Firefox opens with a transparent or blank window

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  • Creator: philipp
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On a system with problematic add-ons installed, Firefox may open with a blank or transparent window and with no interface elements visible. In some instances the browser also crashes. This article describes how to resolve this problem.

blank or transparent window

Note: This is an example how an affected version of Firefox might look like.

1. Start Firefox in Safe Mode

Make sure that no other instance of Firefox is running or no other Firefox window is open.

You can then start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key while starting Firefox or alternatively press the Windows key + R and open: firefox.exe -safe-modeholding down the option key while starting Firefox.

Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win

Now click on the Start in Safe Mode button in order to run Firefox with extensions and themes disabled for this session.

2. Find and remove malicious extensions

  1. Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, click Add-ons and themesExtensions and themes and select Extensions.
  2. Look out for suspicious extensions, in particular entries that you have not installed intentionally or don't know what purpose they serve. For example toolbars that come bundled with third-party software can cause this issue, other examples of problematic add-ons come under the name of Browser Companion Helper, Codec 1.0, Codec-C, OneClickDownloader, TheBflix & wxDfast (list is not exhaustive).
  3. Click the Remove button or in case it is not available disable those extensions.
  4. Afterwards restart the browser.
Note: If you're unsure which extension to remove or disable you can also restore Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential data, for more information see Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings:

While in Safe Mode click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu (on Windows XP, click the Help menu at the top of the Firefox window) and select Troubleshooting Information. On the menu bar, click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information. Then click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page in order to reset the browser.

3. Check your computer for malware

After completing the above steps, check your computer for malware. See How do I get rid of malware? for some recommended malware removal programs.