Avatar for Username

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 archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

F5 key loads home page instead of refreshing current page

sparrow.wingss
sparrow.wingss
more options

I'm using Firefox 7 in Windows 7. I see from the help pages that F5 should refresh the current page, as before, but for me it just loads about:home. Any idea why? Should I just install custom keyboard shortcuts and fix it that way?

I'm using Firefox 7 in Windows 7. I see from the help pages that F5 should refresh the current page, as before, but for me it just loads about:home. Any idea why? Should I just install custom keyboard shortcuts and fix it that way?

All Replies (4)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

Modified by cor-el

sparrow.wingss
sparrow.wingss Question owner
more options

Thanks for the reply. I have restarted in Safe Mode, hardware acceleration and all extensions disabled (although I don't see why hardware acceleration would cause this particular problem?), and it's still happening. Any thoughts?

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Do other ways to refresh (reload) a web page work like Ctrl+R?

Do you have other software installed that may change that behavior?

You can also check the plugins.

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.

See "Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile":

There may be extensions and plugins installed by default in a new profile, so check that in "Tools > Add-ons > Extensions & Plugins" in case there are still problems.

If that new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.

See:

sparrow.wingss
sparrow.wingss Question owner
more options

I figured it out -- I just got a new laptop, and the F keys were programmed to do stuff like adjust the volume, adjust the brightness, and, apparently, open the browser, which was making the home page load if the browser was already open. Thanks for all your help, cor-el -- and sorry for wasting your time!

For the other person with this problem, if you have an HP laptop, you have to disable Action Keys in the BIOS during startup -- more detailed instructions on these pages: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=uk&lc=en&docname=c02035108 and http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Notebook-PC-questions/How-do-I-lock-and-unclock-the-FN-key/m-p/45847