Remember that using anything but the latest version of your browser leaves you open to a whole bunch of vulnerabilities for which exploits are easily available. So going the extra mile to ensure that your browser is updated should be well worth the trouble. Mozilla recently released updates for Firefox.
In some cases, Firefox may inform the user that an update is available but the update procedure itself fails giving an error message like “Failed to verify integrity” or “Software Update Failed”.
This may happen when your connection to the net is being filtered by a proxy. A typical proxy may not block the .xml file which contains information about the update being available but may block access to the update file itself which is a .mar file (Mozilla ARchive). This is how a typical proxy in most workplaces will behave.
One way to update Firefox in such a situation is to obtain the complete setup of the new version which is not a very bandwidth efficient way to do things. The other way that the auto-updater uses is to offer an incremental update which is a much smaller file compared to the full download.
Eg. Firefox 2.0.0.1 complete setup is about 6 MB while the incremental update from 2.0.0.0 is only 800KB in size.
So how does one get the incremental update? Once Firefox reports that a new update is available, a file named updates.xml gets created in the Firefox installation directory. The file when opened in a text editor shows the two types of updates available, full and partial. The URL for the partial update is the link to the .mar file that can be used to update Firefox. You’ll need to obtain this file through some other route if you can’t directly download it such as through email or by making a request to the IT support staff at your organization.
In my case, the URL to the partial update was (http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-2.0.0.1-partial-2.0&os=win&lang=en-US). Once this file is available, do the following to update your Firefox installation. Close the browser before attempting to update it.
1. Make a “firefox-update” directory alongside your Firefox install directory. (Eg. If Firefox is installed in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox make C:\Program Files\firefox-update)
2. Rename the .mar file you downloaded to update.mar and place it inside the fire-fox-update directory
3. Copy updater.exe to the firefox-update directory
4. Open a command console and enter the following
- cd c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- ..\firefox-update\updater.exe ..\firefox-update 0
(that’s a space after the .exe and also before the zero at the end of the command)
If all goes well, the update.status file will contain “Succeeded” which will mean that the update has been performed successfully. Congratulatons! You just fixed several critical security vulnerabilities and memory leaks in Firefox! Good going! You can now delete the firefox-update directory if you wish. Enjoy the safer, secure browsing experience.
Related link : Manually installing a MAR file [wiki.mozilla.org]
Do leave a comment if this (worked) / (didn’t work) for you or if you have any tips on how make things work.
January 10, 2007 at 1:09 am |
Thanks for the excellent tutorial…!
February 26, 2007 at 9:43 am |
[...] realized that an update must have been released when I saw that the number of people searching for a way to update Firefox manually using a .Mar file had jumped up quite a bit in the last couple of days (I can see the search terms people used to get [...]
March 9, 2007 at 10:13 pm |
how do i create a mar file – i want to try and use the ff updater for my own xul app
March 10, 2007 at 9:45 am |
Download a copy of Firefox source and look at the code for the auto updater. The part dealing with the Mar file is not much I believe…I read some Mozilla developer say it is around 300 lines.
March 21, 2007 at 3:53 pm |
[...] some news floating around says that 2.0.0.4 and 1.5.0.12 won’t be long either. You may find a way to update Firefox manually using a .Mar file to be of use. Official Download Site [...]
April 19, 2007 at 12:30 pm |
Works perfectly fine. Didn’t have any trouble at all!
June 4, 2007 at 8:48 am |
FYI : I just used this technique to update from 2.0.0.3 to 2.0.0.4.
Had also used it to update from 2.0.0.2 to 2.0.0.3 and to 2.0.0.2 from 2.0.0.1.
Which basically means that it works flawlesly. Just make sure the update.mar file is not update.mar.mar. Use command prompt to make sure in case Windows hides the full file name.
July 2, 2007 at 3:46 am |
[...] Updating Firefox 2 manually using a MAR file when auto-update fails [...]
July 18, 2007 at 11:01 pm |
[...] Your web browser is what is your gate way to the Big Bad Web. Better get it upgraded to the latest. Firefox 2.0.0.5/1.5.0.12 is out. It should automatically update soon. If it doesn’t, you better do so manually. [...]
August 24, 2008 at 11:14 pm |
Nice topic. However, this topic shows how to install the update when THE UPDATE FAILS. Supposing I have a very old version of Firefox, how do I download the update files without actually starting the updater?? I mean I don’t want to update Firefox EVERY TIME I reinstall it…. Any help???
October 23, 2008 at 1:50 pm |
I know you’re a busy guy, but uh… you haven’t yet answered my query… please I really need it..
October 23, 2008 at 8:43 pm |
I don’t think Mozilla keeps older incremental updates.
So if you are not already up-to-date, you will have to download the full update or a new setup as far as I know.