What you have is a new Tab Page. This is a new layout designed by Mozilla. To change your preferences around this, please click the gear icon in the top right corner of the new tab page.

Hope this helps!

No this does not solve my problem because in the business I am in I need to be able to open a tab and have the google search engine there when I need it. This just causes me more added steps.

Click on new tab If Google is not there because of all the web sites I am working on, I have to type in www.google.com. Before I could just click New tab and type away. Click another New Tab and type away.

Are you saying that the setting in about:config is not registering what you have put in it? Is the URL in it correct? As a side note, if Google is your default search engine, by opening a new tab, you can type in your search them press enter and your search will be directed to Google.

Hello Loretta4118, Andrew

note that from 41 the browser.newtab.url preference is abused and should be removed (bug Bug 1118285)

try to install the next add-on : New Tab Override (browser.newtab.url replacement), and after that, modify (double-click on it) the next preference

• extensions.newtaboverride@agenedia.com.url

to any url you want

now probably you are able to see your url's in the new tab page. :-)

thank you

You can also look this mozillaZine forum thread to achieve this via code in the mozilla.cfg file:

• How to set about:blank as new tab page?
  http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2944193

//
var newTabURL = "about:blank";
Components.utils.import("resource:///modules/NewTabURL.jsm");
NewTabURL.override(newTabURL);

You can use this command to check the current new tab setting:

• NewTabURL.get();

You can use this command to set the new tab setting:

• NewTabURL.override("about:blank");

Run the code via the command line in the Browser Console (Firefox/Tools > Web Developer).

• https://developer.mozilla.org/Tools/Browser_Console#Browser_Console_command_line