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I cant get my location bar back to the default, every time i try to do a search from it a message comes up saying the address isnt valid, the URL is not valid

  • 4 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by Dar64

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I'm pretty sure you where able to search from the location bar,however I can't do that anymore. If you type just a word, a message comes up saying its not valid, or a valid url. If you type in a word thats associated with a web page it will go to that page.. for example,,if you type in fire engine, i get the message, but if I type in snopes it goes to www.snopes .com

I'm pretty sure you where able to search from the location bar,however I can't do that anymore. If you type just a word, a message comes up saying its not valid, or a valid url. If you type in a word thats associated with a web page it will go to that page.. for example,,if you type in fire engine, i get the message, but if I type in snopes it goes to www.snopes .com

Chosen solution

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

  • Do not click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.

A possible cause is security software (firewall,anti-virus) that blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.

Remove all rules for Firefox and the plugin-container from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process and the updater process.

See:


Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before reinstalling a fresh copy of Firefox.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will also lose your personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.


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All Replies (4)

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hello Dar64, please try downloading the current version of firefox from getfirefox.com & then uninstall firefox from the windows control panel (but do NOT select "remove user data and settings" during the procedure in order to keep your personalizations of the browser). afterwards install firefox again from the setup file you've downloaded in the first step.

in case this does not solve the issue, could you copy & paste the exact wording of the error message into a reply here. thank you!

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Hi Madperson, I did as you said and still getting the same message. Here is what it says-The address isn't valid




         The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded.
       



 Web addresses are usually written like
   http://www.example.com/
 Make sure that you're using forward slashes (i.e.
   /).
more options

Chosen Solution

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

  • Do not click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.

A possible cause is security software (firewall,anti-virus) that blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.

Remove all rules for Firefox and the plugin-container from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process and the updater process.

See:


Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before reinstalling a fresh copy of Firefox.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will also lose your personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.


more options

Hi Cor-el , Thank you for your help, I still had a problem after doing all you said to do, and eventually had to re-set firefox to default state and it finally solved the problem..

  Thanks again.. Dar64