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All of a sudden Firefox is failing to open. I tried all the suggestions on the online help page, but none of those work. The only way to open it is by shutting down the computer completely, and then turning it back on.

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All of a sudden Firefox is failing to open. I tried all the suggestions on the online help page, but none of those work. The only way to open it is by shutting down the computer completely (not rebooting, but turning the power off), and then turning it back on. I'm using Windows 7 on a Dell Inspiron. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, though I've been using Firefox on this machine since I got it a year ago, and have never had this problem. I haven't added any new software, and I haven't changed any settings or configurations. Note that every other program on this machine is opening with no problems, including Safari and Internet Explorer.

All of a sudden Firefox is failing to open. I tried all the suggestions on the online help page, but none of those work. The only way to open it is by shutting down the computer completely (not rebooting, but turning the power off), and then turning it back on. I'm using Windows 7 on a Dell Inspiron. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, though I've been using Firefox on this machine since I got it a year ago, and have never had this problem. I haven't added any new software, and I haven't changed any settings or configurations. Note that every other program on this machine is opening with no problems, including Safari and Internet Explorer.

All Replies (8)

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Getting help with your crash https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20crashes#w_getting-help-with-your-crash

If you cannot start Firefox, see Firefox Crashes when you Open it:

https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20crashes%20when%20you%20open%20it#Getting_your_crash_report

Check and tell which solution works.

Modified by Hasan

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It doesn't crash when I open it....I can't get that far; it simply doesn't open. I tried the suggestions given at https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20will%20not%20start (ended the processes for Norton IPS and Firefox--Skype is not an issue, since I don't have it) and even that didn't work. In order to open Firefox I have to completely shut down the computer, reboot, and then try to open it (doesn't always work; sometimes I have to shut down tow or three times--complete shutdown, with power off, not a simple reboot). This started about two weeks ago. Note that I have not added any new software, nor have I reconfigured any of the settings.

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I should add that when I follow the advice at https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20will%20not%20start#w_firefox-will-not-start-and-no-error-message-is-shown and finish up by hitting the "Restart Firefox" button....guess what! It doesn't restart. I have to shut down the machine, once again.

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Firefox will not start and no error message is shown https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20will%20not%20start#w_firefox-will-not-start-and-no-error-message-is-shown

check and tell if its working.

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Tried that a number of times; no go. The only thing that will allow Firefox to open is for me to shut down the computer completely; the only solution I've come up with is to simply not close the browser. This does not happen with Safari or Google Chrome, or IE for that matter. Only Firefox.

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Close Firefox (ALT + Exit). Now Start Firefox in Safe Mode using one of the following options:

1) by Holding down the SHIFT key while starting Firefox.

2) Open Windows Start Menu -> Run -> Enter one the following in the Windows Run box:

-> firefox.exe -safe-mode -> "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -safe-mode


- Safe Mode window will appear -> Checkmark ALL Options -> click "Make Changes and Restart"

Check and tell if its working.

Modified by Hasan

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Looks like this problem is back again in Win7 WinXP with Firefox 12. Browser does not shut down completely all the time. Keeps running in the background and consumes more resources the longer it runs. When you try to start it again, the icon on the desktop highlights for a bit and then nothing happens. Happened with a previous version - Firefox 9 perhaps? last year. Problem was fixed last year with an update. Suspected a memory leak at the time. Think your memory leak is back with Firefox 12. I can always shut it down via Task Manager in WinXP / Win7. Upon restart, sometimes it comes back with last page loaded instead of the home page. Hope this helps a bit. Cheers -

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Hi agimarc,
You're replying to a thread that is 10 months old. You should use https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new where volunteers can get more details about your setup.

Because this thread is so old and more people might start using it for their own questions, I'm going to lock it.