Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

• You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
• Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.

Thank you.

This could explain some of the problems: if the other sites is only designed for http access, then trying https may fail to connect. But then it should work with changing google to facebook, since Facebook is set up for secure connections.

I notice that you have changed some network prefs and that HTTP pipelining is enabled.

Try to reset user set (bold) network.http prefs via the right-click context menu to the default value.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/network.http.pipelining

Thanks. Not sure I understand your instructions, and the first link was even more confusing. The second link leads nowhere... but I did reset to default values and will see what happens. I have noticed that if I remove the "s" in https://, it has worked, but I never used to have to do that!

I noted this as well. If I take out the "s", it will work. The vexing part of this is I never had to do that before--- something changed and it was NOT on my end.

Hi, I tried starting in "SAFE" Mode, but that did not solve the problem. The only "solution" to the problem -- at least so far -- is to remove the "s" from the https://... but I still am dumbfounded why the change has occurred. And I do not consider removing the "s" as a solution or workaround!

Hi jwsloway, I don't know why this problem would not have occurred before, unless you switched from using a search plugin that searched http Google to one using https Google, or you are staying logged in to your Google account (Google will redirect), or you are using an add-on which forces HTTPS on popular sites when available.

Hi jsher2000, thanks for your input. You may very well be right. I'm unwilling at this point to do any more research... I'll just enter sites in the email search bar from scratch, without the "s" ;-) . Good day ~ JW