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Why do I have to clear my browser cache every time I open firefox?

  • 6 cavab
  • 5 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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A few months ago Firefox stopped working properly. I think there is something wrong with the Adobe Flash plug in, but I've uninstalled and reinstalled it several times to no avail. Whenever I go to a website that uses flash player, I get an error message that the video can't load and that I should clear my browser cache. Sometimes after clearing it the video will play, sometimes it won't. But every single time I go to the website, I get the same message. Flash works fine on Chrome and Internet Explorer, and I'm about to give up on Firefox altogether.

A few months ago Firefox stopped working properly. I think there is something wrong with the Adobe Flash plug in, but I've uninstalled and reinstalled it several times to no avail. Whenever I go to a website that uses flash player, I get an error message that the video can't load and that I should clear my browser cache. Sometimes after clearing it the video will play, sometimes it won't. But every single time I go to the website, I get the same message. Flash works fine on Chrome and Internet Explorer, and I'm about to give up on Firefox altogether.

All Replies (6)

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The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.


Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

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The Adobe Flash plugin doesn't even show up in my list of plugins - not sure what to do about that. I know it's on my computer because it works in Chrome and Internet Explorer, but it doesn't work in Firefox.

Cookies are enabled.

Resetting firefox didn't change anything. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program and that didn't help either.

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Install the flash manually

Make sure your not using any flash block addons/extensions.

Remove unwanted extensions

check for malware _______________________________________________________________________________ Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

Please report back to see if this helped you!

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I installed flash manually and there were no errors, but it still does not appear in my list of plugins and videos will not play.

I'm not using any flash blockers, I have no unwanted extensions, and no malware.

The clean reinstall didn't work either.

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The Flash plugin does sow in the system details list added to your first post.

  • Shockwave Flash 11.6 r602

You can check for problems with current Flash plugin versions and try these:

  • disable a possible RealPlayer Browser Record Plugin extension for Firefox and update the RealPlayer if installed
  • disable protected mode in Flash 11.3 and later
  • disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin

Make sure that you aren't blocking cookies and that local storage is enabled, both in Firefox and in the Flash player.

Try to clear the Flash local storage and settings.

  • Windows Control Panel > Flash Player > Storage: Local Storage Settings
    • Remove a specific domain: Local Storage Settings by site
    • Remove all domains: Delete All and Delete Data

Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.

Modified by cor-el