Do you mean Firefox won't start up at all, or Firefox bypasses your normal startup page and goes straight to dregol? Let's attack this in two phases:

Bad Add-on Removal

Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad.

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Don't be fooled by seemingly innocent or important names if you do not remember choosing to install them. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
  firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. (Note: you might not be able to manually Disable extensions in Safe Mode because they are disabled automatically.)

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Success?

Fixing Bad Settings

If your startup setting was changed, check these:

(1) Options dialog, General panel

• Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings
• How to set the home page

(2) Clean up search settings on "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Search (remove unwanted search engines, reselect your default)

• Use the Search bar in Firefox and manage search engines

(3) Remove any "user.js" file (optional settings file that overrides your previous session settings)

• How to fix preferences that won't save

Does that cover everything?

See also:

• http://malwaretips.com/blogs/?s=dregol.com

Firefox won't start at all. HD runs a second then I get a beep. There's no "Installed On" column heading on my Control Panel. I tried "show updates" and didn't see any to Firefox. I reverted the computer back to an earlier date, but that didn't help Firefox. I'll try the troubleshooting scanners to see if they can find the problem. Thanks for your ideas. Dick

imn4rb said

There's no "Installed On" column heading on my Control Panel.

Sorry, I forget about how XP was laid out. According to various images found in a search, you need to use the Sort by drop-down in the upper right corner of Add/Remove Programs. I guess "Date Last Used" would be the closest thing available to the install date.

jscher2000 said

Do you mean Firefox won't start up at all, or Firefox bypasses your normal startup page and goes straight to dregol? Let's attack this in two phases: Bad Add-on Removal Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad. (1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Don't be fooled by seemingly innocent or important names if you do not remember choosing to install them. Take out as much trash as possible here. (2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
  firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate". In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. (Note: you might not be able to manually Disable extensions in Safe Mode because they are disabled automatically.) Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step. Any improvement? (3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case. Success? Fixing Bad Settings If your startup setting was changed, check these: (1) Options dialog, General panel

• Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings
• How to set the home page

(2) Clean up search settings on "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Search (remove unwanted search engines, reselect your default)

• Use the Search bar in Firefox and manage search engines

(3) Remove any "user.js" file (optional settings file that overrides your previous session settings)

• How to fix preferences that won't save

Does that cover everything?

Thanks for the help. I'm giving up on this computer. It's old and the fan apparently just died. Also, it won't connect at a normal speed to the internet. Time for a new computer!