InformAction Forums

NoScript won't uninstall.

First: please forgive my english. I'm not a native speaker.
Second: As a novice to both NoScrpit and scripting as well, I'm probably not able to describe the problem I encountered as clear as I should or as you are used to. So please be patient.

Installing NoScript sounded like a good Idea, reading about it in some forum postings discussing the use of it preventing annoying popup behavior. So I did.

At first glance after relaunching Firefox, the opening tabbed window was devided in half by the appearance of a message field giving all warnings and errors it could manage to gather from the the opening process. I thought, well - there must be a way to toggle this. But I was wrong. I collapsed it as far as possible by grabbing the boundaries of the devider and managed to slide it down as far as possible, giving way to look at the other half and the actual page I was interested in. I'm still not able to get rid of that bugging devider.

In the course of running my everyday tasks on Firefox NoScript became an even bigger annoyance than every popup I ever came across. The addon prevented about everything working with the internet but should allow (at least at the beginning and after first install). Clicking on a link to open a new tab? Nope! Clicking on a button within a page to trigger a download? Nope! All done before - now prohibited!

So I tried to look up which of those many mostly confusing settings had to be changed in order to let me go on with my tasks. But I couldn't make out which of those possible alternatives offered was the one responsible for this or that all of a sudden new browser behavior. After a period of trial and error I gave up and went by the book (the official faq).

First I tried ""Allow Scripts Globally (dangerous)" as described in "2.3 Q: How can I uninstall NoScript? A:" That didn't work. Nothing changed. So I went on and actually uninstalled it by the procedure suggested further on within the faq by first toggling off the addon - and after that option failed to show results - uninstalling the adon all together.

Relaunching Firefox afterwards offered a surprise: NoScript was still persistent and still is, although the addon's settings within the extension manager is gone entirely now. So the process of uninstalling left me with a Firefox that still comes up with a functioning NoScript while the possibility seeing any leftovers or even triggering any settings for it is gone entirely. And all the faq has to say about an error like that is: "...your Mozilla/Firefox Profile is probably corrupted".

Well, thanks to NoScript it probably is now.

Question: How do I get rid of this problem? I had my profile renewed a couple of days ago already because of another addon apparently not compatible with the Fox in use. I'd like to keep this profile in existence.

Any useful ansewer is very wellcome. Thanks!


P.S.: My Stats

Win7 32Bit / SP1
Firefox: 29.01 (when the error first happened)
Firefox: 30.0 (installed just about today and after the occurences with NoScript still in place)

I installed the addon via https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/a ... l-featured

P.P.S.: Maybe the deinstallation process could not take complete effect due to the fact, that I changed the residence subdirectory for the renewed Firefox profile a few days ago. This is not the the location usually suggested by the Fox under C:users/AppData anymore but a propiatary subdirectory under C: that is dedicated for backup purposes only. Might that be the problem? Everything else seemed to work without problems so far though, apart from NoScript.

you could try "force-uninstalling" noscript by making sure firefox is completely shut down, then going to your profile directory and deleting "extensions/{73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232}.xpi", but if you're already having profile issues that might make it worse

Eisen wrote:At first glance after relaunching Firefox, the opening tabbed window was devided in half by the appearance of a message field giving all warnings and errors it could manage to gather from the the opening process. I thought, well - there must be a way to toggle this. But I was wrong. I collapsed it as far as possible by grabbing the boundaries of the devider and managed to slide it down as far as possible, giving way to look at the other half and the actual page I was interested in. I'm still not able to get rid of that bugging devider.

make sure that the Web Console / developer tools is not turned on

probably you will need to do Standard Diagnostic to solve your other issues
please let us know the results, thanks

> extension manager

Is that different from "Add-ons Manager"?
(Ctrl+Shift+A or about:addons)


Sounds like you had an extension conflict?


If NoScript does not show up (& uninstall) from Add-ons Manager, there is brute force.
Remove the file {73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232}.xpi from within your Profile /extensions/ folder.

Hi barbaz, therube.

Thanks for getting back on the issue.

That's what's odd about it: deinstalling NoScript via addon manager (i.e. extension manager, as it is called by the faq) got rid of the {73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232}.xpi already, making it impossible to use any brute force method mentioned by you.

I can't say whether this is/was an addon/extension conflict or a profile issue. There was one before because of another addon, that messed up my original profile for sure, so I had to replace it some time ago. Ever since everything seemed ok to me. After installing NoScript yesterday onto that renewed profile, which I rebuild from scratch and not by just reinstalling any backup of the old one, the problems described above occurred.

The question at hand seems obvious: why does NoScript show up at all after deinstallation has been completed apparently? There is no such xpi left belonging to the addon at the proper subfolder destinations usally needed for a functioning installation. At first I figured, using a different subdirectory for that newly rebuild profile could've caused that problem. Maybe the fox did install the xpi for that new profile into the extension folder of the old profile by a funny mistake instead. But it didn't. Neither the new nor the old profile directories contain this xpi file any longer (if they ever did so before).

So where did the addon write it's information to in order to keep on functioning? Performing a search of the entire system on C: the xpi file turned up at "firefox within it's own Folder by the same name (1.762 KB).

It looks like avast's security suite is responsible for producing at least a copy of it. Maybe you can tell me, whether this leftover folder structure and could still be responsible for NoScript's failure to be removed for good? All I can say is right now, I did perform the complete deletion of those folders again after the find, but the profile in question still launches NoScrpt's message field showing all those gathered information bits and pieces it used to, while still running on a legitimate installation (that ought to be nuked by now, if I'm not completely mistakin').

By the way: Web Console / developer tools is not turned on and never has been.

May I call the app "GhostScript" for changes? Most of those settings have been a complete mystery to me before anyways, but this is getting a bit too spooky.

I did add yet another profile by now. I had to in order to get back to a clean and failure free browser, which means, that I din't install the NoScrpt's xpi again. At least for now, until I find out the whys and hows. I still keep the one with the odd behavior for research tho. That one might hold even more surprises, if you are still interested in finding out why NoScript develops such a retaliant behavior when being kicked out of it's browser's dependencies.

Thanks again for having the patience and reading this.

Regards


P.S.: Sorry for bad text structure. I had to put the folder structure passages into code wrap in order to prevent an error message generated by the forum gdi saying something like spam and other funny stuff...

By the way, the screen full of messages that you've described is not part of NoScript. I don't know what it is, but NoScript doesn't do anything like that.

Thrawn wrote:By the way, the screen full of messages that you've described is not part of NoScript. I don't know what it is, but NoScript doesn't do anything like that.

If not NoScript, what else?

It's not the screen, but half of the browser window - nevertheless which page is open. There is no button, no dialog item or handle to shut it down. And I dindn't say, that this kind of behavior is usual. It is unusual most likely. But that doesn't rule out, that NS can't act like described or is responsible.

I reinstalled EVERY single addon of that profile apart from NoScript to a new one and none of those notifications nor the devider comes up again. Besides, no other addon I had in use was/is dedicated to the task of gathering and displaying information on sites I'm navigating to and on, apart from NoScript. There simply is/was no other app able to. So, if NS is not responsible for the devider, it still is for those messages gathered and on display within. Would you believe screenshots?

Pretty odd to say, that NoScript is not responsible, after it's a proven fact. So why the denial?

The only other addon coming up with a workbench within the browser windows as well (if set to do so), is Qickfox Editor. That one was installed and resident too, while I tried to get NoScript ready for use. BUT, the devider belonging to NS kept its position on top of the editor's workspace when toggled to be opened or closed and didn't hinder that function. But the devider itself will not shut down, no matter what, and can only be collapsed to 95%. If kept open and in position, it posts every navigating click and renders stats and warnings about the site that is up and running. Isn't that just the thing NoScript is designed for?

OK. Maybe there is one of those other addons that might trigger NoScripts behavior in a manner you haven't encountered or gathered proof of yourself yet. It might even be a constellation of more than one addons not working well together with NS. I don't have the patience or dedication to test it, and if you don't want to either because you prefer to rule out what I stated within this thread instead, then my business with you and your addon is finished. But I guess from your answer, that you are not willing or prepared to touch that kind of topic I came up with anyways.

Well, If I'm right and that's the case, you won't tell me. But If I'm wrong, you might get back to the problem at hand and don't rule out the facts.

Thanks for... Well, what?

As was previously mentioned, the divider that you're describing sounds rather like the Browser Console or Error Console. You might, perhaps, having accidentally enabled it using a keyboard shortcut? If you look in Tools - Web Developer, you may be able to see more. And yes, NoScript logs lots of information to the Browser Console.

However, NoScript does not pop up a divider on your screen.

Hi Thrawn,

looks like you didn't really read my postings.


This for you again:

First - I didn't mention any screen popups being triggered by NoScript.

Second - a browser console has not been enabled, neither accidentially nor incidentally or deliberately. For sure not the one that can be switched on or off within the browser settings. Period!


Anyhow, I did have quite some time to check into that since my first posting, you can imagine. And I passed all the information I could find out to you as well already. Repeatedly. So, what's all that gabbing about "accidentally". Are you taking me for a fool?

Your comments are far from being helpfull. Is this on purpose? I'm beginning to ask myself whether there's something more serious behind the whole business I tried to get clarification about here. Is there something you're trying to hide?

Anyhow, it's quite obvious you will keep on beating around the bush in this matter. So I'm off. It has not been a pleasure and thanks for nothing.

window was devided in half by the appearance of a message field giving all warnings and errors it could manage to gather from the the opening process

Maybe you were seeing, 3.17 Q: Some pages display the little NoScript icon with one or more links on its left side. I thought this could be disabled by unchecking "Show placeholder", but it's still shown... How do I make it go away?

Would you believe screenshots?

Yes, a screenshot might help.