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won't run - files corrupted

  • 10 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 473 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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as of 8/31 all my firefox files seem to be corrupted on one of my PCs (win7 pro; use this pc mostly for WMC so hadn't noticed this before). files/folders all are dated 08/31 and the .exe file "icon" in explorer is the generic one (not the firefox symbol). firefox no longer appears in list of programs or on the task bar. if I locate the .exe file in the program folder and try to run it I get an error message "this version of the file is not compatible...". Never had a problem with it before. Also running Firefox on two other PCs and android phone (synching bookmarks etc between devices). tried to uninstall using windows and get error message that program is already uninstalled (its not). how do I resolve this?? concerned that there are broken bits not only in the folders but in the registry etc that may cause problems in future. Help please!!

as of 8/31 all my firefox files seem to be corrupted on one of my PCs (win7 pro; use this pc mostly for WMC so hadn't noticed this before). files/folders all are dated 08/31 and the .exe file "icon" in explorer is the generic one (not the firefox symbol). firefox no longer appears in list of programs or on the task bar. if I locate the .exe file in the program folder and try to run it I get an error message "this version of the file is not compatible...". Never had a problem with it before. Also running Firefox on two other PCs and android phone (synching bookmarks etc between devices). tried to uninstall using windows and get error message that program is already uninstalled (its not). how do I resolve this?? concerned that there are broken bits not only in the folders but in the registry etc that may cause problems in future. Help please!!

Chosen solution

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove your Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. This process does not remove your Firefox profile data (such as bookmarks and passwords), since that information is stored in a different location.

To do a clean reinstall of Firefox, please follow these steps: Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu New Fx Menu and click the close button Close 29).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • 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.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Please report back to say if this helped you!

Thank you.

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All Replies (10)

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Chosen Solution

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove your Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. This process does not remove your Firefox profile data (such as bookmarks and passwords), since that information is stored in a different location.

To do a clean reinstall of Firefox, please follow these steps: Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu New Fx Menu and click the close button Close 29).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • 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.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Please report back to say if this helped you!

Thank you.

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It seems you might currently be posting from the Extended Support Release of Firefox 52, also known as ESR. The installers for ESR are on the following page (otherwise, the process is the same):

https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/all/

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Thanks mattcamp! just completed delete/reinstall following your instructions and so far all seems to be working well! Thanks again.

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Hello,

I am glad to hear that your problem has been resolved. If you haven't already, please select the answer that solves the problem. This will help other users with similar problems find the solution more easily.

Thank you for contacting Mozilla Support.

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jscher2000 - thanks for the reply. since I couldn't post from the PC with corrupted firefox I was posting from a different PC using a different version! Note that I am using the ESR version on this PC since I need access to some sites that no longer work with the "new" /latest version of firefox thanks to some of the "improvements".

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Good, glad I could help.

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I have issue like if i am trying to download .tar.gz file from server, while extracting it says file is corrupted

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ankita199 Are you getting the file from Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

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FredMcD #answer-1055736 I hve a linux server and i am trying to download the file from server. The file hve .tar.gz extension. After downloading the file i try to extract and it says archieve is corrupted. File is not corrupted because it is downloading and extracted if i downloaded using chrome.

Modified by ankita199

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ankita199

A post was flagged as Solved Problem. You should create your own question. If you don't, others that can help may not read this post.

Please go to the top of any support.mozilla.org web page and use the Ask A Question link; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new Select the product for what the problem is (Firefox or whatever).

Now select the category for the problem. At the bottom is Other.

Describe the problem in brief. Then press <enter>. The website will display any prior posts that might help you. If nothing on the list can help, at the bottom press the button; None Of These Solve My Problem.

Now enter all the relative information on the problem. At the bottom of this, you can Add Images.

Under this is Troubleshooting Information. Please press the Share Data button. This will let us look at your system details. No Personal Information Is Collected.