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Firefox keeps resetting itself

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So, for the past couple of weeks, after every 3-4 days, I go to open Firefox, and all my add-ons and settings keep getting reset.

It's a weird thing. I have my add-ons, my customized settings, and everything is working fine. But after a couple of days, I open up firefox and it's like I'm starting from 0.

I mean, my history, bookmarks, passwords, all remain intact.

But everything else is gone. All my extensions open up a tab saying "now installed!" or something along those lines - plus a tab from Mozilla, today about the privacy notice.

My homepage, search and download settings are back to the defaults.

I have tried to refresh my browser, reinstalled my extensions, but still the same issue.

Help?

So, for the past couple of weeks, after every 3-4 days, I go to open Firefox, and all my add-ons and settings keep getting reset. It's a weird thing. I have my add-ons, my customized settings, and everything is working fine. But after a couple of days, I open up firefox and it's like I'm starting from 0. I mean, my history, bookmarks, passwords, all remain intact. But everything else is gone. All my extensions open up a tab saying "now installed!" or something along those lines - plus a tab from Mozilla, today about the privacy notice. My homepage, search and download settings are back to the defaults. I have tried to refresh my browser, reinstalled my extensions, but still the same issue. Help?

All Replies (8)

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Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.


Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

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

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode This shows how to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia

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You can check for problems with preferences.

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

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@FredMcD: Essentially you want me to reinstall Firefox? Wouldn't the refresh have accomplished the same?

@Cor-el: I only have the default profile and there was only a singular prefs file, so I'm not too sure what you want me to do here.

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whyjay said

@FredMcD: Essentially you want me to reinstall Firefox? Wouldn't the refresh have accomplished the same?

A refresh is great when there is a problem with the profile. But if the problem is with the programs, a reinstall is the best way to remove corrupt files.

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Hi again,

So, I tried to reinstall firefox.

It went fine, everything was great. Things seemed to be working, and I hadn't had any issues. Apparently today, there was an update, and when I started the browser, back again with the same thing.

I'm at a loss here. It's not the profile, it's not the files, so what could it be?

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Hi everyone,

I would still greatly need help with this.

As far as I can tell, it's either a problem with Firefox updates, or when I close multiple tabs at once.

It's really annoying, and I really need this to be solved.

If someone could give me some tips or ideas, I'd really appreciate it.

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If you lost personal data then it is possible that a new default-release profile folder has been created. See "Determine if Firefox has created a new profile":

You can open the about:profiles page via the location bar to check whether multiple profiles are present and what profile Firefox currently is using.

Firefox 67 and later can use a dedicated profile for each of the Firefox update channels and will lock the profile, so it can only be used by Firefox in a specific installation folder. For Release versions this profile would be a xxxxxxxx.default-release profile, profiles used in older Firefox versions usually used a xxxxxxxx.default profile (a refresh adds a time stamp).

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I have been having this problem as well for a while now and it is really frustrating to me. I'm even thinking about not using firefox again because of this problem. Can someone help me fix this problem?