7.2 Profile Names: Can't Delete From Profile Manager

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7.2 Profile Names: Can't Delete From Profile Manager

Postby dursina » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 2:57 pm

Hi guys,
I've removed three profiles from Netscape 7.2. The files aren't there anymore, but when I load up 7.2 and the Profile Manager comes on, the names at least are still there. I know I deleted them, because if you click on any one of them I get the screen that states they are no longer in existence or moved to another location.

Choosing the delete or re-name option in the Manager User Profiles screen does nothing, either.....any ways to get rid of these old ghosts? :)

cheers,
Andy
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Postby Fulvio » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 3:20 pm

Did you try to Create a profile with the names in question? I have never seen or heard of anything like this. I know that I can delete the name of profile, with or without deleting all the files. If you can create a profile with existing names, there is something fishy going on.
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Postby dursina » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 5:19 pm

Fulvio,
I can't create a new profile with an existing name -- it says it's already in use. However, once again, the same names keep reappearing after I attempt to delete them.

I guess I can live with it -- it's just odd that I can't delete them....
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Postby Fulvio » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 6:43 pm

It is odd, but not worth the worry. I have more than a dozen profiles, many of them in use with all my programs, and I by-pass the profile manager anyway. As far as I know I have the same problem which you have, but don't know about it.
Just to make sure, you deleted the profiles using the Profile Manager? correct? If so, it is a baffler.
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Postby dursina » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 6:48 pm

Affirmative on that Fulvio -- I did delete with the Profile Manager screen....not a worry as I'm getting that new PC I had posted about earlier, and only one of these profiles is coming with me over to the new one. I was just trying to clean it up for my mom, who will be the permanent user of this particular PC, but I think even she can bypass the dead profiles with no problem. :D
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Postby captjlddavis » Wed 08 Dec, 2004 11:18 pm

dursina,

Your UA indicates you are using Firefox. Are we talking about Firefox ?

Like fulvio, I have not seen this phenom with NS 7.2.....

However I have seen it with the NEW NETSCAPE BROWSER.

Please conferm that we are indeed talking about NS 7.2

regards:captjlddavis
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Postby Alice » Thu 09 Dec, 2004 10:26 am

I'm going to assume that we are discussing Netscape 7.2 profiles here, NOT Firefox or the new Netscape Prototype browser profiles.

The profile names that appear in the Profile Manager are based on the data present in the registry.dat file, located in the ...\Application Data\Mozilla folder. For "default" profile locations, see: http://www.holgermetzger.de/pdl.html

You can reset the registry.dat by DELETING it with Netscape OPEN (if you have more than one profile, use the default profile). That will generate a new registry.dat that points to the default profile. This was the fix for a bug in Netscape 7.0 and earlier Mozilla versions but will also reset the registrty.dat in Netscape 7.2 and recent Mozilla versions. See http://www.holgermetzger.de/efaqgeneral.html#15
Registry.dat is getting bigger and bigger (Netscape 7.0x)

It's important that Netscape is running when you delete the registry.dat file. What that does is to create a new registry.dat that points to the opened profile. All other profiles listed in the Profile manager will then be gone; the "ghosts" and any others as well.

If you have other "working" profiles you can recreate them by creating a "new" profile within the Profile manager with the exact same name and profile location as the "profilename" that exists in Windows Explorer. All instances of Netscape must be closed when using the Profile Manager.... including QuickLaunch, if enabled.

I tried deleting the registry.dat file awhile back, with Mozilla open to my default profile, to see how it works. All went well. ... I just had to recreate my additional profiles with the same Profiles name (AliceW for example) and the same location, by using the Netscape (or Mozilla) Profile Manager, accessible from the Start Programs menu. Details here:
http://sillydog.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=44519#44519
I have 8 different Mozilla and Netscape 7.xx profiles ... I opened my default profile in Mozilla, deleted the registry.dat with Mozilla running, then closed Mozilla. Next time I reopened Mozilla, the default profile opened automatically. Next, I opened the Profile Manager and recreated my other profiles, one at a time. I then checked for registry.dat... the old one (which I had backed up first) was 7611 kb - my new registry.dat was now a svelt 45 kb
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Postby dursina » Thu 09 Dec, 2004 8:52 pm

Alice,
SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

Thanks so much -- to confirm, yes I'm also using Netscape 7.2. I did exactly as you said, and deleted the Registry file with my mom's Netscape profile open. After closing it down and re-starting the application, only her profile shows up now on the Profile Manager screen.

Again, cheers to you and thanks -- worked like a charm!

Andy
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Postby Fulvio » Thu 09 Dec, 2004 10:16 pm

Alice,
you are priceless! I had forgotten all about that favorite fix of mine, with the registry.dat file growing past 100 MB!.
I have at least a dozen profiles now, and I have a total of 1.2 MB. Just resurrected one profile for a nightly!.
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Postby Alice » Fri 10 Dec, 2004 7:04 am

Thanks for posting back with the outcome, Andy.

Glad to hear that the fix I suggested got rid of those old ghosts.


Fulvio...
Holger quoted you, after all. I just have a better memory (I keep good notes on all this stuff) :)
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