Hi Jody that sounds rather odd.

What do you mean by clicking on "automatic firefox updates ?

i wonder if you have an unofficial version of Firefox, some malware, or are clicking popups or adverts on the Internet. Even if Firerfox is reinstalled you should not lose any information such as bookmarks or passwords. But do not use any third party uninstaller.

Please try a clean install of Firefox. That involves deleting progrm files but not your settings etc in the profile. Make certain you use an official copy from an official site use the link getfirefox.com or https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ The ordinary instructions for updating are here for future reference

• Update Firefox to the latest release

Please post back to say how you get on.

Also note Firefox will be updating to Firefox 39 shortly, but that has been delayed for a couple of reasons. (Currently it is still Fx 38.0.5). If you have malware issues look at

• Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu and click the close button ).
3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
   • Windows:
     • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
   • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
   • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
   1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
   2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

jodyhall77 said

I am scared to do any firefox updates since the last 3 times I have done so firefox quit working and had to be reinstalled.

I'm clicking on popups that say firefox has an update. I run spybot and malmare bytes and have norton internet security. None of them has caught any malware when the popups occur. I do a clean install every time these popups have disabled firefox. I guess my real question is, does firefox send out automatic update popups? The last couple of times I've seen these popups, I've just gone to mozilla.org and it says I have the latest edition.

Hi again Jody,

Mozilla had a campaign to up-date old versions of Firefox a while ago. But normally if you see popups or adverts, they are likely to be hoaxes or malware.

You should not need to repeatedly do a clean reinstall of Firefox. If you do need to then likely reasons include that you do have undetected malware, or a none genuine Firefox.

Are you remembering to follow the instructions to remove the program files when you do a clean reinstall ?

Firefox should update now from Firefox 38.0.5 to Firefox 39. Just click the menu button {three bar icon) ;then Help {(?)) -> About Firefox as explained in:

• Update Firefox to the latest release

Maybe take screenshots if you get any unexpected popups

• How do I create a screenshot of my problem?

You may attach a screenshot to your next post, use the Add images[Browse..] button under where you type your reply.

Did you update to Firefox 39 without problems ?

I followed all your steps yesterday and got the newest version that wouldn't work. I got an error message that said I wasn't connected to the internet. Then I followed all the steps on your support page to try and fix it. After uninstalling firefox and reinstalling 4 times and restarting my computer 4 times, I finally got firefox back today and it's the latest version. I think I'll leave it alone for now and never click on another popup.

Glad it is working again. Thats the important result, and thanks for posting back.

Repeated uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox often does not help. Clicking on popups of unknown or questionable origin is always a bad idea.

Screenshots will help if you run into problems again.

For future reference not connecting to the internet, after a new install may be related to issues with the Firewall, or your security software not recognising Firefox.

• Fix problems connecting to websites after updating Firefox
  • Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet
  • How to let Firefox use the internet on your Windows computer
• Other issues see Firefox can't load websites but other browsers can