How to fix a corrupted installation?
When I upgraded from Firefox 21 to 23 and launched firefox, the "checking addon compatability" process froze and I had to kill it. Upon launching firefox, it is apparent that it is severely corrupted.
- Clicking on almost anything in the menu will cause it to hang.**
I cannot even reset firefox.
I thought this was due to my profile. I removed the directory from ...Local\Mozilla\Firefox and backed it up, but every time I launch firefox, my old profile folder respawns somehow. I even tried logging out, logging in as another user, removing the profile, and logging back in.
I also tried reinstalling firefox but it still crashes when I click on anything. I'm worried that my corrupted profile has been synced and that I cannot get rid of it.
Chosen solution
Hello,
Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:
Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.
- Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
- After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
- Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
- Windows:
- C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
- Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
- Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
- Windows:
- Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
- Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
- Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.
Please report back to see if this helped you!
Thank you.
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Chosen Solution
Hello,
Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:
Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.
- Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
- After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
- Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
- Windows:
- C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
- Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
- Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
- Windows:
- Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
- Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
- Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.
Please report back to see if this helped you!
Thank you.
You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:
- On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
- On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
- Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox if starting in Safe Mode works.
- Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes