Type about:customizing<enter> in the address bar. Look for Show / Hide Toolbars at the bottom left.

There is also a Restore Defaults button at the bottom middle.

that is what i was doing that did not work in the first place. thanks for trying

Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

• Click the menu button , click Help and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

• On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
• On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
• On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
  (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

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

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If that doesn't work, maybe it's time to try the Refresh feature (called "Reset" in older Firefox versions) which can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies, and other essential information.

Note: When you use this feature, you will lose any extensions, toolbar customizations, and some preferences. See the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article for more information.

To Refresh Firefox:

1. Open the Troubleshooting Information page using one of these methods:
   • Click the menu button , click help and select Troubleshooting Information. A new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.
   • If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.
2. At the top right corner of the page, you should see a button that says "Refresh Firefox" ("Reset Firefox" in older Firefox versions). Click on it.
3. Firefox will close. After the refresh process is completed, Firefox will show a window with the information that is imported.
4. Click Finish and Firefox will reopen.

Did this fix the problem? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

Do you at least have the Bookmarks Toolbar visible?

Make sure that toolbars like the "Bookmarks Toolbar" are visible.

• "3-bar" menu button > Customize > Show/Hide Toolbars
• View > Toolbars
  You can tap the Alt key or press F10 to show the Menu Bar
• Right-click empty toolbar area

Open the Customize window and set which toolbar items to display.

• "3-bar" menu button > Customize

• check that "Bookmarks Toolbar items" is on the Bookmarks Toolbar
• if "Bookmarks Toolbar items" is not on the Bookmarks Toolbar then drag it back from the Customize palette into the Customize window to the Bookmarks Toolbar

• if missing items are in the Customize palette then drag them back from the Customize window on the toolbar
• if you do not see an item on a toolbar and in the Customize palette then click the Restore Defaults button to restore the default toolbar setup

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/customize-firefox-controls-buttons-and-toolbars