Taking forever to open new pages, if at all
I've used Firefox for years, and it was always THE best browser. However, the last couple of versions have shared a problem, and it's driven me away from Firefox. First of all, regardless of settings, Firefox insists on opening the last page that was displayed, rather than the Google News page that I've told it open...the preference page *shows* the correct Google News page, but, Firefox continues to go back to whatever was last opened. This is annoying, but, not a game-breaker.
What is, however, is that Firefox has become incredibly slow in opening *any* page, if it opens the page at all. When I attempt to go to a web-page, it appears that it's trying to open that page, but, nothing happens. I get the "loading page", and the url shows up, but, that's it. Sometimes, after several minutes, the page will slowly load; most often, Firefox simply sits there, with no error messages, no "Firefox is not responding" or anything else. I have the latest version of Firefox, along with the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome and Opera; all three of *those* browsers open new pages instantly and go to the proper homepage, by the way.
I have completely uninstalled Firefox several times, and deleted every trace of it I could find on my computer, to no avail. I would *love* coming back to Firefox, as I still consider it the best browser, but, with the way it's working, that's not an option.
I have tried every single suggested "fix" in Mozilla support pages, and none have done a bit of good. Any other suggestions?
Chosen solution
Also, could you check for any custom connection settings? You can do that in the Options dialog here:
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button
The default of "Use system proxy settings" should piggyback on your Windows/IE "LAN" settings, but you also could try "No proxy" to see whether that has any effect.
Read this answer in context 👍 3All Replies (4)
On the first issue, Firefox will restore your previous session at startup in three different situations:
(1) Startup setting changed to "Show my windows and tabs from last time"
You can check that using the steps in this article: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.
(2) Recovering from a crash, Firefox will try to restore your previous session. If Firefox is shutting down normally, then this probably isn't the cause.
(3) Preference override in the optional user.js settings file.
Some external software has been reported to set up an override so that you always get your previous session tabs instead of your home page. This article describes how to track down the optional user.js settings file and, assuming you didn't create it yourself, remove it: How to fix preferences that won't save. If you are using it for other purposes, you can delete the lines that don't belong.
Success?
On the slowness issue, could you try these two diagnostic steps:
(1) Run Firefox in its Safe Mode.
Firefox Safe Mode is a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox. More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key while launching Firefox.
If Firefox is running: Either --
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
-- then OK the action.
In both scenarios, a small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any difference?
(2) Disable the Flash plugin
Since Flash is used so pervasively on the web in the background or for menus, it can be difficult to disentangle Flash issues from other issues. So... here's one way.
Open the Add-ons page using either:
- Ctrl+Shift+a
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
In the left column, click Plugins. Then on the right find "Shockwave Flash" and set the permission selector to "Never Activate".
Notice any difference?
Chosen Solution
Also, could you check for any custom connection settings? You can do that in the Options dialog here:
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button
The default of "Use system proxy settings" should piggyback on your Windows/IE "LAN" settings, but you also could try "No proxy" to see whether that has any effect.
A combination of things seems to have fixed it. I once again uninstalled Firefox, and scoured Windows 7 for any trace. I then re-installed but, then did a full refresh. At the moment (an hour-plus on, now), everything appears to be working once again. My home-page is opening every time, and pages are once again opening instantly. Not sure which thing fixed the problem, or, if it was simply the computer gods deciding to move on to another victim. In either case, I'm a happy camper. Thanks!