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How do I uninstall Firefox

  • 10 replies
  • 8 have this problem
  • 27 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I need to uninstall firefox from a Windows 7 Home Premium machine, but am unable to. I have tried to uninstall it through control panel, but that didn't work. I then tried a repair, also didn't work. I then navigated to C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe in order to uninstall it, but this also did not work. Nothing I have tried has even produced a response from firefox, no uninstall box has appeared, no dialogue box of any kind comes up, it just sits there completely non-responsive. Yes, I have tried safe mode. Yes, I have made sure that firefox is not running in the background. Help.

I need to uninstall firefox from a Windows 7 Home Premium machine, but am unable to. I have tried to uninstall it through control panel, but that didn't work. I then tried a repair, also didn't work. I then navigated to C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe in order to uninstall it, but this also did not work. Nothing I have tried has even produced a response from firefox, no uninstall box has appeared, no dialogue box of any kind comes up, it just sits there completely non-responsive. Yes, I have tried safe mode. Yes, I have made sure that firefox is not running in the background. Help.

Chosen solution

Figured out a way to uninstall it manually.

- Manually went through and removed all Mozilla folders on the C: drive

- Ran CCleaner to clean up the registry after removing all the folders manually

- Went through the registry and manually removed all instances of Mozilla

- Then ran control panel uninstall and received the message that the program had already been uninstalled

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All Replies (10)

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Is there a reason you wanted to remove Firefox, or did you want to reinstall?


Perform a System File Check to fix corrupted system files http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

  • Open Windows Start menu. In the search box, type CMD<enter>
    (or if you use Windows ME, type COMMAND).
  • Right click and select Run As Administrator.

The dism command is apparently the proper one to use for Win8, although sfc does still work.


Microsoft Fix it Solution Center {web link} Find automated solutions for your issues


Go to Fix problems that programs cannot be installed or uninstalled {web link} and check it out.

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The reason I want to remove it is because I don't like it and want to remove it. I tried everything in that link and still am unable to uninstall Firefox.

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Chosen Solution

Figured out a way to uninstall it manually.

- Manually went through and removed all Mozilla folders on the C: drive

- Ran CCleaner to clean up the registry after removing all the folders manually

- Went through the registry and manually removed all instances of Mozilla

- Then ran control panel uninstall and received the message that the program had already been uninstalled

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That was very good work. Well Done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so other will know.

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I too would like to remove Firefox but have'nt been able to. Tried all the suggestions which i can understand, but to no avail. The browser does nothing, it's just a screen saver. Google search results in the message "Content encoding Error" and I don't seem to be able to remove anything associated with Firefox. In the meantime I'm forced to use Internet Explorer which is just terrible. Although I like Firefox it's far too unstable for me, the hanging is so bad lately I've had to pull the wall plug on several occasions. I just want Firefox and anything connected with it gone.

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donedo Start your Computer in safe mode.

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

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

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox folders by adding .old to them.

Run a registry scanner to repair any problem.

After, reboot the computer.

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Partly fixed. The Firefox start page is now active with animations and it no longer refreshes when the Google search button is clicked. But I now have to use the Google search page to get Google news Australia because it wont work directly from Firefox header bar. Also it wont load pages such as forums. It loads them in greyed out blocks of single items, or single sentences with a space in between or loads them in garbled script. I still get the message "Content Encoding Error" when it doesn't load. I don't have a registry scanner. So the start page looks ok but it's still pretty much junk. Shame. But thanks for the help.

Modified by donedo

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Refresh Firefox {web link} is a LAST RESORT ! !

Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings

If you're having problems with Firefox, refreshing it can help. The refresh feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs.


What I want you to do is the above. This will create a new profile. Your history, bookmarks, passwords will be copied to the new profile. Settings and add-ons will not.

Once this is done, use the new profile. Is there still a problem?


If the problem is gone;

Look on your desktop. Do you see a folder called; Old Firefox?

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

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Thanks but I have already done a refresh, then I did an uninstall by removing any file associated with Firefox, done with internet and security turned off, rechecked uninstall was thorough, and then downloaded a fresh program. Then deleted the Old Firefox folder. None of the above worked. I still get the message "Content Encoding Error--invalid or unsupported form of compression" when I try to bring up any pages from the top bar on the Firefox home page. Otherwise the browser is useless, it's back to refreshing as soon as I click on the search button. The one thing I did notice in one error window, at the bottom it mentions something about Firefox having the wrong certificate and is configured for 2 wire Gateway only. Which is what I have. I haven't been able to bring that expanded message up any more. Anyway I have reset the Gateway to no avail, but I forget how to access the settings to check the configuration. Still using MS IE browser and it works with the present gateway settings. Hair pulling stuff.

Modified by donedo

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I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.

But this post is already "solved." If there is no response after a few days, Ask A Question link; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new This will let us look at your system details. No Personal Information Is Collected.