Does this only affect particular types of files? I would first check whether you have "Save File" set for that document type instead of "Always Ask" in the following dialog: orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Applications This take a few seconds to populate, then you can scroll down or use the search box there to filter the list to find the type of document that's having a problem. If Firefox is no longer responsive to the settings in that dialog, it could indicate that the settings file which stores your download preferences has become corrupted. To reset download preferences back to defaults, try this: Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button Switch back to Firefox and Exit Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename '''mimeTypes.rdf''' to something like mimeTypes.old. Restart Firefox. Hopefully now you will get the customary Open/Save/Cancel dialog when expected. (If you had set a custom email handler, such as Windows Live Mail, unfortunately, you will need to set that up again. We can help with such things.) Any luck?