Question

This can be a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox

Yes, you post that on every help request posted on this issue. If you would have read my message, you would have quickly seen that I have already done this fix that you post so ubiquitously. It doesn't fix the problem.

Same problem here. Intranet application om MSSQL Windows 7 Hope you can solve this indeed annoying issue

Thanks, M

I too am having problems with the back button. The way it works is totally inconsistent - sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn't. This is only one of a long list of problems I am having with firefox 4 anybody know how to rollback to a previoius version. If not I an going to rollback my machine to a "good" version.

I had a problem with the back button and fixed it by disabling McAfee SiteAdvisor add-in.

I don't use the SiteAdvisor program.

I am having a problem with the back button also in Firefox 4. Firefox forgets the 1st page in any new session or tab. If I open a tab to say bbc.com and navigate to guardian.com I can't click the back button to get back to bbc.com.

What happens if you start FF in safe mode? http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Safe%20Mode

I don't know. I don't have time to fool around with it. I don't run in "safe mode" so I don't see how this is relevant.

Safe Mode is a special Firefox execution mode that can be used to troubleshoot issues in Firefox. In Safe Mode, you can reset some settings or disable add-ons that might be the source of the issue. By comparing Firefox behavior in normal mode to its behavior in Safe Mode with various items disabled, you may be able to diagnose issues.

Thanks, but like I said, I really don't have the time to fool around with it. How hard is it to build a back button that works? I've been using FireFox for years. I don't have a bunch of exotic extensions installed. I have never had this problem before, and I am extremely disappointed in FireFox that they have come out with an "upgrade" that doesn't work for thousands of users.

I disabled SiteAdvisor also, after reading various comments, and my back-button is working properly again. Thanks.

Same problem here. When opening a new tab and clicking a link on a new page, FF loses track of the original page. Annoying, but I'd rather keep site advisor and live with it if those are my only options

I don't use SiteAdvisor and my forward and back buttons are completely dead in FF 4. I reverted to 3.6 and life is good.

This happened to me as well,since day one when I upgraded to FF4:back/forward buttons greyed out and unclickable.First I tried restarting with all of my extensions disabled,didn't work.Then I tried a fresh,clean install of FF4 with no extensions,didn't work.I ended up going back to 3.6.16,because I have to have my back/forward function. (And no,I don't have the McAfee SiteAdvisor add-in.I'm using Windows XP.) Oh well,3.6.16 it is until someone figures out how to go back/forward in Firefox 4.

Operating system: Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit (fully updated) CPU: Core i7 920

I am running the following addons: Adblock Plux 1.3.5 BetterPrivacy 1.490 CheckPlaces 2.4.5 Cookie Manager Button 1.0.1.6 Cookie Monster 1.0.5 Element Hiding Helper for Adblock Plus 1.1.1 McAfee SiteAdvisor 3.3.1 NoScript 2.1.0.1 RealPlayer Browser Record Plugin 14.0.1

Disabling all of those addons does nothing to resolve this issue.

I had the same problem as everyone else running on Win7.

I was about the follow the KB article that tells you to delete/rename the places.sqlite file, but I noticed that when I exited out of FF4, it automatically renamed places.sqlite to places.sqlite.corrupt.

I then started FF again and the back/forward/history functions were all fine.

However, my bookmarks are empty. I couldn't export them previously as they had all disappeared and I can't import any of my bookmark backups.

It comes back with the message:

"Could not process backup file"

I've tried all 6 of the bookmark backups without any success.

At least I have the back/forward buttons working again, which means FF4 is finally usable.

It amazes me that an issue with a core function like this wouldn't have been picked up in beta testing.

Like the others, I've had this problem, but it's not consistent. It happens mostly on my FF homepage (foxnews.com). I click to read an article and yet the back button is grayed out. I agree with peter99's statement, "It amazes me that an issue with a core function like this wouldn't have been picked up in beta testing." I'm sure that for every person who found, read, and posted in here, there are a few hundred who did nothing, or even switched browsers. I'll wait to see what happens with 4.1 or 4.0.1. Maybe the problem will be fixed.

Starting in FF 4 safe mode doe NOT alleviate the problem. Starting with all add-ins disabled (under Win 7), the back and forward buttons remain greyed out, regardless of how many web pages are opened and regardless of the navigation patterns used (links followed, successive urls entered into address bar, etc.)

Re-installing FF 4 does NOT fix the problem. The arrows immediately become usable again when FF 3.6 is reinstalled.

Sounds like it's a programming error in FF4, something I'm very surprised wasn't noticed by any of the "millions" of testers. This tells me that either:

1. The coding affecting the back/forward buttons changed between beta and RC, and/or RC and official public release (unless the RC was unchanged). Thus, the errors were not existent in the beta testing, and thus nothing was reported--no problem, nothing to fix.

2. It was noticed by some, but a small enough number that the problem was disregarded by the programmers/developers as an anomaly.

3. It was noticed by many, but the testers didn't consider it significant enough to report. - Unlikely

4. It was noticed by many testers and reported, but the developers chose to ignore it anyway. - Unlikely

5. It was not noticed by anyone despite the problem existing. - Unlikely

The first two options are the only likely explanations I can think of at this time. But it's my hope that it's fixed in a soon-upcoming update.

yeah...me a firefox user since 1.0, this is the first time i m a bit annoyed and not satisfied with firefox's latest and newest release.

dont get me wrong. such a basic feature yet very important feature for everyone to use, from beginnner to advance. Imagine started to download and use and get this problem....

time to consider moving to chrome.

It works for me now because I deactivated McAfee SiteAdvisor add-on! :-) Thanks so much.

This (starting in safe mode) at least makes it work - I started it that way and then with all plugins disabled. In both cases the back button worked. I added by add-ons back one at a time and it turned out to be Yahoo! Toolbar that was the one screwing up the back button in my case.

Yes! This was a solution for my case! Removing Yahoo Toolbar solved all the problem. Thank you!!!

Yep, that was the problem for me too. Was working fine yesterday and then this morning the problem showed up out of the blue, but removing yahoo toolbar sorted it. Thanks for the tip.

I have also this Back Button problem and where I noticed it first was on Web sites using frames. After connecting to such a frame base site the Back Button remained grayed out irregardless of how many levels I was browsing. The only way to get back was to refresh the main, top Web address and start from there again every time. Not a very pleasing way of browning for reading news etc. In the end I found that it was an add-on the was the culprit. After disabling the Ancestry.com Advanced Image Viewer, version 1.0.0.1 the Back Button started to work again. I have had this viewer installed in all my previous versions of Firefox for several years now without any problems. I therefore have a strong feeling that the present implementation of the Firefox 4 Back Button is extremely fragile to say the least. I think the software developers should consider this a serious weakness in this version.

this isn't a fix but if you right click your mouse when your at the back button it will give the history and go from there like i said it's not a fix but it works on mine

Use one of these methods to open the tab history list:

• Right click on the Back or Forward button
• Hold down the left mouse button on the enabled Back or Forward button until the list opens

You can look at this extension:

• Backward Forward History Dropdown: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/backforedrop/

I have some issue. I do find a workaround. When I see the button disabled, I click on another tab and then go back to the initial tab. The button will enabled. This doesn't solve the problem, but just allow me skip the frustration and keep doing what I need to do.

Using safe mode, disabling all addins and extensions did not help. But this did work in my case: type about:config in the URL area and press enter type history in the search area and press enter find this entry (mine was set to zero)

  browser.sessionhistory.max_entries    0

click on it and change it to something > 0

 browser.sessionhistory.max_entries  999

the next tab I opened had fwd/back buttons enabled again

No McAfee but YES I have the same problem.

This did not work for me. Are there any other about:config fixes you might recommend?

YES! That was it. Thank you so much. about:config change browser.sessionhistory.max_entries 0 to browser.sessionhistory.max_entries 999 I was so frustrated!

I abandoned the increasingly disfunctional FF4 (pity - I was a Beta user...) and reinstalled FF3.6 only to get some dumb error message: "The bookmarks and history system will not be functional because one of Firefox's files is in use by another application. Some security software can cause this problem".

I'll put up with some hassle, because I liked FF in the past, but enough is enough. Back to IE for me. Bye... (for now)

I am experiencing this issue as well on Mac OS 10.6.6. Have disabled all plugins and add-ons. No other resolution but to downgrade to FF 3.6.

I'm also having this problem on Mac OS. Bit of a pain in the @rs3 so I'll be onto Chrome until it's fixed.

I had the same problem after installing Firefox 4 - solved it by enabling Navigation Toolbar. Go to View>Toolbars> then enable Navigation toolbar. The back/forward arrows and the address bar then appear.

I found that going back to FF Vers 4 didn't solve the problem. Where the back button was working BEFORE the 'Upgrade' it was NOT working after I re-installed Version 4. WTF..!! What to do NOW? I cannot go back by ANY means whatever as Command (back arrow) doesn't work anymore either!!

I'm having this problem in FF 5. It's amazingly annoying.

It is evident that FF4, FF5 and FF6 are screwed up concerning the browser back function, *if* a navigation is done via JavaScript and a frameset is involved. In many cases, the browser history gets lost, in other cases not. It apparently depends on which JavaScript is used. In *all other browsers* it works nicely, so the programming is not to blame.

This can be easily demonstrated by doing a simple navigation at a site like

Version1: http://www1.rgzm.de/samian/home/frames.htm ---> click on something like "books" and then try the back button. It won't work.

The browser back functionality works well when using a different JavaScript at

Version2: http://www1.rgzm.de/samian/home/frames2.htm

Both website versions worked in FF3.6 and all other browsers. Version 1 stopped functioning in FF4+

And there are many different JavaScript based navigations out there on the net...

So, to conclude, this sodding annoying bug in FF4+ will cause many people to switch to any of the other browsers, which don't stumble on JavaScript being used in a frameset based navigation. It is also amazing to see that JavaScript still causes Mozilla Firefox so much troubles in FF4-6, whereas this is with the other browsers not the case (anymore).

AlbertMees

I just had today the same problem, but with FF 3.6.22. I tried all the suggestions that everybody had already posted here, but none of them helped at all. Finally I got Revo Uninstaller out and blasted all of the Firefox pieces to Kingdom Come. Of course, I cannot tell you which piece was causing the problem, but on reinstalling FF again for what seemed like the umpteenth time today, it now works. Oh, one minor detail that may or may not be significant: after having tried unsuccessfully to roll back to version 3.6.19 (I got error messages that seemed to accuse me of trying to mix parts from the two versions.), I installed v. 3.6.19 just to be safe, since I had used it for awhile with no problem whereas I started having problems with v. 3.6.22 almost as soon as it installed itself, which it now cannot do because I changed the update option under Tools. So I solved the specific problem with Revo, but I cannot point to any specific cause for it. I suppose I could have switched to v. 6.x, but I keep hearing stories that seem to be even worse than my problems with v. 3.6.22, bad as they were. I just hope 6.x (or 7?) is free of serious problems by the time security updates end for v. 3.6.x. And in case you're wondering, I don't know when or if I'll go back to v. 3.6.22, but I know I'll never ever want to go back to IE as my main browser. Amen.

SOLUTION:

The problem / culprit is TAB MIX Plus....especially if you're still using FF 3.6 like me. If you don't want to uninstall and reinstall TM Plus, then restore it from a backup copy made via FEBE addon, or restore from a previous hard drive backup.

The problem appears starting with TM Plus version 0.3.8.7pre**** version.

It also caused Back/Forward buttons not to work....FEBE addon problems, bookmarking problems, and more.

This was the only addon that was causing the problem....

Revert back to previous version of TAB Mix Plus!!!

HINT: go to a webpage, like google, and right click...the right click context menu is FULL OF TMix OPTIONS!......very long menu!

However, in my TM Plus configuration section....I only checked 4 menu options to show. This appears to be a broken version / error in the code somewhere.

Let us know if this works for you folks who try this.

I've had exactly the same problem and I resoved it by disabling TelevisionFanatic in Firefox extention.

I had the same problem, but i've solved it. Try to create new firefox Profile. On windows, press win + r to bring up the "run dialog", then type "firefox.exe -P" without quote, and create a new profile. This at least worked for me. NB: I don't have McAfee site advisor.