Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.

Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

How to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; {web link} Free Online Encyclopedia

After the above:

Look on your desktop. Do you see a folder called; Old Firefox? Look inside. Look for the folder with the latest creation date.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

well... due to circumstances beyond my control (microsoft would prefer AMD to go away) there are more than 8 profiles on this pc, some are dead. but they still exist. i have done a reinstall, although i did not reboot between uninstall and the reinstallation. there are a lot of reasons for that. suffice it to say that it is a 5 minute job to shut down, at the end of which i get tired and turn the machine off. then it takes 10 minutes to boot. i figure that i could fix it by installing windows from DOS, but then i lose 20 years worth of data. part of the problem is that microsoft doesnt repair their crap, they just create new windows profiles and credentials. this machine has at least 4 different names. but i digress. i did the reinstall. now when i launch firefox, i get stuck in a "Using an older version of firefox can corrupt bookmarks and browsing history... 'exit' or 'create new profile' " loop. exit closes firefox. if i create a new profile, then go to "about:profiles" i can mess around there for a bit and eventually get a functioning window. there is no history. and the 16MB of passwords, cookies, and websites that i imported from other browsers are gone. so if there isnt a suitable way to repair this, i guess i will see if i can find netscape

fyi, i used control panel to uninstall firefox. a search of C:\ (not 'this pc' or 'quick access') gives 97 returns. some are setup files. there is one named 'old firefox data'. about 67 are named some version of 'critical firefox.exe...'. 2 are labeled 'user app data...'

i don't know. this crap is ridiculous. i don't think it is worth it. all of my settings are gone. the program can not be linked to my $1000 phone. i may just kich the whole damned thing to the curb, because it seems that is the cure for EVERYTHING now. shitcan it and start over. and "they" wonder why "they" cant get back to the fucking moon. god help them if they try it the 1960s way: with a slide rule and paper.

When Firefox thinks there is a problem, sometimes it does a 'refresh'. Part of the refresh does is to move the original profile to the desktop into a folder called Old Firefox.

Also, sometimes the browser creates a new profile without moving the original.

The next two messages tell you how to find your profiles and how to get their data back.

Look on your desktop. Do you see a folder called; Old Firefox? Look inside. Look for the folder with the latest creation date.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox#Navigating_to_the_profile_folder

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

Type about:profiles<enter> in the address bar. How many profiles are listed? How many should be there? Also, open the profile folder in your file explorer.

i have marked this solved, although i only used a small amount of the information i received. after uninstalling firefox (and several user profiles before learning that i shouldn't (i only removed the ones created yesterday), i rebooted the PC and reinstalled firefox. same things. no history or logins and the 'loop' that demands you either close the program or create a new profile still remained. so i uninstalled it AGAIN. couldnt find any firefox folders in C:\program files or C:\program files (x86). rebooted pc again, and restarted the installation process again. CAREFULLY read the tiny, gray print and thought 'what the hell, and removed the check from the box that says "do not remove this check if you are reinstalling" (or something like that, it is checked by default) thinking "what the hell have i got to lose?" and proceeded. now i have a functioning version of firefox again WITH my history and bookmarks and login information intact. there are features that i USED to have that don't seem to be here any more, though. too much "user friendly". i will take this. firefox/mozilla should fix that problem, though. there isnt any reason for all of this.

Thank you, FredMcD, for trying to help. i owe you an apology for my colorful language, you didnt deserve it. mozilla/firefox, on the otherhand...

That was very good work. Well Done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem as this can help others with similar problems.

i owe you an apology for my colorful language, you didnt deserve it. mozilla/firefox, on the otherhand...

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