Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Firefox 19.0.2 can't browse the file system.

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

firefoxuser1138
firefoxuser1138
more options

As the subject line reads I am using Firefox 19.0.2 Extra info: OS: Kubuntu 12.04 Mem: 4GB Please ask if you need more information.

When I try to open a local file system page such as: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/

Where in that directory are a bunch of html files that I should be able to open in firefox, and lets say for the sake of the question I have file01.html, file02.html, and file03.html in the above directory. Then if I hover my mouse over file01.html, then the little text link display box in the lower left corner of the window shows this: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/# when it should show this: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/file01.html and if I click on the file01.html file nothing happens and I'm stuck in the same directory listed above.

Whats even more strange is that if I type in the complete URL into the address bar such as: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/file01.html Then the file opens as it should, but this is an impossible pain if I'm trying to navigate from one directory to the next because the same thing happens if I am pointing the browser at: file:///home/username/documents/ From there I can't click on or navigate to the webnotes directory unless I type it by hand into the address bar.

Note: This was working fine in previous versions of firefox.

Questions: 1.) How can the problem described above be fixed or probed further for troubleshooting?

Thanks

As the subject line reads I am using Firefox 19.0.2 Extra info: OS: Kubuntu 12.04 Mem: 4GB Please ask if you need more information. When I try to open a local file system page such as: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/ Where in that directory are a bunch of html files that I should be able to open in firefox, and lets say for the sake of the question I have file01.html, file02.html, and file03.html in the above directory. Then if I hover my mouse over file01.html, then the little text link display box in the lower left corner of the window shows this: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/# when it should show this: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/file01.html and if I click on the file01.html file nothing happens and I'm stuck in the same directory listed above. Whats even more strange is that if I type in the complete URL into the address bar such as: file:///home/username/documents/webnotes/file01.html Then the file opens as it should, but this is an impossible pain if I'm trying to navigate from one directory to the next because the same thing happens if I am pointing the browser at: file:///home/username/documents/ From there I can't click on or navigate to the webnotes directory unless I type it by hand into the address bar. Note: This was working fine in previous versions of firefox. Questions: 1.) How can the problem described above be fixed or probed further for troubleshooting? Thanks

All Replies (3)

iamjayakumars
iamjayakumars
more options

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.


Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

firefoxuser1138
firefoxuser1138 Question owner
more options

Yes, this seemed to fix the problem, but may I please have some follow up information?

Note: I have reinstalled all of the plugins and reconfigured firefox to the state it was in before the fix was applied, and the problem with navigating the local file system is still solved, so this seems like it was not an issue with one of the plugins.

Was the procedure you had me follow refered to as starting firefox in "safe mode", and what are some of the reasons this might have fixed the problem and what made you think to suggest this as a solution to the problem?

Last question: Will marking this thread as solved keep you from being able to respond to my last question (like it would in other forums) or is it ok to mark a thread as solved and ask follow up questions afterwords?

Thanks for the help.

Modified by firefoxuser1138

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

If it happens again then you can first try some basic steps like these:

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

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.