Forum der Gemeinschaft Firefox

Hello! My computer is Win 7 (my system info; the same with greater detail). I've been relying on Waterfox (mainly to download videos; it's not the browser I use regularly) for years, and it has never given a problem, far as web access. I have not updated the browser, main reason being my downloading add-on (which happens to be the popular "Video DownloadHelper") behaves in a less preferred way in my other browsers. (I fear an update would put the kibosh on the better way that program functions in Waterfox.)

Suddenly Waterfox has become moody (I don't know if BB code is going to work here, but the following image is a scrrenshot of "Hmm. We're having trouble finding that site." If not showing below, the direct link.):

[URL=https://imgbox.com/hXEimf6M][IMG]https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/62/ca/hXEimf6M_t.jpg/IMG/URL

I am hoping the ones reading may have suggestions for me to get my Waterfox back.

I did install a VPN recently, but I don't think that's an issue. Another point of consideration: Waterfox can access the internet in Safe Mode.

I consulted this handy-dandy page before bothering you:

7 Fixes to Try When Waterfox Is Not Loading Webpages on Windows

1) Weak internet connection. (Nope.) 2) Corruption in Waterfox installation files. (This possibility seems remote. After all, it was working well until now. ) 3) Malicious extensions (I have tried disabling all extensions, and there aren't that many.) 4) Webpages will also fail to load if there's something wrong with the browser's code. (This "code," whatever that is. was working fine for all this time. A quick look-see led to this meaning of "code": "..Code is made from C++ and C. Also javascript, pyhton, ruby, and many other languages." That seems to be a long shot.)

Their recommendations (leaving out the ones that are not relevant):

2) Update Waterfox. (I'm trying to avoid that. Of course, this might be the solution; however, It's not as though my version is that old and would have stopped working. Of course... who knows.)

4) Check Your DNS (Sounds like a lot of trouble; I don't think this will make a difference, as other browsers present no problem, and WF works in Safe Mode.)

5) Clear Waterfox Cache and Cookies (I did that.)

6)  Remove Unwanted Extensions  (I did that, by disabling the toggles, as suggested.)

7) Reset Waterfox.

That might be the last resort, and I have the feeling a reset is not going to do the trick. Doing this will get rid of the video downloading extension I'm trying to preserve, and instead I'm hoping one or more experts might come up with another suggestion that will work.

As an additional point, under Waterfox's "Options" > "Network Settings" > "Settings," where the default choice under "Configure Proxy Access to the Internet" is "Use system proxy settings," I fooled around by checking the first two, "No proxy" and "Auto-detect proxy settings for this network," and neither selection did anything. I could not try the remaining choice, "Manual proxy configuration," because I have no idea what figures or numbers to place for that one. If the BB code for the screenshot below does not show, here is the direct image; I'm also using the "attachment" option below.

[URL=https://imgbox.com/AqBgHdib][IMG]https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/2c/b2/AqBgHdib_t.jpg/IMG/URL

It's really odd Waterfox suddenly stopped working; it was so reliable.

Thank you. I would be very grateful for your help.

.

Firefox stopped working with my VPN on when I updated my OS to Sonoma, yesterday. I use PIA for my VPN.

I have done the following, so far, restarting my system several times between trying these things:

Checked that internet connection and modem are fine. All pages load in Safari, with VPN running, but I prefer Firefox.

Checked the Network settings for my Mac. Ensured that No Proxy was selected.

Cleared my Firefox cookies, cache and history.

Tried running in troubleshooting mode, turning off all extensions.

Tried turning off Advanced Tracking Protection, which I usually run on Custom.

Refreshed Firefox.

Finally, I turned off my VPN and, viola, all sites work. Turned it back on, and can’t navigate, again. For instance, I tried to open YouTube, and got a blank screen. Turned off VPN, and got to main YouTube page. Turned the VPN on and tried to log in…nope. Turned it off and logged in. Turned it back on and tried to open a video….nope. Turned it off and opened the video…etc., etc..

I very much wish to continue using both Firefox and my VPN. Can you suggest a course of action? Thank you for any advice you can give!!