Firefox won't open; tried all I found on this site; can't get in to disable add-ons.
Firefox will not open. Little wheel spins, then disappears. Nothing. Re-started computer - several times. Reinstalled Firefox. Nothing. Can't open in Admin. Can't open with double click or with right-click "Open". Many fixes on this site suggest going to the Firefox button to disable add-ons - of which I have few - however since Firefox won't start, I can't try these options. Can't get to my profile. (Have not changed my profile or add-ons for ages.) This seems to have happened right after the most recent update. I've read everything I can find on this website and other places, and can't make it work. Can't find old Firefox on program list, thus can't uninstall old version - perhaps this occurred automatically with new Firefox download?. Ran Spybot and deleted some adware and mal-ware. Still nothing. Ran Microsoft Security - nothing. I'm running Windows 7. I can't open the troubleshooting file offered below. Firefox was working well until yesterday. Sigh. Can anyone help with this?
Chosen solution
You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:
- On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
- On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
- Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.
Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.
- Firefox 22.0: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html
Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.
- Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.
Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.
- (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
- (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"
- It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.
If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.
Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.
Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - SuperAntispyware:
http://www.superantispyware.com/ - Microsoft Safety Scanner:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx - Windows Defender: Home Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx - Spybot Search & Destroy:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - AdwCleaner:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml - Kasperky Free Security Scan:
http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan
You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.
- Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:
http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446
See also:
- "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked
All Replies (8)
And you can't open the Firefox SafeMode?
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-using-safe-mode
Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.
Nope, can't even open in safe mode...
Tried that and it didn't work. I pressed F8 at the screen that shows some F-key options at the bottom. Hope that's the "boot screen".
Keep getting a message that says "A script on this page may be busy or it may have stopped responding." Neither Continue nor Stop Script help.
Then it says: Script: resource://gre/components/nsBlocklistService.js:771
or sometimes it says: Script: chrome://cloudmagic/content/bg.plugin.frame.html:45
Holy cow! It just opened - I have no idea why - then I got THIS error: Error: Illegal operation on WrappedNative prototype object
That error box would only go away with a bunch of clicks.
Do you think it's fixed?
Will look at add-ons if poss.
Chosen Solution
You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:
- On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
- On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
- Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.
Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.
- Firefox 22.0: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html
Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.
- Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.
Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.
- (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
- (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"
- It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.
If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.
Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.
Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - SuperAntispyware:
http://www.superantispyware.com/ - Microsoft Safety Scanner:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx - Windows Defender: Home Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx - Spybot Search & Destroy:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - AdwCleaner:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml - Kasperky Free Security Scan:
http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan
You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.
- Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:
http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446
See also:
- "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked