Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was closed and archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Firefox changing prefs on startup

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 10 views
  • Last reply by Shadow110

more options

I'm having a problem with my prefs changing when I start Firefox. One day, my theme changed on me and everytime I open firefox it changes back to the dark theme, which I have never used. I am also unable to change my home page for longer than the current session.

When I make the changes to theme and home page, I am able to verify that the changes are made in the prefs.js file. When I close Firefox, the correct values are still reflected in the prefs.js file. When i re-open firefox, the theme and homepage revert back to what I don't want, and those values are in the prefs.js file. So something is changing the prefs when I start firefox.

When I update the prefs, then restart in safe mode, it keeps my theme but reverts back to the old homepage.

I have done a refresh, and also uninstalled and re-installed firefox. I have no extensions. I have nothing but the stock themes (Compact Light, Compact Dark, and Default) compact dark is the one I don't want that keeps loading. The plugins that show up are "OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Sysco Systems, Inc.", "Shockwave Flash", and "Widevine Content Decryption Module provided by Google, Inc." Doesn't look like there is a way to remove those. Upon reinstalling, all of my bookmarks came back so I know items are being pulled in from the prior installation.

I've run several scans for virus, malware, adware, etc. It's a work computer so it's well protected and appears clean in that regard.

Any suggestions on how to go about diagnosing and/or solving this problem would be greatly appreciated. I'm an engineer and tech savvy but not a software guy.

Note - I posted this before and erroneously marked it as solved.

Thanks in advance!

I'm having a problem with my prefs changing when I start Firefox. One day, my theme changed on me and everytime I open firefox it changes back to the dark theme, which I have never used. I am also unable to change my home page for longer than the current session. When I make the changes to theme and home page, I am able to verify that the changes are made in the prefs.js file. When I close Firefox, the correct values are still reflected in the prefs.js file. When i re-open firefox, the theme and homepage revert back to what I don't want, and those values are in the prefs.js file. So something is changing the prefs when I start firefox. When I update the prefs, then restart in safe mode, it keeps my theme but reverts back to the old homepage. I have done a refresh, and also uninstalled and re-installed firefox. I have no extensions. I have nothing but the stock themes (Compact Light, Compact Dark, and Default) compact dark is the one I don't want that keeps loading. The plugins that show up are "OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Sysco Systems, Inc.", "Shockwave Flash", and "Widevine Content Decryption Module provided by Google, Inc." Doesn't look like there is a way to remove those. Upon reinstalling, all of my bookmarks came back so I know items are being pulled in from the prior installation. I've run several scans for virus, malware, adware, etc. It's a work computer so it's well protected and appears clean in that regard. Any suggestions on how to go about diagnosing and/or solving this problem would be greatly appreciated. I'm an engineer and tech savvy but not a software guy. Note - I posted this before and erroneously marked it as solved. Thanks in advance!

Modified by Skyking478

All Replies (1)

more options

Please do not post in this one as it is a duplicate of https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1182878 This will be marked for deletion. Thank you