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I'm trying to change my new tab, and I've already reset Firefox as well as going to about:config, and using search reset. Can someone help?

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  • 38 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by Noflieshere

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This has happened a few times, and every so often the new tab would reset itself, and I went back to about:config to put it back. Now it won't change at all! I've already reset Firefox, so please don't mention that. I also tried downloading search reset with no luck either. Please don't mention those two. I need another option!

This has happened a few times, and every so often the new tab would reset itself, and I went back to about:config to put it back. Now it won't change at all! I've already reset Firefox, so please don't mention that. I also tried downloading search reset with no luck either. Please don't mention those two. I need another option!

All Replies (20)

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In order to be able to find the correct solution to your problem, we require some more non-personal information from you. Please do the following:

  • Click the Firefox button at the top left, then click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information from the submenu. If you don't have a Firefox button, click the Help menu at the top and select Troubleshooting Information from the menu.

Now, a new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.

  • At the top of the page, you should see a button that says "Copy text to clipboard". Click it.
  • Now, go back to your forum post and click inside the reply box. Press Ctrl+V to paste all the information you copied into the forum post.

If you need further information about the Troubleshooting information page, please read the article Use the Troubleshooting Information page to help fix Firefox issues.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Application Basics

       Name
       Firefox
       Version
       23.0
       User Agent
       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:23.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/23.0
       Build Configuration
         about:buildconfig
 Extensions
       Name
       Version
       Enabled
       ID
       DoNotTrackMe
       2.2.9.618
       true
       donottrackplus@abine.com
       Fasterfox
       3.9.81
       true
       {c36177c0-224a-11da-8cd6-0800200c9a91}
       MaskMe
       1.24.296
       true
       idme@abine.com
       Java Quick Starter
       1.0
       false
       jqs@sun.com
       Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant
       0.0.0
       false
       {20a82645-c095-46ed-80e3-08825760534b}
       OfferMosquito
       0.5
       false
       om@offermosquito.com
       Secure Speed Dial
       1.2.2
       false
       speeddial@instair.net
       TopArcadeHits
       1.0
       false
       {0113D088-8ED1-468C-B225-585A9C53B5E3}
       User Agent Overrider
       0.2.1
       false
       useragentoverrider@qixinglu.com
 Important Modified Preferences
     Name
     Value
       accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar
       0
       browser.cache.disk.capacity
       358400
       browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run
       false
       browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max
       false
       browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value
       358400
       browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion
       4
       browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID
       20130730113002
       browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone
       23.0
       browser.tabs.warnOnClose
       false
       dom.mozApps.used
       true
       extensions.lastAppVersion
       23.0
       network.cookie.prefsMigrated
       true
       places.database.lastMaintenance
       1376667478
       places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages
       26792
       plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types
       application/pdf
       plugin.importedState
       true
       privacy.donottrackheader.enabled
       true
       privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs
       true
       privacy.sanitize.timeSpan
       0
       storage.vacuum.last.index
       1
       storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite
       1376088680
 Graphics
       Adapter Description
       Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller
       Adapter Drivers
       ialmrnt5
       Adapter RAM
       Unknown
       Device ID
       0x2562
       Direct2D Enabled
       Blocked for your graphics driver version.
       DirectWrite Enabled
       false (0.0.0.0)
       Driver Date
       8-20-2004
       Driver Version
       6.14.10.3889
       GPU #2 Active
       false
       GPU Accelerated Windows
       0/1 Basic
       Vendor ID
       0x8086
       AzureCanvasBackend
       skia
       AzureContentBackend
       none
       AzureFallbackCanvasBackend
       cairo
 JavaScript
       Incremental GC
       true
 Accessibility
       Activated
       false
       Prevent Accessibility
       0
 Library Versions
       Expected minimum version
       Version in use
       NSPR
       4.10
       4.10
       NSS
       3.15 Basic ECC
       3.15 Basic ECC
       NSSSMIME
       3.15 Basic ECC
       3.15 Basic ECC
       NSSSSL
       3.15 Basic ECC
       3.15 Basic ECC
       NSSUTIL
       3.15
       3.15
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I did all of that. What do you need it for?

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What change are you experiencing with your new tab? From default to another page, or from another page back to default?

If you change the browser.newtab.url preference and:

  • Your change is ignored when you immediately press Ctrl+t, then: most likely an extension is overriding your preference. I don't recognize most of the active extensions on your list, so I don't know whether any of them is likely to do that. (Usually extensions that override your new tab preference have tab in the name...)
  • It works for the rest of your Firefox session but is reset when you start Firefox up again, then: check for a user.js file, as described in this article: How to fix preferences that won't save.
  • It works for a while (several new sessions) but eventually is reset, some external software or an extension may be modifying your settings an an undetermined interval. If you notice multiple settings changing back to default, it could be a system cleaner such as CCleaner trying to keep your Firefox profile folder in order. You should be able to make an exception. To get the path of your profile folder, you can use

    Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button

    and then copy from the address bar of Windows Explorer.

Any luck?

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I'm having trouble changing the new tab, it won't let me change it. I have never used Ctrl. t, also, I don't have a user.js file. Also, I'm not doing another reset.

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Hi Firefoxhelper123, I will not ask you to do another Reset. You wrote:

I'm having trouble changing the new tab, it won't let me change it.

I need to know which step is not working:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste newtab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference to open it for editing

  • Is there a problem opening the preference for editing?

(4) Enter your desired value, e.g., about:newtab for the default new tab page, or about:blank for a blank page

  • Can you type in the dialog?

(5) Click OK to save the change

  • Can you click OK?
  • After clicking OK, does the about:config page reflect your change?

(6) Open a new tab (e.g., click the + button or press Ctrl+t)

  • Is it the page you selected? If not, what did you select and what did you get?
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It will not let me edit the URL.

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Do you mean in step 4, it won't let you change the text displayed in the dialog?

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Yes, that's what I mean.

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Can you modify other string preferences, such as browser.startup.homepage or are those also uneditable?

If you can't edit those either, I wonder whether some part of Firefox is corrupted?

I've never tried this myself, but the forum has a standard set of steps for a "clean reinstall" of Firefox. Although you do not remove your personal settings (AKA profile) folder during this process, a backup of that folder still is a good idea in case something goes wrong.

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.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. 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.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

Please report back to see if this helped you!

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What does the Status column of this pref list?

If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see:

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I'm having no problems with the home page. And cor-el, I have no clue what you're talking about.

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Can you look for a Mozilla.cfg file here:

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\
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I was talking about the about:config page when you search for this pref.

I was also suspicious whether this pref might be locked.
A locked pref has locked in the Status column and shows as italic.

Modified by cor-el

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I entered that, and it did show up jscher2000. I'm not sure what to do from there.

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If you found a mozilla.cfg file, and your computer is not in an environment administered by an IT department, try renaming it or deleting it so Firefox does not use it.

Edit: See warning in the next post about another file you would need to rename or delete: local-settings.js

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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See:

Note that you won't be able to start Firefox if you delete the mozilla.cfg file. You also need to remove the .js file that specifies that this mozilla.cfg file is used.

Best (easiest) is to do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder to remove all files and (re)install the latest Firefox 23.0.1 version.

You can find the full version of the latest Firefox 23.0.1 release in all languages and for all Operating Systems here:

Modified by cor-el

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I'm having the same issue only my issue is with step 6. I changed it to about:blank; when I opened a new tab, I still got the ask.com home page. Additionally, even when I type a search into the url bar from the mozilla home page, I still get Ask results. I've deleted ask from every about:config option. When i go to my programs to unistall it, ask isn't there. And i've already tried the firefox add-on search reset thing. Help?

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Hi girlnxtdoorable, most likely one of your extensions is overriding the built-in preference. Go to the Add-ons page and disable ALL nonessential or unrecognized extensions:

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > in the left column, click Extensions

Usually a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

After that, the internal setting should take effect. Any luck?

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I have 3 add-ons of inquiry: 1. "Search-Results Toolbar 1.2.0.0 (disabled)" : the disabled one- -appears as you predicted -also says "*exclamation point within a yellow triangle* Search-Results Toolbar is known to cause security or stability issues." -provides the options of "enable" or "remove" -I'm guessing I should click the "remove"?

2 and 3. "New Tab 5.0.0.7384" and "New Tab 5.0.0.9396": -description is "New Tab for Firefox" -have options to disable or remove 2. ".7384" claims "last updated: June15, 2013" and "homepage: http://www.searchnu.com" 3. ".9396" claims ""last updated: Sept 24, 2013" and "homepage: http://www.search.ask.com/[etc.]"

Recommedations for 2and 3 (obviously 3 is the one with ask.com issues) should i disable or remove? or disable first see if things go awry and then remove? Thanks!

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