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My homepage reverts back to previous homepage even after changing it in about:config

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Scribe

tdwyer
tdwyer
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My home page is set to www.bluevalleyk12.org/switcher. I change the homepage to another page, such as google.com and even after closing Firefox and re-opening, it reverts back to the bluevalleyk12.org/switcher. I have even tried resetting the values in about:config and it still reverts back. Any help would be appreciated,

My home page is set to www.bluevalleyk12.org/switcher. I change the homepage to another page, such as google.com and even after closing Firefox and re-opening, it reverts back to the bluevalleyk12.org/switcher. I have even tried resetting the values in about:config and it still reverts back. Any help would be appreciated,

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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As a preliminary question, after you change the home page using either the Options page or about:config, does the change work? You can test using either the Home button or by launching a new window (Ctrl+n). If you can't change the page ever, you may have a different problem than what I'm about to address.

The most common reasons for settings changes to get lost when you exit and start Firefox again are:

(1) An optional settings file named user.js file in your profile folder (personal settings folder)

You can check and remove the file using the steps in this article: How to fix preferences that won't save (the "User.js file overriding preferences" section).

Note: By default, Windows hides the .js file extension. To work with files as accurately as possible, I suggest unhiding them. This Microsoft support article has the steps: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wi.../show-hide-file-name-extensions

(2) Some programs such as Advanced SystemCare will undo browser settings changes between sessions to protect you from unwanted changes. They don't know which ones are wanted and which are unwanted; they all get rolled back. If you use any utility, security, or privacy software with a browser protection, home page protection, or settings protection feature, you may need to disable it until all is well again.

(3) Sometimes the file that stores your home page, prefs.js, becomes locked or otherwise not updateable.

You can check whether Firefox is creating alternate prefs files using the steps in this article: How to fix preferences that won't save (the "Unable to save any preferences or settings" section). Note: rather than delete the prefs.js file, you can rename it to prefs-old.js for later reference in case it contains valuable data.

Scribe
Scribe
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Hi, in addition to the above advice, you are using a very old version of Firefox, which can compromise your security and may cause other problems. To update it to v42, open the 3-bar menu > Help (question mark at bottom right) > About Firefox. Alternatively, you can press the Alt key to bring up the main menu bar > Help > About Firefox. More - Update Firefox to the latest release.

If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please take a minute to let us know. Thank you.