Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

About:newtab not working

  • 5 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

Win7x64Pro, Firefox 19.2 I have the homepage set to have several tabs open when I start Firefox, the last tab has always been "about:newtab" which I find helpful. Today, that tab is looking for a web URL instead of newtab. My homepage has not changed and still has ...about:newtab as the last entry.

The popup box says: The address isn't valid. The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded.

I have recently downloaded several RSS Feed readers trying to find a sub for Google Reader. I don't know if one of these corrupted newtab or not.

Win7x64Pro, Firefox 19.2 I have the homepage set to have several tabs open when I start Firefox, the last tab has always been "about:newtab" which I find helpful. Today, that tab is looking for a web URL instead of newtab. My homepage has not changed and still has ...about:newtab as the last entry. The popup box says: The address isn't valid. The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded. I have recently downloaded several RSS Feed readers trying to find a sub for Google Reader. I don't know if one of these corrupted newtab or not.

Chosen solution

UPDATE: Prior to getting your helpful answer I went the Safe Mode route and couldn't find the problem there. I then did the Reset and still had the problem. I then did a Windows Restore to 3 days ago when I knew for sure that everything was normal and before I started to download the various RSS Feeders for trial.

After the Windows System Restore Point everything is back to normal. I have not however reran today's Windows Defender Update. I'll wait until tomorrow when I can still keep my 72 year old eyes open.

Thanks for the info your responses have been most helpful in the past.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (5)

more options

hey, use it without quotes "-url about:newtab" in youy browser

more options

There are no quotes in the homepage entry. Sorry for the confusion. Other than the RSS reader downloads, the only other download was a new microsoft defender update this morning.

more options

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.
more options

Chosen Solution

UPDATE: Prior to getting your helpful answer I went the Safe Mode route and couldn't find the problem there. I then did the Reset and still had the problem. I then did a Windows Restore to 3 days ago when I knew for sure that everything was normal and before I started to download the various RSS Feeders for trial.

After the Windows System Restore Point everything is back to normal. I have not however reran today's Windows Defender Update. I'll wait until tomorrow when I can still keep my 72 year old eyes open.

Thanks for the info your responses have been most helpful in the past.

more options

It may also have helped to close and restart Firefox or reboot the computer.