I have set openintabs to true but it still doesn't work; win7/64 ffox 3.6

If you expand "Troubleshooting Information" in your post, you should see that config item, if it has been changed from the default value of false. I do not see it in your list.

Try setting it again: -type about:config in the URL/address bar and press the Enter key -if you see a warning, accept it (promise to be careful) -Filter = browser.search.openintab -right-click on the item and choose Toggle -the lower pane should now show the item in bold, user set, boolean, true Note: You may need to restart Firefox (File > Restart) for the change to take effect

Not all prefs that have been changed are show in the Troubleshooting information list, only some selected prefs.

The pref browser.search.openintab only works for the Google search bar on the Navigation toolbar. If you want to use it on the default Firefox Google home page then you need to change the Google settings.

For the Google website you can set your preferences on the Google Search settings page: Results Window: Open search results in a new browser window.