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When trying to click on any dropdown options listed on websites the list instantly goes before I can click on anything unless I KEEP clearing the cache,cookies

  • 11 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 56 views
  • Last reply by John99

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When I click on any dropdown lists for options on any website, the list disappears before I can click on any option. I find by clearing the cache and cookies each time, it will work just once before it needs clearing again. So it has to be cleared for every single click on an option.

When I click on any dropdown lists for options on any website, the list disappears before I can click on any option. I find by clearing the cache and cookies each time, it will work just once before it needs clearing again. So it has to be cleared for every single click on an option.

Chosen solution

Great thanks for posting back to let us know it worked.

That reset option is designed to be easy and simple to use, although it is not something to use as a first choice, especially if you have a lot of extensions and changes.

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All Replies (11)

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Hello,

In order to better assist you with your issue please provide us with a screenshot. If you need help to create a screenshot, please see How do I create a screenshot of my problem?

Once you've done this, attach the saved screenshot file to your forum post by clicking the Browse... button below the Post your reply box. This will help us to visualize the problem.

Thank you!

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Got the screen shot done but when I tried to load it I got:

Error uploading image

"Screen Shot 2014-05-27 at 11.34.16.png" is too large (1637KB), the limit is 1024KB

None of this is simple. I had a job to find the forum, and then my listing but now am stuck as I don't know how to make the screen shot smaller. Can you help please.

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Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

  • Clear the Cache

Press the <Alt> or <F10> key to bring up the tool bar. Then; Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: Clear Now

and

  • Remove Cookies

Press the <Alt> or <F10> key to bring up the tool bar. Then Tools > Options > Privacy.

Under History, select Firefox will Use Custom Settings. There is a button on the right side called Show Cookies.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} While you are in safe mode; Press the <Alt> or <F10> key to bring up the tool bar.. Then Tools > Options > Advanced > General. Look for and turn off Use Hardware Acceleration.

Poke around safe web sites and see if there is still a problem. Then restart.

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Thank you for trying, but I couldn't open the toolbar with these instructions. I did, however, go from tools on the top menu and restart in safe mode but unfortunately couldn't find Use Hardware Acceleration. Could it be that I'm using a different version? I'm using 29.0.1, the version of Firefox and I'm using the latest Mavericks on my Macbook Pro Retina.

Restarting in safe mode made no difference, and the only way I've managed to affect the situation at all is by emptying the cookes and cache every click on a dropdown menu. I've almost given up now and gone back to Safari, but that doesn't have a separate search bar, so I prefer Firefox for that reason. Best wishes, Chris

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It could be the work of one of your add-ons, or even add / mal-ware. Look thru your add-ons list and make sure you know what each one is there for. Also, check the programs that are on your computer Windows > Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. (Mac: Open the "Applications" folder) Go thru the list and use a web search to check any that you don't know what they are.

Troubleshoot Firefox Issues Caused By Malware {web link}

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Thank you for the ideas, but it's still not working after doing those. We're lost on what's going wrong here!

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Hello,

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 http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  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 run Firefox's uninstaller or use a third party remover as part of this process, because that could permanently delete your Firefox data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device!

Please report back to see if this helped you!

Thank you.

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You have been brilliant with suggestions and I hate saying this - but it's still not working. We've done what you suggested there and for the first attempt it worked, but then as soon as Firefox was closed and started again it wouldn't work again. I think I am just going to content myself with Safari now, even though it doesn't have a separate search box. But I do VERY much appreciate you trying to help! Best wishes, Chris

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I am not an expert on this as I suspect it may relate to a Mac problem.

Thanks for providing the troubleshooting information, the information presumably relates to the problem machine.

Can you confirm, (or comment otherwise) that

  • You did the clean reinstall, as suggested above.
  • and that you did delete Firefox from the applications folder before reinstalling.

The reinstall method above still does not reset everything so can I also ask you to

  1. Use the Firefox reset. Read the article first,and you may wish to bookmark the home sites of your Firefox extensions as thry will be removed.
    Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings
  2. Use Firefox's safe mode, and ALSO ensure all plugins are disabled. (Note safe mode does disable hardware acceleration).
    Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode
    Disable or remove Add-ons

In this state I would have expected Firefox to work, does it now ?

Screenshots may help but I see you had a problem with that. Can you make the file smaller, maybe convert to a .jpeg type file, or maybe just zoom it to 50%. (It surprised me you got that error I thought the forum now compressed the files if necessary, but maybe I am thinking of a contributors feature for article writing)

Does everything within the Firefox interface work ok, for instance you can use the new button and see your History and Print options for instance ?

What about this forum website.

  • Mozilla Tab - at the top of the page does that open and let you use it ok ?
  • Your Name - does that work to let you see the profile and settings ?

We could escalate the question but let see what happens when you try the above and report back.

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THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! I'm amazed! I'd lost hope! IT WORKED LOL! I didn't even think I'd managed to reset it but then it popped up looking different to the old one, ready to show me how to bookmark etc. and I tried it on the old sites that used to give me so many problems and .... IT WORKED! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!

Best wishes, Chris

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Chosen Solution

Great thanks for posting back to let us know it worked.

That reset option is designed to be easy and simple to use, although it is not something to use as a first choice, especially if you have a lot of extensions and changes.