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Firefox and Mac OS integration issues

  • 4 svar
  • 1 har dette problem
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  • Seneste svar af cor-el

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I'm using the latest Mac Catalina OS and the latest Firefox 84.0.1 but am suddenly not able to access the Washington Post web site, my Yahoo email, and Slate magazine sites -- all my other bookmarks work. If I use Safari on my desktop system, I can access those WaPo/Yahoo/Slate sites.

I've launched Firefox in safe mode and reinstalled Firefox. I still have the same problem.

What would cause this and how can it be fixed --could it be related to the Nashville bombing? Firefox and the newest Mac OS have been an ongoing problem since the Mojave OS. It's as if Apple has intentionally crippled Firefox to force people to use Safari. I'm sorry I had to upgrade the OS...it's been a pain.

I'm using the latest Mac Catalina OS and the latest Firefox 84.0.1 but am suddenly not able to access the Washington Post web site, my Yahoo email, and Slate magazine sites -- all my other bookmarks work. If I use Safari on my desktop system, I can access those WaPo/Yahoo/Slate sites. I've launched Firefox in safe mode and reinstalled Firefox. I still have the same problem. What would cause this and how can it be fixed --could it be related to the Nashville bombing? Firefox and the newest Mac OS have been an ongoing problem since the Mojave OS. It's as if Apple has intentionally crippled Firefox to force people to use Safari. I'm sorry I had to upgrade the OS...it's been a pain.

Alle svar (4)

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Please explain the problem in detail. What happens? What is/are the exact error message(s) ?

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You can try these steps in case of issues with webpages:

You can reload webpage(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Options/Preferences).

"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"

"Clear the Cache":

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> Cached Web Content: Clear

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
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Unfortunately, there are no error messages. If I'm on the New York Times site and I click on the Yahoo mail bookmark, the browser doesn't take me there, I just stay on the Times page. Ditto for going to Yahoo email, the Washington Post, and Weather.com. If I do chose one of those bookmarks from the Times page, for example, the Times tab shows three animated dots as if it's trying to locate the page but never goes there.

Since the switch to Catalina from the Mohave OS, when Firefox gets balky, it will either freeze, or look like its trying to load a page but doesn't. More often than not, I have to force quit out of Firefox after which I can't restart it without shutting down my system completely and starting it up again. At its worst, I've been having to shut down and restart many multiple times a day to try to get a fresh start and it used to work for a while (with access to the sites mentioned above) but now for the last day or two even the shutdown procedure doesn't get me to those sites that can't be accessed for some reason.

As I mentioned, Safari and more recently Chrome work in getting me to all sites and seem much more stable than Firefox.

When I've done searches online about this, a few other people have reported experiencing a similar problem, so it doesn't seem to be confined to just me.

Either Apple has hobbled its operating system so that Firefox doesn't run reliably on Mac anymore (conspiratorial, but who knows?) or Firefox has forgotten how to integrate with the Mac OS. This has been quite a mystery and a frustrating one. Apple tech support suggested installing the new Big Sur OS as a way to possibly fix the problem but that may bring its own set of issues, so I'm reluctant since I've heard it slows down systems.

Thanks for your response, by the way. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Regards, WJM

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You can create a new profile as a quick test to see if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.