Firefox won't start, won't "refresh," and creating new profile doesn't help either. What's going on?
Firefox seemed to be working just fine, until suddenly I tried opening the application and it wouldn't open. Sometimes the icon starts bouncing and "Firefox" appears at the top left of the screen, but then it closes again and never opens any windows. The only thing I did differently from usual usage is I logged out of my account and into another on this computer, downloaded Chrome to have an alternate browser (it's now deleted), did other stuff, then shut the computer down. When I restarted the next day and logged into my account, Firefox would no longer start. I've tried clicking option while starting and then clicking "refresh," and it says "import complete" and then "almost done," but then doesn't open. I also tried creating a new profile, then clicking "start Firefox" and that won't open Firefox either. What has happened?
Also, my operating system is old- os 10.7.5. I don't remember seeing any warnings telling me Firefox was outdated or no longer supported... and I had ublock and https everywhere as plugins.
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Chosen solution
When you start Firefox, does its icon show up on the taskbar?
Firefox comes in two or more folders on all computers. They are;
Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And one folder in the profile of each user on the computer.
If you remove the Firefox folder, the user folders would not be affected.
Let’s do a full clean re-install; Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then Close Firefox.
Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.
Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86)
Mac: Open the "Applications" folder.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac
Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory.
Do Not remove the profiles folder.
Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox program folders by adding .old to them. Do not rename the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.
After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.
If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.
Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
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All Replies (6)
Some problems occur when your Internet security program was set to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow Firefox to connect to the Internet again;
- Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
- Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see
Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet. {web link}
Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be solving the problem. I opened system preferences and went to security and privacy. The firewall was previously off; I turned it on. Then clicked options, added ("+") Firefox, then clicked both allow and block incoming connections. Tried starting Firefox with it allowed and blocked under the firewall, and it still didn't open. I have no other internet security program that I know of.
Should I try just reinstalling Firefox? If I do this can I restore my old bookmarks, etc? I thought Firefox updated automatically- perhaps it updated and now won't work with my old version of os?
Thanks.
Chosen Solution
When you start Firefox, does its icon show up on the taskbar?
Firefox comes in two or more folders on all computers. They are;
Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And one folder in the profile of each user on the computer.
If you remove the Firefox folder, the user folders would not be affected.
Let’s do a full clean re-install; Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then Close Firefox.
Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.
Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86)
Mac: Open the "Applications" folder.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac
Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory.
Do Not remove the profiles folder.
Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox program folders by adding .old to them. Do not rename the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.
After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.
If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.
Ok, I reinstalled Firefox and it is working so far! Thank you for all your help!
Also, I reinstalled an Extended Support version, because my operating system no longer can support the new version of Firefox. This may be why it stopped working. So if someone else has this problem, be sure to reinstall with a version that will work with your os! Then you can restore old preferences, bookmarks, etc from a backup in your profile folder.
Thanks again.
That was very good work. Well done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.