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I recently updated to firefox 12, the search engine in the homepage redirects to yahoo when I use it. How do I fix this as it is really irritating?

  • 7 replies
  • 25 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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The default search engine on the default homepage in firefox is redirecting me to yahoo and I can't figure out why or how to fix it, I've done all of the suggestions and solutions suggested in earlier posts and versions and I don't know how to fix it.

The default search engine on the default homepage in firefox is redirecting me to yahoo and I can't figure out why or how to fix it, I've done all of the suggestions and solutions suggested in earlier posts and versions and I don't know how to fix it.

Chosen solution

Do you mean the search engine on the about:home page?

Reset the browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone pref via the right-click context menu to the default on the about:config page and close and restart Firefox to restore the about:home page to its default.

  • Open the about:config page via the location bar
  • Type in the Filter bar: mstone
  • Right-click the browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone line and select: Reset
  • Close and restart Firefox

If that didn't help then delete the delete the chromeappsstore.sqlite file in the Firefox Profile Folder and repeat the above.

See also:

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Thanks for the suggestion but I'm afraid that didn't work either, yahoo is worse than the US government in the sense of not wanting to acknowledge that no one cares and is still clinging to the hope that this will work. ;)

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You appear to have some Yahoo product(s) installed. Yahoo may have "piggy-backed" onto your system when you installed some third-party software on your system; always look for an opportunity to not install extra items or look for a custom install option when installing software or software updates.


  1. Remove Yahoo Toolbar (if you have it installed):
  2. Reset your home page (if the Yahoo search page is displayed when starting Firefox): http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page
    • You can reset to the default by clicking "Restore to default" on Options > General > Startup > Home page. Be sure to set "When Firefox starts" to "Show my home page" on that same panel.
  3. Reset your Location Bar search engine (if typing a few words in the URL/Location Bar takes you to Yahoo search):
  4. If Yahoo is shown in your Search Bar and you want to remove it:


If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.



Not related to your question, but...

You may need to update some plug-ins. Check your plug-ins and update as necessary:

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Chosen Solution

Do you mean the search engine on the about:home page?

Reset the browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone pref via the right-click context menu to the default on the about:config page and close and restart Firefox to restore the about:home page to its default.

  • Open the about:config page via the location bar
  • Type in the Filter bar: mstone
  • Right-click the browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone line and select: Reset
  • Close and restart Firefox

If that didn't help then delete the delete the chromeappsstore.sqlite file in the Firefox Profile Folder and repeat the above.

See also:

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Safe-Browser

Thank you for the information but I haven't downloaded and installed anything new recently and I've already tried all of this.

Modified by Hydrassas

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Cor-el your solution fixed it. :)

Everyone, thank you for taking the time to try and help I really appreciate it! :D

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You're welcome