Hello,

Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache. In order to try to fix these problems, the first step is to clear both cookies and the cache. Note: This will temporarily log you out of all sites you're logged in to. To clear cache and cookies do the following:

1. Go to Firefox > History > Clear recent history or (if no Firefox button is shown) go to Tools > Clear recent history.
2. Under "Time range to clear", select "Everything".
3. Now, click the arrow next to Details to toggle the Details list active.
4. From the details list, check Cache and Cookies and uncheck everything else.
5. Now click the Clear now button.

Further information can be found in the Clear your cache, history and other personal information in Firefox article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

• You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
• Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.

Thank you.

Thank you for the replies and the suggested remedies. I've already done the "clear" functions, but without any change in performance behavior. I shall try the "safe mode" strategy and report back about its effectiveness.

The problems with eBay, YahooMail, GMail, as well as the appearance of all web pages, continues despite the suggestions (to correct them) given and applied. I run the same combination on a laptop, that is to say, XP Pro and Firefox, but on the laptop, with the same settings (as far as I can tell), the problems don't exist. The add-ons, by the way, are the same, too. Something, obviously, in the configuration of Firefox is different, but where do I look, how do I get there, to find out and re-configure? Thank you.

Hello,

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches.

You might need to restart Firefox in order for this to take effect, so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).

Then perform these steps:

• Click the orange Firefox button at the top left, then select the "Options" button, or, if there is no Firefox button at the top, go to Tools > Options.
• In the Firefox options window click the Advanced tab, then select "General".
• In the settings list, you should find the Use hardware acceleration when available checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
• Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.

Additionally, please check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in the following Knowledge base articles:

Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems

Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

Please check if all your plugins are up-to-date. To do this, go to the Mozilla Plugin Check site.

Once you're there, the site will check if all your plugins have the latest versions. If you see plugins in the list that have a yellow Update button or a red Update now button, please update these immediately.

To do so, please click each red or yellow button. Then you should see a site that allows you to download the latest version. Double-click the downloaded file to start the installation and follow the steps mentioned in the installation procedure.

Thank you, again, for your suggested remedy, but, alas, after unchecking and updating (had already done that), there are no changes. On eBay's site, for example, the displayed text appears on two levels, one superimposed upon the other, but not aligned. Other sites pages are stark white background with no active command windows, e.g., delete, forward, etc., as on Gmail. This is, needless to say, disappointing and exasperating. What do you suggest I do next, go back to IE8? I'm kidding, of course, since IE8 is worse. Chrome is far too invasive. Can I uninstall Firefox without losing add-ons and Bookmarks, but in other aspects, start over, or is that not efficacious?

I'm really clueless to these things so I'm going to escalate this.

Well, it's small consolation that you, too, are stymied. In so far as I know to do, I've compared the two installations to which I referred earlier, and can not discern any settings differences that would account for the obvious differences in performance. There is a different graphics set-up, but it's the same one used on the prior HDD, and then there was no evident conflict, if, in fact, there is one now. It's a bit overwhelming to know it can work, yet lack the knowledge to make it so. Thank you for your help. Perhaps the escalation will find resolution.

Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.

With due respect, it seems that what's being offered is purely trial and error guesswork because you just don't know why Firefox is behaving as I've described and have no real handle on how to fix it. Surely, my experience with a malfunctioning Firefox is not unique.

Nevertheless, even if Firefox performed as it ought in Windows Safe Mode, what would that reveal?

Are you running a Norton toolbar? If so, that's likely your problem. If you want to fix it, go to tools>add-ons>extensions and disable your Norton toolbar. As far as I can tell Norton doesn't have a solution for the problem. The only other way around it is to listen to the audible code. It seems to work that way.