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Why won't Firefox open ?

  • 4 replies
  • 22 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by CharlieA

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There not much to say. Firefox simply won't open (this page was accessed through Google). As a remedy, I attempted to uninstall Firefox, but a message told me that Firefox had to be closed first. But I did not have it open! Next I tried to install Firefox over the existing program, and I received the same message: Close Firefox first. But, again, it wasn't even open. Do I have a compatibility problem between Internet Explorer? What do I do?

There not much to say. Firefox simply won't open (this page was accessed through Google). As a remedy, I attempted to uninstall Firefox, but a message told me that Firefox had to be closed first. But I did not have it open! Next I tried to install Firefox over the existing program, and I received the same message: Close Firefox first. But, again, it wasn't even open. Do I have a compatibility problem between Internet Explorer? What do I do?

All Replies (4)

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Assuming you're running Windows (you don't say what your operating system is?), do the following.

  1. Right click a blank part of the task bar at the foot of the desktop and choose "Task Manager" from the menu.

  2. Click the Processes tab and find firefox.exe in the list.

  3. Right click it and choose End Process from the menu. Confirm when you see the warning message.

  4. Next, open Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options.

  5. Click the Programs tab and remove the checkmark from "Tell me if Internet Explorer is not the default browser".

  6. Click Apply/OK

  7. Next, reboot.

  8. When the system boots back to the desktop, try starting Firefox.

  9. Assuming it starts properly, click the orange Firefox button, go to Options | Options | Advanced.

  10. In the General tab, checkmark "Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser on startup" and then click the "Check Now" button.
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Thank you Xircal for responding with helpful information. I just finished with the steps that you suggested, and all of them fit into place. Won't know for sure if the problems are gone until I use my computer for a while and in the ordinary course. But for now I deeply appreciate your help. CharlieA

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You're welcome.

If you don't get the problem anymore after testing it for a few days, could you please come back and click the "Solved It" button. This will help others searching for a solution to the same problem.

Thanks.