I followed solutions for Firefox "profile is missing / inaccessible" launch message, even replaced Firefox (after deleting it all) and error message continues.
Support,
"Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible" message cannot be stopped after exhaustiing proposed solutions.
I tried everything at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible
Example: I created "profile.iniOLD" file so that a new "profile.ini" file was generated. But it did not help .
Example: I removed "profile.ini"
Example: I named Firefox folder old
I finally removed Firefox and made sure any remaining files/folders were removed. Then I went to Mozilla to download a fresh Firefox execution file and reloaded the browser on my laptop.
Even after all that the "Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible" message continues. This problem initially began with a new Firefox browser update (the one that added screenshot capabilities for the browser) was loaded a few weeks ago. Ever since that time using Firefox has been a hassle.
Regards, JM
All Replies (4)
hi, please make sure that your kaspersky product is fully up to date: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1384327
Did Firefox create a new profiles.ini file after you renamed or removed an existing profiles.ini?
Can you bring up the Profile Manager?
Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support to see if that has effect in case security software is causing problems.
Support,
I am following the instructions from the first email response because I suspect Kaspersky (KAV) may have caused the problem. It was outdated.
At this time I removed all Kaspersky software except the Kaspersky Security Scan (KSS) tool which I can sometimes use passively (when I want to) to scan for malware / viruses. I updated KSS files. Another passive tool I will keep at hand is Malwarebytes.
All Kaspersky antivirus softwares were removed as they actively pursue antivirus activity and may have caused the problem. I removed three Kaspersky softwares.
As a replacement Antivirus software I have decided to install Checkpoint's ZoneAlarm Antivirus + Firewall. It uses Kaspersky for Antivirus and provides one of the most robust firewalls. I am currently downloading that software.
If that action does not stop the "profile is missing / inaccessible" message I will follow up with your latest question. I have a slow download so that is why I am waiting to report the final result.
Regards,
I am not sure if it was Kaspersky update files being outdated or if it was a browser hijack adware/malware (explained below).
I ran the following softwares: Malwarebytes, Hitman Zemana AntiLogger
The above softwares detected a few things, but the culprit may have been: 'Backdoor.Win32.InfeCleaner.a' detected in Downloads file ccsetup533.exe
Anyway, the problem was solved.
Thanks,