about:addons not loading, safe mode did not fix
The "about:addons" page will not load, more specifically the page layout loads however it is stuck at "Loading [moving wheel]". The other pages such as "Appearance" and "Plugins" will load, only the "Get Add-ons" tab will not. If I click "Check for Updates" (located in the [cog] drop down menu in top right) it instantly returns no updates available.
I have tried setting the theme to Default and loading Firefox in Safe Mode with addons disabled. This has not fixed the problem.
I have attempted to attach a screenshot however it is not uploading, here is a mirror: http://imgur.com/EkyFc1X Similarly, the troubleshooting plugin installed but did nothing; I used the manual copy text method however it appears to provide no usable information.
Chosen solution
It is possible that there is a problem with the file(s) that store the extensions registry.
Delete the extensions.* files (e.g. extensions.json, extensions.sqlite, extensions.ini) and compatibility.ini in the Firefox profile folder to reset the extensions registry.
New files will be created when required.
See "Corrupt extension files":
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_install_themes_or_extensions
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Unable+to+install+add-ons
If you see disabled or not compatible extensions in "Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions" then click the Tools button at the left end of the Search bar to check if there is a compatibility update available.
If this hasn't helped then also delete possible addons.json and addons.sqlite files.
You can also check for problems with preferences.
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Chosen Solution
It is possible that there is a problem with the file(s) that store the extensions registry.
Delete the extensions.* files (e.g. extensions.json, extensions.sqlite, extensions.ini) and compatibility.ini in the Firefox profile folder to reset the extensions registry.
New files will be created when required.
See "Corrupt extension files":
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_install_themes_or_extensions
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Unable+to+install+add-ons
If you see disabled or not compatible extensions in "Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions" then click the Tools button at the left end of the Search bar to check if there is a compatibility update available.
If this hasn't helped then also delete possible addons.json and addons.sqlite files.
You can also check for problems with preferences.
Holy *****..... I hate you.
Deleting the extensions files did not help. Deleting the profiles files did 'fix' the issue. HOWEVER Firefox is even worse now. I have lost years and years of bookmarks, all of my addons (including my password manager, I can now no longer login in to ANY websites as I don't have my passwords), and all of my personal settings.
I will never be able to recover all of my lost bookmarks, ones that I used on a daily basis for both business and personal use. This will effect my income.
You need to post a warning about things like this, this isn't okay.
AzoMittle said
Holy *****..... I hate you. Deleting the extensions files did not help. Deleting the profiles files did 'fix' the issue. HOWEVER Firefox is even worse now. I have lost years and years of bookmarks, all of my addons (including my password manager, I can now no longer login in to ANY websites as I don't have my passwords), and all of my personal settings. I will never be able to recover all of my lost bookmarks, ones that I used on a daily basis for both business and personal use. This will effect my income. You need to post a warning about things like this, this isn't okay.
Okay I fixed it. I'm sorry I got mad at you, you didn't deserve that.
For anyone else, it was a matter of restoring the old profiles.ini file. I shouldn't have deleted that, this was my mistake. Again apologies.
There is usually no need to worry if only the Get Add-ons tab isn't responding. Possible causes of this are that the Add -ons server is to busy or you may have a lot of extensions installed. Only if there is a problem with the extensions tab then you would have to check for issues.
What folder did you remove? Did you check the recycle bin for deleted files?
You can try to use undelete utility like Recuva to recover lost files.
- Recuva: http://www.piriform.com/recuva
cor-el said
There is usually no need to worry if only the Get Add-ons tab isn't responding. Possible causes of this are that the Add -ons server is to busy or you may have a lot of extensions installed. Only if there is a problem with the extensions tab then you would have to check for issues. What folder did you remove? Did you check the recycle bin for deleted files? You can try to use undelete utility like Recuva to recover lost files.
- Recuva: http://www.piriform.com/recuva
I deleted the extensions files (did not fix issues), then I deleted the addons files and profile.ini. Should not have deleted the profile file, it created a new setup folder for Firefox altogether. Solution for that was to simply recover the file from the recycle bin,
I was having more issues than just the Get Addons tab not working. I could not view/change/update the installed addons/extensions and many pages were not loading correctly (for example, all of the content would be layed out in a single vertical strip or links/images wouldn't load, some buttons didn't work, etc).
All good now it seems. I removed all but the essential plugins and addons.
If you delete the profiles.ini then Firefox won't be able to find your previously used profile and will create a new default profile. Your old profile will still be there and you can use the Profile Manager to create a new profile and click the "Choose Folder" button to point to the lost profile.
You can also recover files from that profile and copy file to the current profile folder.