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Firefox installs in Windows 10 but doesn't work

  • 5 replies
  • 27 have this problem
  • 19 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I've upgraded my 64-bit Windows 7 Pro installation to Windows 10, taking the opportunity (at the same time) to install an SSD and re-installing everything from scratch. I have tried (several times) to re-install Firefox, and whilst it appears to install OK, if I click on the Firefox icon to start it I get an error message: "Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe. You may not have permission to access this file."

I have tried running it with the Windows 10 Firewall both turned off and on - but this didn't make any difference. (My primary Firewall is Kaspersky Total Security.) Edge, Internet Explorer & Opera browsers work OK, but Google Chrome doesn't work either. Is there a clue to the problem here? I hope someone can solve it for me as I prefer to use Firefox over Opera. Thanks for your responses.

I've upgraded my 64-bit Windows 7 Pro installation to Windows 10, taking the opportunity (at the same time) to install an SSD and re-installing everything from scratch. I have tried (several times) to re-install Firefox, and whilst it appears to install OK, if I click on the Firefox icon to start it I get an error message: "Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe. You may not have permission to access this file." I have tried running it with the Windows 10 Firewall both turned off and on - but this didn't make any difference. (My primary Firewall is Kaspersky Total Security.) Edge, Internet Explorer & Opera browsers work OK, but Google Chrome doesn't work either. Is there a clue to the problem here? I hope someone can solve it for me as I prefer to use Firefox over Opera. Thanks for your responses.

Chosen solution

That was very good work. Well Done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.

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All Replies (5)

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Download Firefox Full Version For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then;

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

• Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory.


Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox folders by adding .old to them.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.

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Thanks for the quick response and suggestion. I tried your 'fix' but alas, the problem remains. Is there something in Windows Defender or Kaspersky Total Security (the AV software I use) that can stop Firefox & Chrome working but not Edge, Internet Explorer or Opera? (Which do work on my PC.)

Please suggest something else to try to solve the problem.

Many thanks.

tallboyrip

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tallboyrip said

Is there something in Windows Defender or Kaspersky Total Security (the AV software I use) that can stop Firefox & Chrome working

Let's find out.

Start your Computer in safe mode with networking. Then start Firefox. Try Safe web sites. Is the problem still there?

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

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Hi

An administrator on the UK PC Advisor Windows Technical Help Desk suggested that I un-installed Kaspersky Total Security as many people have reported problems between Kaspersky Security products & Windows 10. I did this and the problem went away! Both Firefox & Chrome now work as they should.

I have reported the problem to Kaspersky. Thanks for your help. I hope this solution will be helpful to other Firefox users who have the same problem.

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Chosen Solution

That was very good work. Well Done. Please flag your last post as Solved Problem so others will know.