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Firefox refuses to go to web pages via the address bar

  • 6 replies
  • 9 have this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by John99

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I recently updated Firefox (I don't know the update number, but for reference, the date is July 3rd 2015) and now, whenever I open a new tab and type in the address bar to go to a website, it doesn't register when I hit enter. Autofill seems to be disabled, too. Firefox also seems to not respond more frequently than usual. (My computer is slow and around 5 years old so I am used to Firefox not responding to me every now and then.)

I've already tried system restore, but it turns out my system was out of restore points. Restarting didn't help, either. I am able to navigate the web through links, and I currently have a Google tab open to get to the websites I need rather than using the address bar, but this is worrying me. Is it something with the Firefox update that didn't sit right with my computer, or could I have gotten a virus of some kind?


Additional information added July 8th by a forum moderator. (~J99)

There is a known bug with Firefox affecting some people who have a certain type of corruption of a of a database file. This causes errors that result in the address bar not working. For such people the first step is to try to use the addon places maintenance to repair the database. If that fails the file places.sqlite needs to be renamed. Details in Firefox 39 address bar not working /questions/1070999#answer-750702

I recently updated Firefox (I don't know the update number, but for reference, the date is July 3rd 2015) and now, whenever I open a new tab and type in the address bar to go to a website, it doesn't register when I hit enter. Autofill seems to be disabled, too. Firefox also seems to not respond more frequently than usual. (My computer is slow and around 5 years old so I am used to Firefox not responding to me every now and then.) I've already tried system restore, but it turns out my system was out of restore points. Restarting didn't help, either. I am able to navigate the web through links, and I currently have a Google tab open to get to the websites I need rather than using the address bar, but this is worrying me. Is it something with the Firefox update that didn't sit right with my computer, or could I have gotten a virus of some kind? ---------- ===Additional information added July 8th by a forum moderator. (~J99) === There is a known bug with Firefox affecting some people who have a certain type of corruption of a of a database file. This causes errors that result in the address bar not working. For such people the first step is to try to use the addon places maintenance to repair the database. If that fails the file places.sqlite needs to be renamed. Details in ''Firefox 39 address bar not working'' [/questions/1070999#answer-750702]

Modified by John99

All Replies (6)

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you can always check your slow ass computer for virussen with malwarebytes, adwcleaner, hitman pro and a whole bunch of tools. Have you tried removing 39 and putting 38 back on?

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/windows/

Most Downloaded in Windows DOWNLOADS FOR LAST WEEK 1. AdwCleaner 333,371 2. ComboFix 212,305 3. Junkware Removal Tool 59,467 4. RKill 41,955 5. TDSSKiller 20,102

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window

Just be cautious with using a System Restore. Using System Restore can cause your Firefox installation to get corrupted because only white-listed files are restored, so always be cautious with using System Restore.

  • You may lose data in the Firefox profile folder like .js and .ini files
  • You may need to reinstall affected software
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Firefox is in safe mode right now, but I still can't use the address bar. I suspect something in the about:config page might be switched to the wrong setting, but I can't access about:config due to the fact that the address bar isn't working..

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Have you tried resetting firefox?

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Resetting Firefox... really isn't going to work for me. I've done it before and it freaked me out so badly that I system restored to get it back within at most an hour. I'm bad with change. Secondly, I use Tumblr, and since XKit doesn't update anymore, I wouldn't be able to get back things on my Blacklist and such. Resetting would create more problems than it would fix.

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We do now have fix that we know works for some people with this or a very similar problem.

We do also have developers looking at the issue.

The following request is only applicable if you still have the problem. OR you had the problem and kept a copy of the places.sqlite from when the problem existed.



May I ask have you retained a copy of the file places.sqlite from a profile that did not work ? If so would you be willing to let Mozilla look at that file ?


WARNING There are privacy issues, in that the file contains your bookmarks information and browsing History. The file will only be used by Mozilla developers. It will not be displayed publicly.


If you are willing to provide a copy of this file, if required please contact by email Marco Bonardo

mak AT mozilla.com

I suggest you put in the subject line

places.sqlite; bug 11804i9; (/support.mozilla.org/questions/1070244)

and ask whether the file would be useful still. Thanks for your time and the information you have already provided.

Cheers,

John


THE FIX At least as a workaround that gets Firefox running Create a new additional Firefox profile. See Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles

Update 8th July If you get the issue of the address bar not working again, until this bug is fixed, and that could be several months, the solution is to rename places.sqlite as explained in


We can give more information and help you get Firefox back to normal, but please, whether you want to try to help Mozilla or not, first of all back up the original profile.

Modified by John99