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Firfox is still loaded on my computer, but will not open. Would not open up after I did a Restore (have XP).

  • 2 replies
  • 3 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Bearcat78

Bearcat78
Bearcat78
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I did a restore (Wndows XP). After that Firefox would not start. You can see the "hour glass" for a second, but nothing happens. I tried the SAFE Mode Start and it would not work. I went into the Program file and tried opening with the .exe fie. Nothing, I don't won't to lose my Bookmarks by having to install a new version. I have not tried creating a new profile becauae i'm not sure if I can do it right or even if it would work.

Would appreciate any help. Thanks. Bearcat78

I did a restore (Wndows XP). After that Firefox would not start. You can see the "hour glass" for a second, but nothing happens. I tried the SAFE Mode Start and it would not work. I went into the Program file and tried opening with the .exe fie. Nothing, I don't won't to lose my Bookmarks by having to install a new version. I have not tried creating a new profile becauae i'm not sure if I can do it right or even if it would work. Would appreciate any help. Thanks. Bearcat78

Chosen solution

Hello Bearcat78.

I advise what you suspect... a clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. But it's not too difficult.

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

Firstly, backup your profile by saving a copy of the profile file... See: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data.

  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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All Replies (2)

Sheldrake
Sheldrake
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Chosen Solution

Hello Bearcat78.

I advise what you suspect... a clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. But it's not too difficult.

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

Firstly, backup your profile by saving a copy of the profile file... See: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data.

  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!

Bearcat78
Bearcat78 Question owner
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Hi Sheldrake, 

 Thanks for the help - your answer worked great.  I actually did everything right the first time.  I'm glad they save the bookmarks in a separate file.  Everything is working fine again.  Learned a few lessons about backing up more often - do good for awhile then get lazy or in a hurry again.

Anyway, take care.  Have a good rest of the week.

 Bearcat78