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Trouble opening Firefox 26.0 from Windows 7 taskbar.

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  • Last reply by Marcia

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I have Firefox pinned to the Windows 7 taskbar on the bottom of my screen. I use a desktop PC. Most of the time, when I click on the icon, it opens Firefox with no problem. However, occasionally when I first turn my computer on and click on the Firefox icon on the taskbar, it gets highlighted but the little circle doesn't appear and the highlight fades away without opening the browser. When that happens, I can't even shut my computer off without pressing the button on the tower. That only ever happens the first time I open the browser in the morning, and it seems to be happening every couple of weeks. Any thoughts about what's going on? I just had a virus removal done, so that shouldn't be the problem.

I have Firefox pinned to the Windows 7 taskbar on the bottom of my screen. I use a desktop PC. Most of the time, when I click on the icon, it opens Firefox with no problem. However, occasionally when I first turn my computer on and click on the Firefox icon on the taskbar, it gets highlighted but the little circle doesn't appear and the highlight fades away without opening the browser. When that happens, I can't even shut my computer off without pressing the button on the tower. That only ever happens the first time I open the browser in the morning, and it seems to be happening every couple of weeks. Any thoughts about what's going on? I just had a virus removal done, so that shouldn't be the problem.

Chosen solution

FredMcD said: If you can get the senders address, post it here for the Moderators. Of late, someone has been posting junk in the forums, and some of it was porn. Really, REALLY BAD PORN.
Blinkie said: I've been getting emails with supposed answers to this question, but they contain smutty sexual things. I don't know where they're coming from or how to make them stop. Any ideas? Thanks.

To answer both of your questions from a Moderator standpoint.

Blinkie yes, the forum did get spammed yesterday and we managed to remove the spam ASAP. Unfortunately, since SUMO sends out e-mail notifications for new replies immediately, this doesn't allow Moderators to edit out or remove the spam before hitting the user's inbox. There is talks on the private Moderator forum [Mods: see /forums/forum-moderators/709969?page=3#post-57491) about suggesting to add a adding a short delay or "grace period" from the time a new reply is posted to the time the email notification is sent out" and that "That would give moderators a chance to delete the spam or offensive content." Quotes by AliceWyman, fellow Mod)

FredMcD Just to clear things up on your question, new reply notifications get sent from notifications@support.mozilla.org so asking the user to report the e-mail address here, you would be reporting that e-mail address and we can't do anything about it. That is a internal system used by Mozilla for the purpose of notifying users about replies.

I hope this answers both your questions and concerns about the spam incident.

FYI, if you see spam anywhere, please click the Report Abuse button on the right side of the reply so it can be removed by Moderators. Thanks!

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All Replies (20)

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This is possibly an issue with Windows rather than with Firefox. Does the problem still occur if you wait a bit after logging on? After logon, Windows starts services and loads a number of programs, so I usually wait until the desktop is responsive before launching any programs. This may be only a few seconds on a fast machine, or if many services and programs are launched on a "slow" machine, it could take a minute or more. One indicator is that you can open the Start menu, another is that icons are highlighted when hovering the mouse over them. Strange behavior as it is, I've had programs crash or not start when the desktop is not ready.

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I usually turn my computer on and then go make coffee and come back into the room. It should be all loaded, but something may be hanging up on the days I can't open the browser. Thanks for the reply.

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when that happens, is there a firefox process in the task manager? if there is try ending the process and re-opening the browser

also check your system event logs when this happens, it does look like more of an issue outside of firefox than something with the browser itself

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I never thought to see if it was in the task manager, but I was just told to do that by someone else if it happens again. They also suggested I uninstall and reinstall Firefox, which I did. I don't know what an event log is. I guess I'll try to find out. Thanks.

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If a computer tech who knew what he was doing looked at the event log, would that tell him what happened? When we talked, he said he wouldn't know unless he could recreate the problem.

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"When that happens, I can't even shut my computer off without pressing the button on the tower." You can still examine the event log after restarting, just be sure to note the time on the system clock when the problem occurred.

Event log: http://www.howtogeek.com/123646/htg-explains-what-the-windows-event-viewer-is-and-how-you-can-use-it/ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/what-information-event-logs-event-viewer

Whatever you find in there, don't panic. There are many errors listed that are harmless. You are just there to look for useful information relevant to a crash.

The registry famously becomes muddled with use, and typically many services are loaded that are not necessary. It might also be worthwhile examining, perhaps with your tech friend, whether tweaking Windows might help. Windows is often quite complex to diagnose and tune, which is why many people swear on regularly either reinstalling, or reverting to a previous state from a backup image or with system restore.

Another thought: Have you set Firefox to pre-load? If so, try turning that off; if not, why not give it a try if you regularly use Firefox? https://www.google.ch/#q=preload+firefox

Sorry I can't offer more expert advice...

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Run your anti-virus using full scan. Then;

========================

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

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

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Thanks. I've been working with a Tech at Staples who just did a full virus removal. I'd rather bring it back in and have it done right, but I'm happy the event log might tell what's going on.

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I just had Staples do a full virus removal. They did find and remove stuff, but I still had the Firefox problem.

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Because of all the problems you have had, I would suggest that you get the full downloader of any program that you are still having trouble with. You may have to do a full un-install of a few programs before things work out.

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I did uninstall and reinstall Firefox. The only time I have the problem is when I first turn on my computer in the morning. I can open and close it all I want all day. I'm still thinking I may have a start up issue, and if it happens again I'm bringing it back to Staples. Thanks so much for all the replies. I appreciate it.

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Did you wait until the computer was done with its start-up programs?

If you want, follow these directions.

1) Windows Button > All Programs > wait a bit, then look for a folder that says Start-Up. Open it. Write down the listed files.

2) Now do this; Windows Button > Run. When the box comes up, type ''msconfig.'' After the program is open, select Start-Up. Look thru the list and if there is something you don't know, write down the program name. When you are done, Select Cancel on the bottom to close. After, post all the information here.

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Yes...I always turn my computer on before making breakfast so it has a while to start up.

Thanks for the other info.

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OK, I did what you suggested. The first time I did the all programs and start-up, it was empty. When I did msconfig, I got an interesting list....

Microsoft InteliPoint Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager Avast Anti-virus Java (TM) Platform SE 6 UI Mobilegeni Daemon Microsoft Windows Nengine Smartbar


I thought I got rid of Java and I don't like the sound of Mobilegeni Daemon, but I'm not going to delete anything until you tell me to.

Thanks.

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Windows Button > All Programs > Start-Up folder is empty
Okay. this folder is used normally for non-major programs that you want to have started when you log in.

As to Java, Make sure it is the latest version. Most web sites use java.

About Mobilegeni Daemon, I sent a message to a Moderator to get his input. Hold off until this gets sorted.
Fred.

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Thanks. Appreciate it.

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^^: do not confuse JavaScript and Java.

JavaScript comes built-in with Firefox and is used on most web pages and Java applets are not used on many websites.

A Google search seems to indicate that this programs comes bundled with other software.
You can try to disable or uninstall this program as you should do with software that you didn't install deliberately yourself.

You can check if you can uninstall this program via the Windows Control Panel > Programs or otherwise disable it from starting and rename (delete) its program folder.
It is better to first rename this folder to check for error messages when booting the computer.

You can also do a registry search, but be careful with editing the registry as changes are applied immediately are there is no undo unless you export the key(s) first.

See also:

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I think I'm going to take my computer back to Staples before removing stuff, but thanks so much for all the help. I'm getting in a little over my head now.

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JavaScript is not Java. I had heard FF was putting Java in, but not sure of the ins and outs. Thank for your input cor-el. BTW what about that other link I sent you? It looks bad from what I read but could not be sure if its a good or bad copy. Thanks again.

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I got rid of mobilegeni daemon from my start menu, and so far so good. I just went back to look at the article I was referred to about getting rid of Mobogenie, and it's spelled differently. Now I'm more confused than ever.

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