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firefox profile invalid

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

usmcdragonlover
usmcdragonlover
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i've been trying to open firefox using the icon on my desktop but to no avail. it says that Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible. So i deleted it and started over. same thing. i'm using chrome, it's not what i prefer. i need help getting my favorite browser back!

i've been trying to open firefox using the icon on my desktop but to no avail. it says that Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible. So i deleted it and started over. same thing. i'm using chrome, it's not what i prefer. i need help getting my favorite browser back!

All Replies (4)

the-edmeister
the-edmeister
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See this KB article: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Do you have an "Old Firefox Data" folder on the desktop as the result of using the Refresh feature in Firefox?

See also:

You need to locate the profiles.ini file and delete this file or use the Profile Manager to create a new profile.

You can use one of these to make Firefox create a new default profile or recover an existing profile:

  • Delete the profiles.ini file to make Firefox create a new (default) profile
  • Use the Profile Manager to create a new profile
    If you still have an existing profile then click "Choose Folder" in the Profile Manager and browse to the location of a lost profile to recover this profile
    https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Managing+profiles

You should find the profiles.ini file in this hidden location:

  • Windows: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
    *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/
  • Linux: *~/.mozilla/firefox/

If clearing the profiles.ini file isn't working then also check the location of the cache files.

  • Windows: *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/
  • Linux:*~/.cache/mozilla/firefox/

You can also try to rename/delete the Mozilla\Firefox\ folder in both above mentioned locations (main, cache).

usmcdragonlover
usmcdragonlover Question owner
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I've been trying to delete all the mozilla files. However my new problem is that it's saying I need admin powers....except I am the admin. I double checked my account for the computer and it's all good. I also need permission from the SYSTEM files. So confusing. BTW, I'm a complete dunce when it comes to computers so thank you to everyone using links, layman's terms and patience.

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Did you check the owner of the files and folder that you are trying to remove in the Properties?

You can try to rename the Firefox folders to force Firefox to create a new folder structure.

  • %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • %LocalAppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\