Firefox 2.0.0.8 upgrade breaks Java
Monday, October 29th, 2007Last week I upgraded to Firefox 2.0.0.8, and discovered that Java-based web applets no longer worked. This was with Java JRE 1.6 update 3, on Windows Vista.
My initial workaround has been to use Internet Explorer to view the Java applications. Over the weekend I had a little time to investigate, and it turns out this is a known problem, and there is a workaround that will fix this until the next update to Firefox:
As mentioned in today’s Weekly Update, a serious regression involving Firefox 2.0.0.8 and JAVA (JRE 1.6 update 3)on Windows Vista ONLY has been identified. Bug 400467: Java broken on Vista after Firefox 2.0.0.8 upgrade (says Java Not Found, Or Not Working). Reviewing the bug report, the bug filer had upgraded to Fx 2.0.0.8 earlier that morning and attempted to launch/play a JAVA based game at Pogo.com and was told that they could access the site with IE7. There is a possible work-around for this:
1. Right click Firefox icon and choose “Run as administrator”
2. Accept UAC prompt
3. Enter any site which use a Java applet, Java should load normally
4. Close Firefox
5. Run Firefox again, but in normal mode (without administrator privileges)
This worked for me. This is a surprisingly major bug to get through the release process, though.