Compare Revisions

add-ons fix diagnose broken

Having problems with websites that use plugins like Adobe Flash? Learn how to check whether or not the plugin is the cause.

If you are having problems with pages that use [[Use plugins to play audio, video, games and more|plugins]] (such as Adobe Flash, Java and others) to display content, you may need to check to see whether a plugin is causing the problem. {for win7,win8,win10} <!--Windows 64-bit Firefox requires Windows 7 or above (bug 1093741)--> {for =fx42,=fx43}{warning}'''Important:''' The new 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows currently recognizes and supports only the Adobe Flash plugin. See [https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/10/08/npapi-plugins-in-firefox/ this Mozilla blog post] for details.{/warning}{/for} {for fx44}{warning}'''Important:''' The 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows currently recognizes and supports only the Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight plugins.{/warning}{/for} {/for} Common problems caused by plugins include: * [[Firefox crashes - Troubleshoot, prevent and get help fixing crashes|Crashing]] or [[Firefox hangs or is not responding - How to fix|Hanging]] * [[Fix problems that cause images to not show|Images]] or [[Fix common audio and video issues|multimedia]] items do not load * [[What to do if you can't download or save files|Problems downloading]] This article describes how to troubleshoot plugins. If you are having a problem with an extension or theme, see [[Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems]]. For general information on plugins, see [[Use plugins to play audio, video, games and more]]. __TOC__ = Determining if a plugin is the problem = You can selectively disable plugins while Firefox is running. If you suspect a certain plugin, disable it first, then test for your problem. If you don't know which plugin to disable: #[[T:Open Add-ons|type=Plugins]] # Select a plugin in the list and then select {button Never Activate} in its drop-down menu. Repeat this step for each plugin in the list, until all of them are disabled. You do not need to restart Firefox for the changes to take effect. # Test for your problem. If it does not occur, go back to the Add-ons Manager tab and re-enable plugins one-by-one with the {button Always Activate} drop-down menu until you find which one causes your problem to occur. If you find that disabling a plugin fixes your problem, continue following the steps in this article. = Updating or re-installing your plugins = Many problems with plugins can be solved by updating to the latest version of the plugin. [[T:plugincheck]] If updating to the newest version of the plugin or reinstalling it does not fix the problem, you can leave it disabled. = Manually uninstalling a plugin = If you can't use an uninstaller program to remove a plugin, you can remove it manually: # Type '''about:plugins''' into the [[Awesome Bar - Find your bookmarks, history and tabs when you type in the address bar|Location bar]] and press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for} to display the About Plugins page. # Each entry in the About Plugins page will have "File:" and "Path:", showing the name and location of the plugin file. {for win}Use Windows Explorer to navigate{/for}{for mac,linux}Navigate{/for} to the folder shown for the plugin you want to remove. # Rename the file to add an X in front of the filename (for instance, {filepath npswf32} becomes {filepath Xnpswf32}). The plugin will be removed. = Re-initializing the plugins database = In some cases, you may not be able to install or re-install a plugin. Re-initializing the plugins database may fix this problem: # [[T:profileFolder]] # [[T:closeFirefox]] # Delete the {filepath pluginreg.dat} file. # Open Firefox # In the Location bar type '''about:plugins''' and press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for} to bring up the Firefox plugins list.