Question

done clearing all that any number of times. Including deleting and reinstalling firefox 14.0.1 to a new folder and deleting the profiles. interestingly, when I "remove all cookies", they still stay there even though the screen goes blank when I do it. If I look again, there they are...

am going to try reloading an older firefox to see if it helps.

IE 8 since you asked.

PS, Thanks for the response.

There is no such address as facebook.net, opendns returns error

If the cookies can't be cleared while on facebook.com, you can call up that same dialog on this page, just change the domain from mozilla.org to facebook.com.

There is no such address as facebook.net, opendns returns error

Well, there isn't a www.facebook.net, but FB uses various other host names ending with facebook.net (e.g., connect.facebook.net is used to generate Like buttons on third party websites; other examples: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Afacebook.net). You can find cookies for any such hosts using the base domain facebook.net.

tried 13.0.1 same thing.

I started the web console and got the following, from a brand new facebook session.

Back at 14.0.1 same thing.

Some cookies don't delete.... facebook.com did, but fastclick.net did not. They appear to delete, but when you show cookies again, they're still there. Deleting all facebook cookies did not help. have cleared cache and deleted files many times.

When I click "What's on your mind?" FB retrieves this URL (according to Firebug; note that I changed the user number):

http://www.facebook.com/ajax/metacomposer/attachment/status/status.php?isAugmentation=true&targetid=1234567879&xhpc=composerTourStart&nctr[_mod]=pagelet_composer&__user=1234567879&__a=1

Then it posts a hidden form to:

http://www.facebook.com/ajax/composer/audience/sticky_education

I don't have any problem using the box. What issue(s) are you having with entering a status update?

There is another thread about cookies and some FB features, including the 3 buttons (Friend Requests, Messages, Notifications) not opening the usual panes. How are you handling cookies?

I believe fastclick.net is an advertising site. If you use an add-on that opts you out of tracking for advertising sites, you may be seeing an opt-out cookie rather than a tracking cookie. But we could take that up in a different thread.

I check all cookies and block a lot.I don't block any facebook cookies. But it was never a problem till yesterday after 3 1/2 years. I click the update status box and that link I printed in the question replaces the facebook screen in the URL bar, blank screen, with absolutely nothing in the page source. The other cookie issue is definitely for another day, but thought I'd mention it just in case. I removed all the blocks and it still doesn't work. Guess it's going to be FB and IE from now on....

Would you want to test one other thing? You could try the new Reset feature. This duplicates certain key data from your active settings folder into a new one, bypassing some add-ons and custom settings.

More information in this article: Reset Firefox – easily fix most problems.

If the new settings folder has the same problem, you can switch back using Firefox's Profile Manager. (This article describes how to start Firefox in the profile manager. I do not recommend removing anything until you are 110% certain that you will never need any of that profile's data in the future. Use the Profile Manager to create and remove Firefox profiles)

If the new settings folder works, an extension or custom setting or corrupted file would be the prime suspect.

I tried everything posted above and I still get the "https://www.facebook.com/ajax/metacomposer/attachment/status/status.php?targetid=692220733&xhpc=composerTourStart" URL and a blank page.

Interestingly, I have a second PC running FF 14.0.1 and XPSP3 and I don't have this problem with Facebook.

I've been having the exact same problem for the same length of time. Facebook works normally in IE and Chrome. Somethign I also noticed is that the dropdown menus aren't working properly on Facebook in Firefox. For example, I should be able to click the world icon to drop down a list of notifications. Nothing happens when I click. None of the parts of the Firefox page with dropdown menus seem to be working. In addition to trying everything described above I also reinstalled Flash via Firefox. No help. Could this be something tied into the Windows Updates that came out Tuesday?

You may have installed an extension like TACO (Abine) or Do Not Track Plus that maintains a set of OPT-OUT cookies if you can't remove some cookies permanently.

• Do Not Track Plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/donottrackplus/

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

• Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode

Been there done that, cor-el. DIsabled every plugin and extension manually as well as running in safe mode. Never changed themes since the beginning of them. Still happening. Thanks

You're right about DNT+, I thought a cookie was a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake. Some of those in the list point to DNT+.

Sorry about your parents and the rest of the cryptonians. But keep an eye out for your dog. He might show up.

No, Ailos. I just put the monthly windows fixes up this morning and the problem started yesterday afternoon.

"Good" to hear that others are having the same problem. My other PC with windows 7 and 14.0.1 works fine. This was reported last year, but only in Chrome. Maybe one of them will fix it....

Going to try Reset. I have to say, Firefox 14 was problematic. I had set automatic install on on a number of customers, and five of them had problems like settings lost, repeated crashes starting firefox, toolbars all turned off. Manual install would crash or hang, took 3 times on one computer.

ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RESET FIREFOX TOOK CARE OF THE PROBLEM...

THIS LINK TELLS HOW

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/reset-firefox-easily-fix-most-problems

WILL NOW TRY READING THE ADDONS ONE BY ONE AND SEE IF ANY OF THEM BRINGS BACK THE PROBLEM

All add ons are now installed. What was different? each time during the reinstall, I put all three add-ons on first before restarting. This time, did one at a time. Maybe that made a difference

But the RESET seems to be the charm.

Thanks to all of you for your help and prompt responses. Hope this works for the others having problems.

Hi ailios, how do you manage cookies? In this thread, cookie settings were related to the notification drop-downs not appearing on FB: Certain websites do not work properly in normal browsing mode but work in private browsing perfectly.

I had the same problem, jscher2000. it was all related and dropdowns work also. .I mentioned it in the original post but probably didn't make it clear. I've had problems with private messages for a while, and this took care of that too.

Hello,

I have the same problem since a few days. But I think have found the cause.

Suddenly it started a few days ago that I couldn't like anything on facebook and some other weird problems as reported here when you click in the post area for example.

After days of deleting all add-ons, running on safe-mode, etc., I sadly clicked on RESET as described above. The problems were gone and I started to reinstall all my add-ons. While doing this I checked facebook after every add-on I installed. Everything was fine. Then I made all other settings to firefox and all add-ons and went back to work.

About 15 minutes ago I wanted to check something on facebook, but the problem was back again.

So I checked every single setting, and today I think I discovered what the problem is.

In the firefox cookie settings https://support.mozilla.org/media/uploads/gallery/images/2011-02-01-13-08-51-a28843.png

I set "Keep until" to "ask me every time" because I want to control who is saving cookies on my system.

When I change the setting to "they expire" or "I close firefox" then facebook works without any problems.

When I change it back to "ask me every time" then the problems are back.

Now I wonder if this might be a bug of firefox?

@mikemercury: You wrote "I check all cookies and block a lot." so I assume that you have also set your cookie settings to "ask me every time". Could you please try if the problem is solved when you change your option? Thanks.

Bye,

 Dino

A reset solved for me as well. Sadly I forgot to backup my home page links. As dino suggests, I'll watch to see if the problem returns. I hadn't made any setting changes to my Firefox in a very, very long time so if it is a problem with a cookie setting how did it get changed? Or maybe it was set that way for a very long time and facebook or Firefox changed something that caused a conflict? Maybe rebooting my computer for Windows Update, in other words closing and reopening Firefox caused Firefox to run an update if its own that created the problem to go into effect?

Could you please check if the problem returns if you change your cookie settings to "ask me every time"?

Thanks

I just restarted my work PC (FF 14.0.1, XP SP3) after installing the latest XP updates and everything is still OK with Facebook... My cookie settings are "Ask me every time" as they were before, so it doesn't appear that it's the cause.

I also noticed that on the PC with the non-functioning Facebook doesn't allow you to log off via the down arrow menu in the upper right corner...

Okay, now I set up a VM with a clean XP SP3 and installed Firefox 3.6.28 with no Add-Ons. There were no problems with the setting "Ask me every time"!

Then I installed Firefox 14.0.1 and went to facebook. What should I say... same problem, same errors!

So it's a Firefox problem! Old versions are okay.

cu,

 Dino

Hi ailios, if you used the Reset feature under Help > Troubleshooting Information, your old settings folder (AKA Firefox profile folder) was preserved and you can mine it for settings and other information. The following article may help. If you have questions about how to work with the files, it probably makes sense to start a new thread.

Recovering important data from an old profile

Hi dino.mueller, do you know which was the last version of Facebook in which those icons worked? This would help in tracking down the change.

It appears to be related to how Firefox stores the permission you gave Firefox to set cookies for www.facebook.com -- it isn't extending to facebook.com without the www.

The workaround is to create an exception manually:

(1)

(WIN) orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Options > Privacy
(MAC) Firefox > Preferences > Privacy

(2) Click the Exceptions button to the right of "Accept cookies from sites"

(3) In the box at the top type facebook.com and click either Allow (if you want data stored between restarts of Firefox) or Allow for Session (to have cookies cleared between restarts of Firefox)

(4) Scroll down to the entry for www.facebook.com and remove it to avoid possible inconsistency. Click Close. Click OK.

See also: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/934784#answer-360431

Hi mikemercury, I'm glad you got it solved. Sorry it took 12 hours to get there, and we need to give thanks to the user detective in the other thread who discovered the connection with the "ask me every time" cookie setting.

Nope, have to disagree. I've always and still have ask every time. the reset is the only thing that accomplished anything.

Every time I clicked on the FB "Post Update" the FB page would close and it would re-direct to a composer page. I noticed that the address was "ajax/metacomposer/attachment", did a search in Windows (C:\) and found a file called "ajaxupload" in the temp internet folder. I deleted all the files in the temp internet folder and the problem was solved. As a matter of interest I also went through the process of removing (even in the registry) and reinstalling Firefox, which did not solve the problem.

No. its back again. you are right Dino, it is related to that ask me every time option. But I want that option on. Now have to look at that issue. I forgot that the reset changed that option back. Today I noticed it wasn't on, turned it on, and the option came right back. Reset. OK. Changed option. Boom. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I have had this option on for years and have NEVER had any problem unless I got a message that cookies were turned off.

Hi ozite, Hi mikemercury, did you try the workaround of creating a cookie permission for facebook.com as described here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/934791?page=2#answer-360642 ?

Yes, I did jscher. That is the real fix, not the 50 or other things I tried. I thought the reset did it, but that got rid of ask every time which I didn't notice right away. In fact I reposted this topic as a new question with the facebook.com cookie name as an exception to keep other folks from having to go through all the changes some of us did. Thanks!

Awesome....I'm glad I didn't reset like the previous help suggested! Weird that cookie setting would cause such a strange result! Just keep those cookies till they expire! Here's a nice Screen shot....https://support.mozilla.org/media/uploads/gallery/images/2011-02-01-13-08-51-a28843.png

dino.mueller's fix (changing third-party cookie retention from "ask me every time" to "when FF closes" worked perfectly, thanks!

The solution is NOT to change the every time option!!!!! Just add an exception in Privacy called facebook.com.

NO OTHER CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE!!!

No, exclamation points aside, the solution is whatever works. dino.mueller's fix worked for me. I prefer not to add an exception for facebook.com. "When Firefox closes" is a perfectly adequate cookie setting for me. YMMV.

Holy Moley! I've been going nuts with this Facebook problem for weeks, and your suggestion to change how cookies are responded to fixed it instantly! I just changed the Firefox setting to "Accept Third Party Until I Close" and I can post again! Still not sure what caused this problem suddenly, but thanks so much for the fix! Kinko's will wonder where the business went!!