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How can I prevent firefox from displaying an overall black page after I request a topic search in the google/firefox search box? Not able to see results

WinXPUser-1
WinXPUser-1
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I loaded Mozilla v31 on my PC laptop which uses Windows XP operating system with all current updates. When I click on my internet icon, it leads me to the Mozilla page with a Google search bar. Once I type a topic in and click for the search to begin, the Firefox page turns all black and I am not able to see any results or action being taken. I click on the back arrow and enter a new topic, and click on search button, it repeats the same behavior and the Firefox page turns black. Essentially Mozilla Firefox is not a usable browser unless I can fix it. Help!

I loaded Mozilla v31 on my PC laptop which uses Windows XP operating system with all current updates. When I click on my internet icon, it leads me to the Mozilla page with a Google search bar. Once I type a topic in and click for the search to begin, the Firefox page turns all black and I am not able to see any results or action being taken. I click on the back arrow and enter a new topic, and click on search button, it repeats the same behavior and the Firefox page turns black. Essentially Mozilla Firefox is not a usable browser unless I can fix it. Help!

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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When this happens, has the address bar changed to a google.com address or is it still blank?

Some graphical glitches are caused by an incompatibility between Firefox and your graphics card drivers. The standard workaround for bypassing this is to disable Firefox from using hardware acceleration. You can make that change here:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced

On the "General" mini-tab, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available"

That will take effect the next time you exit Firefox and start it up again.

More generally:

When you have a problem with one particular site, a good "first thing to try" is clearing your Firefox cache and deleting your saved cookies for the site.

(1) Bypass Firefox's Cache

Use Ctrl+Shift+r to reload the page fresh from the server.

Alternately, you also can clear Firefox's cache completely using:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced

On the Network mini-tab > Cached Web Content : "Clear Now"

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes.

(2) Remove the site's cookies (save any pending work first). While viewing a page on the site, try either:

  • right-click and choose View Page Info > Security > "View Cookies"
  • (menu bar) Tools > Page Info > Security > "View Cookies"

In the dialog that opens, you can remove the site's cookies individually.

Then try reloading the page. Does that help?