How to Install and Test Drive Mozilla Firefox 3 Without Messing With Firefox 2

Fancy testing the new version of Firefox - Firefox 3 without messing with your currently installed Firefox 2? If you are not sure that you will like the new features of Firefox 3 or not, why don’t you try it first? With Sandboxie, you can now temporarily test new features of any software - the new Firefox 3 for example, without any effects to the currently installed application. Additionally, this method also allows you to check if your old Firefox add-on will work with Firefox 3 or not. Cool!

Sandboxie works by creating a virtual/transient storage in your hard disk called sandbox that allows you to install any application inside it without affecting the current system. It allows you to read and take advantage of any current application data from the hard disk but never allows the application to write/modify anything to your working system. Instead, it writes all the data/application changes inside the isolated sandbox. Therefore, you can install any application without the fear of affecting your current software installation. Once you are done, you can safely delete all the sandboxed applications easily.

How to Install Firefox 3 in Sandboxie

Install Sandboxie

1- Download both the Sandboxie and Mozilla Firefox 3 installer into a folder.

2- Install Sandboxie like any other application to a folder of your choice or accept the default path; C:\Program Files\Sandboxie.

3- Once the installation finishes, Sandboxie will run automatically. Close the “Welcome to Sandboxie” window to start using it.

Install Firefox 3 in Sandboxed Mode

1- Right click on the Sandbox Defaultbox, choose Run Sandboxed -> Any Program.

2- Using the Browse tool, choose the Mozilla Firefox 3 installation file. Click OK to install it.

3- You can see that the Mozilla Firefox setup screen opens with the [#]Mozilla Firefox Setup[#] title on top. This means that the application will be run and installed in Sandboxie’s sandbox mode.

4- Continue with the default installation steps until end. Don’t worry about choosing the default Mozilla Firefox installation path. It will not affect your current Firefox 2 installation by any means.

5- If you have any installed Firefox 2 add-on installed on your system, this sandboxed installation will successfully read and try to search for an update for the plugins. I skipped this step by selecting “Don’t Check” but you can choose to update them if you want to.

6- Firefox 3 will be installed successfully. You can see that it is running within a sandbox mode by looking at the Sandbox Control interface and the # symbol on Firefox 3’s title bar.

7- You can now try all the features of Firefox 3 without any worries that you might break anything! Go and try to bookmark a website to prove that this sandboxed installation does not mess with your current Firefox installation.

8- Close Mozilla Firefox. Close Sandboxie Control interface too.

9- Run your Mozilla Firefox 2 in normal mode. You will find that the previously bookmarked page does not appear. This proves that Sandboxie does not mess with any of your installed applications.

FYI, all of the sandboxed application files will be stored by default at C:\Sandbox. You can safely delete all the sandboxed installations like the one above by removing all the folders and files inside this folder. With Sandboxie, you can install any new version of softwares without messing with the one currently installed in your system, which is a good way to keep your system clean from buggy applications. Try Sandboxie and install Mozilla Firefox 3 today!

Tags: firefox, mozilla firefox, sandboxie, new version, firefox 3

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