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Since updating to Firefox 26.0, whenever I start Firefox it opens to a blank tab instead of my homepage.

  • 14 replies
  • 36 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by Scorpio54

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My Firefox preferences are set to: When Firefox starts: Show my homepage Home page: http://www.foxnews.com/

If I change my homepage, Firefox still opens to a blank tab.

My Firefox preferences are set to: When Firefox starts: Show my homepage Home page: http://www.foxnews.com/ If I change my homepage, Firefox still opens to a blank tab.

Chosen solution

I think I solved my problem. As I said previously, I reverted back to 25.0.1 and everything was fine. This morning I decided to start from scratch. I deleted Firefox and all related files from my computer. Using an app called EasyFind I located every file related to Firefox on my hard-drive and deleted them. This included all preferences and profiles. I then downloaded Firefox 26.0 and installed it. So far, the problem has not happened again. All is well. Thank you to all who assisted me and Happy New Year! Regards, Ken

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All Replies (14)

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Type about:config in URL and accept the condition

Filter browser.startup.homepage and change the value to "www.foxnews.com"

if its not working.


The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information.
Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions and some Preferences.

  • Open websites will not be saved in Firefox versions lower than 25.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.

Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

Modified by iamjayakumars

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I tried both resetting Firefox and your first suggestion. Still not fixed.

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I have temporarily reverted back to Firefox 25.0.1 until a fix is found with 26.0.

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Hello corvairkid64,

Thanks for contacting Mozilla Support. So I can better understand your issue do you see this behavior when you are starting Firefox fresh or when you are opening a new tab it does not show your homepage?

Cheers, Patrick

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It happens when I start Firefox. It should open to my selected homepage, but instead, opens to a blank page. After reverting back to version 25.0.1 the problem went away.

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Hello corvairkid64,

Profile corruption can cause issues like this. Can you try creating a new profile within Firefox 26 to see if the issue is still present?

Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles

Cheers, Patrick

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You can check for problems with the sessionstore.js and sessionstore.bak files in the Firefox profile folder that store session data.

Delete the sessionstore.js file and possible sessionstore-##.js files with a number and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox profile folder.

Deleting sessionstore.js will cause App Tabs and Tab Groups and open and closed (undo) tabs to get lost and you will have to recreate them (make a note or bookmark them if possible).


Are you using "Clear history when Firefox closes"?

Modified by cor-el

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Hello PatrickMC, I tried making a new profile. No change. The problem persists. I am changing back to 25.0.1 again until a fix is developed. Thanks for trying to help. Ken

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Hello Cor-el, I don't quite understand your instructions regarding sessionstore.js. I'm not comfortable digging around in my system files.

Yes, I use "clear history when Firefox closes". I have been using that setting for many years with no problem.

I have reverted back to version 25.0.1 and again the problem has stopped.

I have been using Firefox for many years now and have never had a problem with updates. I feel that there is a bug in this new version which needs to be addressed. It's simple cause and effect. All versions of Firefox worked fine until 26.0. The problem starts with 26.0. Hence the problem is in 26.0, not in how my computer is configured.

Thanks for trying to help. I will stay with 25.0.1 until I see 26.1. Then I'll try again.

Regards, Ken

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You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

  • Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder (Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder)

You can find the sessionstore.js file in this folder.

Note that a reset tries to restore the tabs from the previously used profile, so it is possible that the problem got get carried over.

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Chosen Solution

I think I solved my problem. As I said previously, I reverted back to 25.0.1 and everything was fine. This morning I decided to start from scratch. I deleted Firefox and all related files from my computer. Using an app called EasyFind I located every file related to Firefox on my hard-drive and deleted them. This included all preferences and profiles. I then downloaded Firefox 26.0 and installed it. So far, the problem has not happened again. All is well. Thank you to all who assisted me and Happy New Year! Regards, Ken

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PatrickMC, It appears that your analysis that the problem could be caused by a corrupt profile may have been the cause. Thanks again, Ken

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cor-el, You also referred to the profiles. I didn't quite understand everything you said but you did get me thinking. My clean sweep approach seems to have worked. Thanks again, Ken

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Hello patrickmc, I'm not sure if I've directed this to the proper place, if not, maybe you can still help me. Yesterday I updated my old Firefox version to the latest one, and now when I click on the Firefox icon in the start menu the Firefox start page appears, but none of the other tabs (I guess that's what they're called called) appear? I'm referring to sites like MSNBC, MSN,most visited, etc.. How do I get those to re-appear? Any help will be greatly appreciated.