 2 install. Also make sure that you select custom install, and that the installer doesn’t make any shortcuts, and uncheck ‘Launch Firefox 3 now’, before you finish the install.
  3. Go to your command prompt via Start -> Run -> Type ‘cmd’. You’ll need to navigate to the directory that you installed Firefox 3 in the command prompt. Type cd C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta 5\. Replace the C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta 5\ with the directory that you installed Firefox 3 in.

    4. Optional:

  4. Once your in the Firefox 3 Beta directory you’ll have to type firefox.exe -P in the command prompt. And In the window that opens click New and create a new profile, name it anything you want, but make sure you can tell it is your Firefox 3 Beta Testing Profile.
  5. Now you’ll need to create a shortcut of Firefox.exe on your desktop. Right click the shortcut and go to properties and add -P to the end after the “” in the command options.
  6. If you don’t want to do the optional steps, you’ll just have to make a shortcut to the Firefox.exe for Firefox 3 Beta on your desktop, and launch Firefox from that, if you want to use Firefox 2, access it from your start menu, or you can create a seperate desktop shortcut for that.