Can't get Firefox to open a new tab as my homepage or a specific url. Alwatys get 'The address isn't valid'
When opening a new tab, I keep getting 'The Address isn't valid'. Went through all the fixes given in previous threads, changing the url in about:config, running Firefox in safe mode (problem still exists with plugins disabled) resetting Firefox, changed newtab settings to about:home etc, restarted, deleted cookies. Nothing seems to work. Some other program seems to be overriding the Firefox settings. May be a virus. I am using the latest McAfee software.
I once had an add-on that brought up thumbnails with a new tab but I removed that a while back. On the right hand side search bar of firefox I can see that Bing is one of the dropdown search engine choices not that it should make a difference but I thougth they were sometimes a bit aggresive.
Anyhow, would love to know if there is a solution as it's making me suspicious of having an undetected visus or hijacking.
All Replies (4)
This issue can be caused by an extension that isn't working properly.
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.
Thanks for your relpy but I've already tried these solutions and no joy. I tried them again there just to be sure but still no good.
In the mean time I installed a plug-in that does this for me. I used My Homepage 1.2 and it's done the business.
Still don't know what was causing the problem. (And it wasn't a typo, I checked and copied and pasted urls from other locations...)
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:
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
See "Creating a profile":
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues
If the new profile works then you can transfer some files from an existing profile to the new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.
I was able to get firefox to load a homepage by removing the about and just entering the page, ie gmail.com.