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Can't get firefox to start

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  • 6 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Ed

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Clic on firefox icon - get wait symbol - after a few seconds it goes away & firefox never loads

Clic on firefox icon - get wait symbol - after a few seconds it goes away & firefox never loads

Chosen solution

eddyc,

I was able to uninstall the Bandoo stuff, but when I try to uninstall the IMinent Toolbar I get a user account control box stating "an unidentified program wants access to your computer", like it's trying to open it up instead of uninstall. Should I allow ?

My updated malwarebytes found one item which I got rid of. I didn't recognize the name - something like pup or pub. It's gone now (I think).

Thanks for all your help,

Joe

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All Replies (11)

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Hi jumpjg,

I suspect you just need to restart your computer. If not please see this support article Firefox won't start - find solutions.

Let me know if this doesn't solve your problem.

--Edward

Modified by Ed

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Also see this article -> http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser_will_not_start_up

Check and tell if its working.

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Edward,

Thanks for your reply. I have tried restarting the computer to no avail. I did find the support article "Firefox will not start" but was not able to find a solution. That article has recommendations for situations with error messages (I have none) and without. I was drilling down through the "Firefox previously worked" instructions but I got bogged down in the instructions dealing with with profile manager - seems that you have to have Firefox open to use profile manager, and I can't seem to get Firefox to start.

I should mention that the problem started after I downloaded some freeware used to make a slideshow play on a DVD. Seems that after I downloaded the freeware I discovered that the terms involved replacing the computer's browser with a browser I had never heard of before (I really don't know much about this stuff). I found a section that described how to remove it which I did. But ever since Firefox fails to start. I'm using internet explorer now & really don't like it. When I try to download Firefox I get a pop-up stating that Firefox is already running, but task manager doesn't show it. Sure would like to get Firefox back on line along with all my bookmarks.

Your help is appreciated,

Joe

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mha007

Thank you for your reply. I read the info at your link & tried to understand all the scenarios, but frankly they were all above my pay grade (translation: I did not understand if the situations described applied to my situation). If perhaps you could recommend a specific troubleshooting scenario to follow that would be helpful.

Your help is appreciated,

Joe

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Ok. I think the first thing is to ensure that any other software is not preventing firefox from opening or causing other problems. It sounds like you have removed the other browser. Are you confident that it is totally gone? Make sure that there are no unfamilar programs in the taskbar and that the program files directory for the software you installed is completely gone. I would also run a malware scan to be on the safe side (depending on where this software came from). Malwarebytes anti malware is good.

It is possible that the firefox process is still running and preventing a new instance from opening. I would have thought that restarting the computer would solve that but try this:

Ctrl-Alt-Del then open Windows Task Manager. Go to the Processes tab. Sort by Name and see if you can find Firefox. If you can, select it end it.

Does that help?

If not I think the next step is to try to undo whatever this other program did by removing firefox and starting again. Uninstall firefox. Your profile folder will be kept by default (that is where your bookmarks etc are kept) so you wont lose anything. Then install again from scratch.

Let me know if that helps.

Modified by Ed

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eddyc,

I'm not totally confident I have removed everything I need to - is the taskbar at the bottom left hand side of screen?. I went into control panel-programs-uninstall a program and found "IMinent Toolbar" (3.37 MB) that was installed on May 15th. IMinent was the name of the browser I removed. I also saw another toolbar titled "Searchqu" (29MB) published by Bandoo Media with an install date of 5-18, which is the same date when all my problems begun. I notice now that when I launch internet explorer it goes to this address "http://searchnu.com/421". I have previously downloaded malwarebytes & I'm running it now.

I did find firefox running under the task manager-processes tab. I closed it, then tried to relaunch firefox with the same results - the cursor turns into a small rotating circle (wait) for 4-5 seconds, then goes back to a pointer & firefox never starts. No help.

I'm a little hesitant to delete firefox without actually backing up my profile, mostly because I'm concerned about loosing my bookmarks. Should I try to do that first?

Note: I went into control panel-programs-change start up programs & found a Bandoo Media data manager, filename DATAMN-1.exe. Installed 5-18-12. I can't help thinking that my problems are due to the accidental downloading of the Bandoo stuff & that it is hijacking firefox and who knows what else. Should I try to uninstall the Searchqu stuff before I remove/reload firefox?

Thanks for your time & patience,

Joe

PS: Malwarebytes didn't find anything but it was out off date so I'm updating it & will run again.

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Yes, it certainly sounds like the Bandoo software (and whatever else IMinent etc) is causing the problem. The fact that the IE home page has been hijacked makes me more confident of this.

I had a quick look on google for 'remove bandoo' and there are lots of people asking about how to get rid of it! Please go though the list of installed programs and uninstall all of those which you mentioned (and any others which you think might have been installed at the same time). Then go into the Program Files folder and manually delete any of their folders which have not been removed by the uninstall process (sometimes these programs leave stuff behind).

Then to be on the safe side I would run a malware bytes scan and maybe an ad-aware scan as well. Get rid of anything they find.

Then you can uninstall firefox. It really shouldn't affect your bookmarks etc because the profile folder will be unaffected. But if you want to manually confirm it. You can locate your profile folder and back up, before uninstalling, by following these instructions: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Then reinstall firefox. I hope that will do the trick. Let me know if not.

Keep an eye out for any odd behaviour such as the default search being changed or the home page being changed. You will probably need to manually change the home page back on IE was well.

Modified by Ed

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Chosen Solution

eddyc,

I was able to uninstall the Bandoo stuff, but when I try to uninstall the IMinent Toolbar I get a user account control box stating "an unidentified program wants access to your computer", like it's trying to open it up instead of uninstall. Should I allow ?

My updated malwarebytes found one item which I got rid of. I didn't recognize the name - something like pup or pub. It's gone now (I think).

Thanks for all your help,

Joe

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OK great. I can't really offer specific advice about uninstalling the software because I don't have any direct experience. Also I have my UAC turned off so I don't know when it is supposed to appear. I think it will be ok though. It must just be part of the uninstallation process. This doesn't sound like an actual virus to me. I think these types of program are just irritations, trying to make money by directing you to adverts etc.

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I didn't mess with the IMinent Toolbar any more but I re-started the computer after getting rid of the Bandoo stufff & now firefox works. I didn't un-install/re-install firefox, just re-started the computer and all my old bookmarks are there too. I'll try to get rid of the IMinent Toolbar by "allowing" it to do its thing when I trey to uninstall.

Thanks for all your help; I really appreciate it!

Joe

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Great! Glad to hear it is working again.