You can look at the browser.newtab.url pref on the about:config page and set that pref to the URL of your preferred new tab page.

• the default new tab page with the tiles is about:newtab
• the default home page is about:home
• for a blank page you can use about:blank

The browser.newtabpage.enabled pref should be set to true to use the page set via browser.newtab.url as the new tab page.

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config

KenCarl said

When I select to open a new tab with the + button it doesn't go to my home page. I would like to change it so that it does. Can you help? Thanks Ken Carl

This didn't work; it said that it didn't recognize about:config.

Can you open other about: pages like about:about via the location/address bar?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

• Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
• Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

If you want the default home page in a new tab, you would put about:home in as the newtab URL. If you have another preferred home page, put its address into browser.newtab.url. To find that setting, you have to go into about:config by typing about:config into the address bar.

Firefox has a number of internal pages that have addresses starting with about: instead of http or https. When pasting about:config into the address bar and pressing Enter, do not let Firefox add http at the beginning. Also, this will only work in the address bar and not in any of the search boxes.

If all else fails, try using the Start menu search box to load the page. You can paste the following and press Enter:

firefox.exe "about:config"

That should, after a brief delay, launch about:config in a new window, or in new tab in the last used window.