Check the pref keyword.URL on the about:config page.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.URL
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Location_Bar_search

cor-el's suggestion will change the search behavior in the Location Bar at the center top of Firefox.

To change the default search engine used by the Search Bar in the upper-right corner, click on the little arrow next to the icon in the search box and select "Manage Search Engines..."

On the window that appears, if Google is in the list, select it and click Move Up until it is at the top. This will make it default.

thanks i knew there had to be a simple answer and it was

Glad we could help!

If your problem is solved, please remember to select an answer as the solution. To do this, first sign in, and then you will see buttons next to my post and co-rel's post that will let you pick a solution. Click the button next to the answer that helped you the most.

My problem is that when I go to "manage search engines" and move Ask.com down, or I remove Ask.com, Firefox always reverts back to Ask.com at the top of the list of search engines instead of Google.

How can I fix that?

Start Firefox in Use Troubleshoot Mode in Firefox to check if one of the extensions is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

• Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
• https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode

• Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems

In Firefox 4 you can use one of these to start in Safe mode:

• Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• Hold down the Shift key while double clicking the Firefox desktop shortcut (Windows)