Please update to the most recent version of Firefox:

• Update Firefox to the latest release

The old work around had to do with an add on, try Firefox is Safe Mode to make sure its not an issue with an add on:

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

• Click the menu button , click Help and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

• On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
• On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
• On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
  (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.

You are AMAZING!!! Not just for providing me with the solution (I'd totally forgotten I'd recently added in a new graphics card, so turning off the Hardware Acceleration as outlined in the Troubleshooter was all I needed to do, but for the lengthy & superb info you've provided for me.

So many sometimes just put up 2 or 3 lines of suggestions, which is fine too, but I appreciate the extensive info especially with the 'walkthrough' for each section.

PERFECT!!!! Thanks you SO much - truly appreciated.

Are these the little samples in the MP3 store, for example: http://www.amazon.com/Hotel-California-Eagles/dp/B00DAKW7Q2/ref=tmm_msc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

(Perhaps not, as I didn't see any .m3u files loading)

For me, after adjusting NoScript to allow some sites I hadn't previously allowed, the MP3 samples played using the built-in HTML5 player.

Does your Firefox support MP3 in the native player? You can test on this site: http://hpr.dogphilosophy.net/test/

Yep it's the samples I was talking about - I always assumed they were just MP3 files but when the box came up asking me to download or save them, it listed them as M3U ones hence my confusion too.

But it's thankfully all sorted now & they're playing happily in FF as they should.

Thanks for your input & links etc.

I have a similar problem. I tried safe mode but it still exists. When I try to play an amazon music clip from a list of songs, a dialog box opens asking me how I want to open it. I tried asking it to open in Firefox and got dozens and dozens of new tabs opening. When I finally got that to stop (and it took several closings and re-openings of FF to stop it), I changed it to open with Windows Media Player (which is not the best way to listen to 30 second audio clips). But even though I checked "Do this automatically from now on" and it is listed as the default for m3u files in Options, it continues to ask me every time. What's even weirder is that if I go to the individual song page and click on the play button, it plays fine. It's just in the lists that it doesn't work. Any suggestions? I have version 40.0.2 of FF, which I think is the latest.

Hi cfcentaurea, could you give a link to a specific page where this problem occurs?

It's any page in digital music downloads where you get a playlist of songs, e.g., with search results. The urls are absurdly long, but you can get it by going to digital music http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b/ref=topnav_storetab_dmusic?ie=UTF8&node=163856011 and searching on any artist. On results page, scroll past the albums to the playlist of individual songs. Where there is a list, when I click on the play button it opens the dialog box (as in 2nd screenshot). Where there is just one song on the page (as in 3rd screenshot), it plays fine.

Hi cfcentaurea, thank you for the explanation. I think I see the difference because if i block Flash on the page, I get the same behavior as you.

When Flash is allowed there is a "Play Samples" button above the list and when you play an individual tune, that centered player shows a pause button.

When Flash blocked, clicking a play button causes the site to serve an m3u file with this header:

Content-Type: audio/x-mpegurl

None of my plugins handle that content type, so I get prompted to download it.

Thank you jscher2000, that worked! I had no idea what that little icon on the address bar meant, or why I would ever need to look at it.

But it brings up the question, what was blocking flash in the first place? I had turned off adblock, and had no other flash-blocking add-on set to block it. I looked at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/why-do-i-have-click-activate-plugins and it says if flash is blocked I would see a message telling me I need to update. But I didn't get any message, AND my flash plugin is up to date and set to "Always Activate".

And why was it that I could play the song by clicking the play button on the individual song page, but not by clicking the play button by the song in the list? Seems like there must be a bug in there somewhere...

cfcentaurea said

But it brings up the question, what was blocking flash in the first place? ... my flash plugin is up to date and set to "Always Activate".

It might be site-specific to Amazon. You can check it on the Permissions panel of the Page Info dialog. You can call that up using any of these:

• right-click a blank area of the page and choose View Page Info > Permissions
• (menu bar) Tools menu > Page Info > Permissions
• click the padlock or globe icon to the left of the site address > More Information > Permissions

Near the top you'll see a permission for Adobe Flash which may have been changed from Use Default to Ask to Activate. Perhaps when some Flash on the site was being particularly annoying?

And why was it that I could play the song by clicking the play button on the individual song page, but not by clicking the play button by the song in the list? Seems like there must be a bug in there somewhere...

It may be that you only get the m3u when there is more than one to play. They could do a better job with the design if most people don't have a relevant plugin.

You were right! The permissions for Flash on Amazon were set to "always ask". I changed it to "use default" and the center controls appeared.

But I'm pretty sure I didn't set that - I avoid changing individual settings for specific sites for the very reason that I'm afraid I will forget I changed them and then be baffled later when they don't work right. I didn't know about that permission tabs on site info, so I normally set adblock to filter everywhere or disable everywhere. If I want to block an individual annoyance, I use quickjava, where the setting icons are always clearly visible to me.

Is it possible that flash was blocked by mozilla at some time when flash was vulnerable, and after it was updated the setting was not automatically changed? Or would mozilla block it because I have it set not to do automatic updates?

The sample on the individual song page does appear to be m3u - I looked at the html code and this was the link for the sample button: <a class="a-link-normal" href="/gp/dmusic/media/sample.m3u/ref=dm_ws_tlw_smpl_nojs_trk1?ASIN=B003UPINCO&catalogItemType=track"></a>

Sure is complicated!

I don't think Firefox ever sets a site-specific block on its own, but perhaps the Continue Blocking button caused it?? Anyway, when in doubt about whether a plugin is working or blocked in a page, you can click the notification icon in the address bar to check (looks like a small Lego block).

A mystery that will probably remain unsolved. Now that I know what that little icon is (it certainly does look like a Lego!) I'll check that first if I'm having plugin problems. Thanks for all your help!