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HELP! How to remove Yahoo search from firefox 36.0.1? HELP!

  • 2 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 27 views
  • Last reply by oldpoppy

oldpoppy
oldpoppy
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I guess I made a big mistake upgrading to FireFox 36.0.1! Nothing but grief since trying to remove the Yahoo search from this version.

Didn't appreciate this version removing my default Home page tabs to use on startup. Looks like they are gone forever - not happy!

I have tried many if not all forms of advice to remove this yahoo search from my home page to no avail. I even uninstalled it and made sure I got a non Yahoo version from the Mozilla site. Still no help.

1) I have tried changing keyword.URL via about:config - no help 2) I have tried changing the Search - Change Search Settings - no help 3) I tried bringing up a single tab with Google and using General options to Use Current Page - no help 4) I tried the same using many other tabs without Google - no help 5) I have removed Yahoo and others from the Search options - no help 6) Uninstalled and reinstalled a "CLEAN" version from Mozilla site - no help 7) Retried 1 thru 5 above again - no help 8) Checked the Shortcut Target in Mozilla FireFox Properties - no help

Get the idea? No matter what, Yahoo comes back every time I open FireFox. Which means I cannot use a set of tabs as my default any more. WHY????

Looks like it may be time to severe my long time use of this browser since the beginning with NetScape in the earliest of days with PC's. Too Bad.

I guess I made a big mistake upgrading to FireFox 36.0.1! Nothing but grief since trying to remove the Yahoo search from this version. Didn't appreciate this version removing my default Home page tabs to use on startup. Looks like they are gone forever - not happy! I have tried many if not all forms of advice to remove this yahoo search from my home page to no avail. I even uninstalled it and made sure I got a non Yahoo version from the Mozilla site. Still no help. 1) I have tried changing keyword.URL via about:config - no help 2) I have tried changing the Search - Change Search Settings - no help 3) I tried bringing up a single tab with Google and using General options to Use Current Page - no help 4) I tried the same using many other tabs without Google - no help 5) I have removed Yahoo and others from the Search options - no help 6) Uninstalled and reinstalled a "CLEAN" version from Mozilla site - no help 7) Retried 1 thru 5 above again - no help 8) Checked the Shortcut Target in Mozilla FireFox Properties - no help Get the idea? No matter what, Yahoo comes back every time I open FireFox. Which means I cannot use a set of tabs as my default any more. WHY???? Looks like it may be time to severe my long time use of this browser since the beginning with NetScape in the earliest of days with PC's. Too Bad.

All Replies (2)

user633449
user633449
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It's easy to change your search provider :)

Follow the steps at Search bar - add, change and manage search engines on Firefox

After that, if you still have trouble, try How to fix preferences that won't save

oldpoppy
oldpoppy Question owner
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This worked. The problem is the user.js file was changed. See below:

User.js file overriding preferences

If you don't have any of the above programs installed, or if you followed the suggestions and single preferences still aren't being saved, you may have to edit Firefox's configuration files yourself. Don't panic, it's pretty easy. Here's how to do it. 

   Open your profile folder:

   Click the menu button New Fx Menu , click help Help-29 and select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
   Under the Application Basics section, click on Show Folder. A window with your profile files will open.
   Note: If you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox.

   Click the menu button New Fx Menu and then click Exit Close 29
   Open the file user.js with a text editor (like Notepad).
       If there is no user.js file, these steps won't help you. 
   Remove the lines for the options you want to be able to change. You can delete all the lines if you want to be able to change everything.
   Save the file and close the text editor.

You should now be able to change your Firefox settings.