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Lolu chungechunge lwabekwa kunqolobane. Uyacelwa ubuze umbuzo omusha uma udinga usizo.

I can't change or restore my search engine tool

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  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu cor-el

phoenixraintaj
phoenixraintaj
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I have tried everything to fix my search engine tool in the upper right corner of my tool bar but have been unable to change, add, or even restore it to the default settings. I think I may have downloaded an add-on that conflicted somehow and changed my search engine and deleted all the rest, that would have been fine if only I could restore the defaults. I even restore firefox entirely to see if that would fix the problem, which it did not. The only other option I have next is completely uninstall and reinstall Firefox, but I really don't want to do that because I will lose all my bookmarks. Please can someone help me with this if possible.

I have tried everything to fix my search engine tool in the upper right corner of my tool bar but have been unable to change, add, or even restore it to the default settings. I think I may have downloaded an add-on that conflicted somehow and changed my search engine and deleted all the rest, that would have been fine if only I could restore the defaults. I even restore firefox entirely to see if that would fix the problem, which it did not. The only other option I have next is completely uninstall and reinstall Firefox, but I really don't want to do that because I will lose all my bookmarks. Please can someone help me with this if possible.

All Replies (2)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Does the box have an image like 4 different-colored droplets forming a pinwheel? That is generated by an add-on, but I can't recall which one. If you use the customize feature, can you remove it, then get the "real" search box back onto your navigation toolbar?

To start customizing:

  • right-click a blank area of the tab bar > Customize
  • tap the Alt key > View menu > Toolbars > Customize

You might also disable your less frequently used plugins to see whether that makes any difference.

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > Plugins category

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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You can check if you still have the XML files of the default search engines including Google in the searchplugins folder in Firefox program folder.

If not then you need to reinstall Firefox.

Try to use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

You can delete the search.json file and a possible search.sqlite file in the Firefox profile folder.

Firefox will rebuild the search.json file from the default search engines in the searchplugins folder in the Firefox program folder and the searchplugins folder in the Firefox profile folder.

You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

  • Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder