FC3, Firefox, Java, Parachat problem that's driving me nuts!

[Void Main]

Within the last two weeks I must have gotten some sort of update that has broken something in Firefox or Java so that I can't use any Parachat sites anymore. Find any parachat 5.5 site and see if you can log in. The applet comes up for me and I get a login box but I can't type anything in the box. I have found that I can copy and paste text into the box and click the connect button and it will log me in even though the text that is pasted just looks like a bunch of boxes. See screen shot of me pasting "Void Main" into the logon box at the parachat web site:

http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/i/parachat1.png

And it logs me in as "Void Main":

http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/i/parachat2.png

Now, once logged in I still can't type anything but I can copy/paste stuff in. The pasted stuff looks like a bunch of boxes but if I press "Send" it comes out right on the other end. I don't get it. I tried various things and nothing seems to effect it. I am just wondering if I am the only one experiencing this problem as I can't find anything on Google or Bugzilla on the problem.

Notes. I am running FC3 with all the latest updates. I am using Dag's repository, running Java j2re-1.4.2-11.1.fc3.rf and plugin mozilla-j2re-1.4.2-11.1.fc3.rf. I don't believe the Java RPMs have changed in months but Firefox has. Only problem is I have reverted back to older versions of Firefox and I still have the problem. I have wiped out my ~/.java directory and still doesn't work. Java everywhere else seems to work fine. I am stuck on this one....

NOTE: I don't particularly care for parachat, and I don't visit the site in the images, I just used it to show what was happening. There is a site that I chat at once a week for a little while with friends. I haven't been able to do this for the last two weekends because of this problem.

[worker201]

ROFL!!!

I'll try checking that site out tomorrow at work, since I use FC3 and Dag as well.
Studmuffin!

[worker201]

Okay, I checked it out. Very silly place. Using FC3 and Firefox-1.0.2. I didn't actually have the right plugin setup for this, so I downloaded a new one. I installed jre-1.5.0-02 to /usr/java, and made a symbolic link to the plugin file at /usr/lib/firefox-1.0.2/plugins. And everything worked out fine for me. Perhaps they are using some java feature that 1.4.2 doesn't support?

[Void Main]

Try the Java and plugin from Dag if you have time and don't mind:

# apt-get install j2re mozilla-j2re

I actually tried 1.5.0 and it crashes on other things that I absolutely need so 1.4.2 is a must for me. I would just be interested to know if you have the same problem with the same versions. If not then it's something else specific to my system. Thanks for testing!

[worker201]

Bad things are happening. I installed the mozilla plugin, and then attempted to visit the site with mozilla 1.7.6. It wouldn't let me type anything or click the button. So I removed my symbolic link to the jre-1.5 plugin and created one for the 1.4.2 plugin, located at /usr/lib/jre/plugin/yadayadayada.

Well, now Firefox won't start! If I click the panel launcher, nothing happens. If I use the applications menu to start firefox, I get a tab on the top panel that says "starting mozilla firefox", but then that disappears, and nothing happens. I checked the processes to see if there was an orphaned process somewhere, but there wasn't one for firefox or java or anything.

This is not looking pretty. I am going to try to remove the plugin link and see if that helps.

[worker201]

Okay, I got Firefox back after deleting the link to the 1.4.2 plugin. Which plugin version are you using? The choices I see are ns4, ns610, and ns610-gcc32. I used ns610, perhaps that was the problem.

[Void Main]

I don't have to link anything because the mozilla-j2re RPM does this for me. But you want to link to the one in the ns610-gcc32 directory.

[Tux]

I noticed this problem too void, whilst viewing any java app that requires text input.
I havn't changed my Java for a long time but have upgraded firefox, unfortunately I can't pinpoint when the problem started.

[Void Main]

I can't either, and I even downgraded my firefox and that doesn't seem to fix it. I have to think the problem is with some other related package but I just can't pinpoint it.

[Tux]

Ok, JRE 1.5 direct from Sun did the trick. New plugin location is /usr/java/jre1.5.0_02/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so

[Void Main]

Yes, I did try this days ago and noticed that it fixed the message box issue but it actually has worse problems in that it seems to lock up my browser on important work related Java applets (and even on many non work related applets) so I was hoping to find out how to fix the problems associated with the old version. You haven't had any lockup problems with 1.5? I hate Java, always have, probably always will. I hate it as much if not more than I hate flash.

[Tux]

Well I only tried it today and as do you, I try to avoid Java. I've had no lock-up as yet, touch wood.

Perhaps a version from Blackdown will be better?

[Void Main]

Actually, I just removed 1.4.2 again and reinstalled 1.5.0 and so far it's working. Maybe it was a fluke that it crashed on me last time.

Thanks Tux!

[worker201]

I finally did get Firefox to work with the 1.4.2 plugin, but it wouldn't allow me to insert text at all, not even with a copy/paste action. But, as I said before, java 1.5.0.02 works just fine.

[Void Main]

I finally did get Firefox to work with the 1.4.2 plugin, but it wouldn't allow me to insert text at all, not even with a copy/paste action. But, as I said before, java 1.5.0.02 works just fine.

The text isn't visible when you do the paste, but it's there. You just have to press the connect button after doing it. I am referring to X11 copy/paste where you select from a terminal window via dragging with the left mouse button and them "middle click" in the text box for the paste.