Clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

Firefox > Preferences > Advanced > Network > Offline Storage (Cache): "Clear Now" "Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

You can check if you have the XML files of the default search engines including Google in the browser\searchplugins folder in the Firefox program folder.

• (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
• (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

If not then you need to reinstall Firefox.

You can find the full version of the current current Firefox release (39.0) in all languages and all operating systems here:

• https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/

Can you use the address bar at all? For example, if you type or paste www.mozilla.org Firefox should recognize it as a server name and try to load it without using search. Does that work?

If the address bar is completely nonfunctional, you might be running into this problem:

Due to a change in how Firefox 39 associates keywords with bookmarks and/or history, the address bar is newly sensitive to corruption in the database that stores your history and bookmarks (the places.sqlite file). When the file has certain kinds of corruption, the address bar stops working.

The developers are working on a solution, but that could take weeks to get to you (i.e., when Firefox 40 is released).

At this point, the easiest workaround is to remove/rename the places.sqlite file, but then you lose all your history, so that's really not very attractive for people who rely on history for revisiting sites.

In case you want to try that -- if no other good suggestions come along -- here's how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
• (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information

In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
• (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename places.sqlite to something like oldplaces.sqlite. (Please rename and don't delete in case the automatic rebuild goes awry.)

Firefox creates temporary files related to places.sqlite and those may need to be renamed/removed as well. Check for places.sqlite-shm and places.sqlite-wal and rename them as well.

When you start Firefox back up again, it should start a new places.sqlite database and import your last automatic bookmark backup. Can you confirm that all your bookmarks are present? Does the address bar work normally again?

The problem still exists. I can do a search using the Google search space in the page body but the search box in the menu bar is still dead. Under options/search there aren't any options. The Home Page won't set to my choice.

Could you clarify what you mean by

the search box in the menu bar

For example, in the attached screen shot, the address bar or the search bar. Or is it something else?

bonincw said

The Home Page won't set to my choice.

Is the problem that:

(1) Firefox won't let you edit the setting; (2) The setting isn't saved if you edit it, close the Options page, and open it up again; (3) The Options page shows the correct home page address, but using the Home button or launching a new window using Ctrl+n gives you the wrong page; or (4) The Home button works in Firefox, but the Firefox desktop shortcut leads to an unwanted page?