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Problems with Firefox??
Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
1
November 3, 2008 - 4:16 pm

Hi - Anyone having any problems with Firefox? This just started a couple of days back; I hit the Firefox icon and it opens a blank page, won't download the start page and the activity light on the router stops blinking....this isn't all the time, just intermittently. When I click on a link (in the bookmarks sidebar) it will not load immediately, I have to click on the link again and it will load...again, this is happening intermittently but often enough to be a nuisance (having to do everything twice to get anywhere). Also, Firefox seems slower than usual.
This is not happening using IE. I am getting to the stage where I am considering switching to IE for my default browser, something which I am reluctant to do.

Anyone else experiencing this.....any suggestions?

thanks,
JIM.

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
2
November 3, 2008 - 5:58 pm

I've not experienced anything like it, but I've heard of it before.

do you have many extensions installed? They could be getting in the way.

I would first try opening Firefox in "Safe Mode" and seeing if that solves the issue.

Next, I would create a new profile, and see if that makes the problem go away.

if it's neither of those, you could always re-install Firefox. Or dbl chk your virus settings and make sure you don't have something hijacking your connection (Firefox is growing in market share and is becoming a specific target).

if you need help with any of the above, pls let me know.

--zig

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
3
November 3, 2008 - 7:18 pm

Zig - Thanks for the reply mate. Tried safe mode (in Firefox), created new profile...both no go. Re-installed, made no difference.

What do you mean by "dbl chk your virus settings"....which settings are you referring to? I am using Avast (free).

thanks Zig.

JIM

David Hartsock
1117 Posts
(Offline)
4
November 3, 2008 - 8:22 pm

Have you reset your homepage (I know it's Daves Computer Tips)?

Another thing could be if you are using the Tab Mix Plus addin. I've heard of this addin's session restore feature conflicting with the built in session restore. I use the extension, but only use the FF3 session restore functionality.

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
5
November 4, 2008 - 12:47 am

Umm....I'm not sure what I meant when I wrote that. I had a 5 year old talking in my ear at the time.

I think what I meant is: are you scanning clean for viruses? Nothing in there that shouldn't be? No odd programs running? It's very odd to me that Firefox in safe mode would still run slow, but not Internet Explorer.

Also check your proxy settings and make sure auto-detect isn't checked, as things can time out when trying to detect your network settings (which seldom change anyway).

Hmm...now that I think about it, I'm not sure Firefox has that option.

What add-ons do you have installed??

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
6
November 4, 2008 - 2:37 am

Thanks Guys - After the re-install I ran FF bare bones, i.e. no addons, default theme, no tweaking....still the same. I'm going to uninstall again, delete all profiles, settings, etc. and start over...see if that fixes it. All scans via security software are showing clean.....I'll let you know.

cheers again....JIM

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
7
November 4, 2008 - 9:03 am

Well, what a drama. I completely uninstalled Firefox and then 'searched' for any remnants...deleted all found and then reinstalled. Still no go! So, system restored back about 10 days and when the restore finished (successfully, according to Vista) I couldn't access FF at all...couldn't uninstall it either. Decided I may as well 'undo' the system restore but when I went to do that I discovered that all the restore points had vanished. Thank heavens for Acronis! Luckily, I had created an image on 27th October so just restored the image and all back to normal now..including FF working as advertised.
I have no idea why, what, when or how FF broke.

Prior to doing all that, I ran all my scans (again) plus Malwarebytes Anti Malware and Hijack This...nothing, nada, zero....so, absolutely no idea!

Anyway, thanks again for your input guys,
JIM

Mindblower
Montreal, Canada
666 Posts
(Offline)
8
November 4, 2008 - 11:23 am

All this uninstalling and reinstalling can create a tole on your registry. Here is what I'd suggest (it's a long process but it's worked for me in the past).
1 - uninstall (better to use an uninstall program that can remove registry entries)
2 - check for left over files and delete (even the firefox current program in your d/l directory, program files, etc,,)
3 - run a program to search for problems (have them corrected) in the registry
4 - defrag your registry (reboot is required)
4a - this is optional (create a restore point, clear all junk, temp and deleted files, them defrag hard disk
5 - see if you can find any traces of Firefox on your computer (if found DELETE)
6 - if you're sure (you've truly done the above) firefox is no longer on your hardisk, download the copy
7 - install fresh copy (no extras)
8 - reboot and see if firefox works okay (if not - suggest you try out point 4a or you've got a big problem)
9 - create a RESTORE point and add to firefox now (you've got a good fall back position)

I use a program call TweakNow PowerPack to defrag and correct registry errors, Revo Uninstall to truly remove a program and it's registry tracks, and run Defraggler to remove hard disk fragments. It's your call, Mindblower!

"For the needy, not the greedy"

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
9
November 4, 2008 - 3:55 pm

Glad you're working. That was certainly odd. I haven't noticed any problems with Firefox, but my comptuer is slower than molasses running uphill in January...

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
10
November 4, 2008 - 5:05 pm

Mindblower - Thanks, that's a good list but it also represents the regimen that I generally follow as I did in this case; used Revo to uninstall, Windows search for any remnants, ran both CCleaner and AWC immediately after, defragged everything. Obviously there remained something there somewhere.

Zig - 'Odd' is exactly how I would describe it too. I've been using FF for years and [i:3olcokc4]never[/i:3olcokc4] had a problem. I was certain I had uninstalled/deleted everything but when I finally reinstalled FF a second folder was created in C/program files with a number, in parenthesis after it...so, I had one normal Mozilla folder and then another called Mozilla (897). I went through the entire procedure twice before finally giving up after the same result. BTW: Because of FF's reliability in the past I had never needed to uninstall until now....don't know about previous versions but FF3 proved to be a real #@$%$# to get rid of.
The image was from the 27th October, it would appear something happened between then and now, I have since applied all updates and FF is still behaving.....go figure!!

thanks again,
JIM

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