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UPDATE 73.0 MAKES FIREFOX STOP WORKING. HAD TO DO SYSTEM RESTORE

  • 26 replies
  • 9 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by JTLDavis

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I want to report that updating to version 73.0 today - Feb. 11, 2020, caused Firefox to stop working entirely. I could not find answers in Support and ended up doing a system restore on my laptop in order to go back to Version 72.0. Now Firefox is working again. Never had this problem with previous updates. IF THIS UPDATE HAS BUGS can someone please try to fix them? Thank you!

I want to report that updating to version 73.0 today - Feb. 11, 2020, caused Firefox to stop working entirely. I could not find answers in Support and ended up doing a system restore on my laptop in order to go back to Version 72.0. Now Firefox is working again. Never had this problem with previous updates. IF THIS UPDATE HAS BUGS can someone please try to fix them? Thank you!

All Replies (20)

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We're sorry to hear that Firefox is not working, but can you please tell us more about the problem ? Does Firefox open and then closes directly, does it crash ..... ??

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Hi Ruba, The browser showed a mostly blank Firefox screen with a few bookmarks, but I could not get online, except by using Internet Explorer.

I finally did a System Restore to get back to version 72.0 and that fixed Firefox. I am unwilling to try updating to version 73.0 again.

But doing this System Restore somehow caused Thunderbird to stop working.

I fixed that by re-installing Thunderbird, but it was an early version, so I went to Options and got the most recent Thunderbird update.

So my problem IS FIXED but I wanted others to know about this issue in case someone else has the same issue. And maybe someone can figure out why it happened. Thanks for everything you and the other support volunteers do!

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hi, thanks for providing some detail. we had a few users describing similar symptoms on windows 10 when they had firefox run in compatibility mode for win7 - can you check if this is the case for you and if so disable any compatibility settings? https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/15523-change-compatibility-mode-settings-apps-windows-10-a.html

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Firefox opens But none of my tabs work, they will not load up. It just sits there as a blank page. I really don't know how else to explain it. When I click on a tab nothing happens. Just a black screen.

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I'm not sure if that's the same problem. I'm having because My Firefox is not working So it may be because of the new update because I've never had this problem before either. But I'm not sure how to do a system Restore I'm not real good with computers.

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Hi I use Windows 7 so I don't know if this will work on other versions

To do a System Restore in Windows 7, go to your computer's control panel and click Recovery, then Open System Restore. 

It will show you a recommended restore point date and other possible dates. Pick the most recent Restore Point from before you installed the update, and let it go through the restore process. This should remove the update.

A system restore generally does not remove your documents or files, but removes programs installed after the restore point date. For example, I had to reinstall part of my tax software because I had just installed it. But the actual data I had entered was still there and reappeared with the tax program reinstall.

But I'm not an expert, so you might want to research this aspect to feel more comfortable with it. Just go to your browser and type in How Do System Restore in Windows (whichever version you use).

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asusiq1 said

Hi Ruba, The browser showed a mostly blank Firefox screen with a few bookmarks, but I could not get online, except by using Internet Explorer. I finally did a System Restore to get back to version 72.0 and that fixed Firefox. I am unwilling to try updating to version 73.0 again. But doing this System Restore somehow caused Thunderbird to stop working. I fixed that by re-installing Thunderbird, but it was an early version, so I went to Options and got the most recent Thunderbird update. So my problem IS FIXED but I wanted others to know about this issue in case someone else has the same issue. And maybe someone can figure out why it happened. Thanks for everything you and the other support volunteers do!
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Hi JTLDavis, BEFORE USING SYSTEM RESTORE -- that can cause data loss depending on how old your restore point is -- please see the suggestions in your thread here:

https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1279730#answer-1289796

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philipp said

hi, thanks for providing some detail. we had a few users describing similar symptoms on windows 10 when they had firefox run in compatibility mode for win7 - can you check if this is the case for you and if so disable any compatibility settings? https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/15523-change-compatibility-mode-settings-apps-windows-10-a.html

Thank you phillip! Not sure this can help me because I don't have any expertise in this kind of thing. I'm a die-hard Windows 7 user and reluctant to take the chance on installing Firefox update 73.0 again until someone has figured out what caused my problem. I'll try to figure out how to test compatibility in W. 7 for other issues, just in case.

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I did a Windows 10 update yesterday, then my Firefox quit. Got error 0xc0000005. Just a blank page with New Tab in the label. I uninstalled the updates-same problem. Will not go into Safe Mode nor Refresh. Microsoft Edge works fine. Uninstalled reinstalled Firefox. Same problem. By now I have probably compounded the problem, seems Firefox is running in the background somehow.

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Hi SandisDad, did you check the Compatibility setting?

Compatibility Mode Problem in Firefox 73

Could you double-check that your regular installation of Firefox is not set to run in backwards compatibility mode? Here's how:

Find the icon you use to start Firefox, and either:

  • Right-click a desktop shortcut, then click Properties
  • Right-click a Firefox icon pinned to the Taskbar then right-click Mozilla Firefox, then click Properties

You should clear all the boxes on the Compatibility tab for best results (giant screenshot below).

Any difference the next time you start Firefox?

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JS- You are 100% right! I unchecked the box for Windows 8 compatibility and it worked immediately. I have worked with this for HOURS...thank you SO much!!

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Hi SandisDad, thank you for reporting back. I wish I could explain why that suddenly matters in Firefox 73 when it didn't before, but... ???

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None of this has helped. I should have never updated to 73.0. It won't work at all.

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Hi notmyday031, sorry to hear your Firefox is not working.

Are you running Windows 10? If not, what is your OS?

Which problem do you have:

(A) Firefox doesn't start, never becomes visible, no error message.

(B) Firefox starts, gives an error message, closes.

(C) Firefox starts, may or may not give an error message, can't load any pages.

The Compatibility setting is only for (C), and has only been confirmed on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

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I have a similar problem after updating Firefox to 70s version on my Windows 7. It gives off the same symptoms of not loading any pages even the config ones except for Help->Troubleshooting Information.

Have you tried to see if Firefox 73 will work if you boot Windows 7 in Safe Mode?

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jscher2000 said

Hi SandisDad, thank you for reporting back. I wish I could explain why that suddenly matters in Firefox 73 when it didn't before, but... ???

I THINK it might be the Win 10. It got updated then my issues started. Something corrupted the Firefox profile (maybe) and checked the Windows 8 Compatibility Mode. I dunno for sure, this is a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess)...lol Thanks again!

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Automatic update of 73 yesterday made my Firefox inoperable. Finally had to do a system reset going back 2 days after spending HOURS on all the other trouble shooting. HAD NO IDEA there was even an update 73 even after going to Mozilla home page (which still said 72.01.2) via CHROME or I would have known immediately was the culprit. I have now deactivated automatic updates as I don't want to waste another day of my life because there is a glitch with Windows 10 or security software...I have AVG. So whatever 73 is supposed to fix...it doesn't.

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I am having the problem with (C) Firefox starts, may or may not give an error message, can't load any pages on Windows 10.

There were/are no boxes checked and it still won't do anything.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling but I get the error "Firefox is running. Please close Firefox prior to launching the version you have just installed."

You guys need to fix the error and put out a new version, or you'll lose "customers" left and right

Modified by notmyday031

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Hi notmyday031, thank you for the additional info.

I regret that I don't have specific and comprehensive details on the other possible causes for the problem. Some security software, such as Windows Defender Exploit Protection, and/or the Exploit Protection feature of ESET NOD32, and/or similar products may have some options that are incompatible with Firefox 73. We are still getting comments about these products in other threads.

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