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Firefox search bar flashes but doesn't load any pages

  • 12 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 23 views
  • Last reply by Hugheseyy

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So whenever i search, the page flashes but nothing happens.

IE works fine.

Refreshing Firefox didnt help Firefox Safe Mode didnt help Uninstall and reinstall in windows safe mode didnt help

Any other help? I need firefox for work is all.

So whenever i search, the page flashes but nothing happens. IE works fine. Refreshing Firefox didnt help Firefox Safe Mode didnt help Uninstall and reinstall in windows safe mode didnt help Any other help? I need firefox for work is all.

Chosen solution

Ok so after doing a few more netsh resets it is working now.

in the end i did:

Checked firewall and Security program blockages. Clean Reinstall of firefox Update all windows updates malware checks virus checks registry cleanup

netsh resets:

 - netsh int ip reset
 - netsh winsock reset catalog
 - netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
 - netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

and it is now working.

Thank you to all who helped.

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All Replies (12)

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So are you basiclly saying Firefox cannot be used ?

When Firefox opens it usually has two bars at the top the addresbar and the search bar.

Possibly it is security software interfering, what security related softwre is in use ? See also

If the problemis only with the searchbar maybe it is adware or malware

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Sorry if i was vauge.

The Search Bar doesnt do anything. the address bar works for the about: links, but wont open any webpage (it looks like its trying to for a split second, then it just stays on the page it was on)

copied addresses dont work either.

Using AVG and Windows Firewall, tried disabling all of those and running in windows safe mode to ensure avg wasnt interfering and no luck.

there is no addons as i have used a fresh install.

im currently searching for malware on all the suggested programs, no luck yet.

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Thanks for the clarification. With that description Security software would be the first suspect but you seem to have ruled that out,so I will wait to see if your attempts to check for malware give a solution.

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Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by 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\"

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 NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.


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Ok so steps I have tried so far (In no particular order):

Opening Firefox in safe mode - Still Wont Work Refreshing Firefox - Still Wont Work Uninstalling and Reinstalling - Still Wont Work Launching Windows in Safe Mode - Still Wont Work Lauching in Safe mode then Clean Uninstalling and Reinstalling - Still Wont Work Clean Uninstalling including personal files and reinstalling - Still Wont Work Disable Windows Firewall and AVG Antivirus - Still Wont Work Malware Scans - Still Wont Work Virus Scans - Still Wont Work

Currently Making sure all Windows updates are installed, even the optional ones. Ill get back to you when those are done.

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You did remove the Firefox program folder?

  • (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
  • (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

You can check if you have the XML files of the default search engines including Google in the browser\searchplugins folder in the Firefox program folder.

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Yes that is what i meant by 'Clean Uninstall' sorry to confuse.

I uninstall it from the 'Uninstall a Program' menu, i delete the folders (even the personal one for the second attempt) i have even cleaned out my registry with ccclean.

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All windows updates are now installed and still firefox isnt working.

Also tried rolling it back to an older version and its still nothing.

During windows updating ie11 was installed and that doesnt work either.

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Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer. Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also:

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I have already run all those malware tools including the ones on the mozilla malware support site. i will try the rootkit utility and see how that goes

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So the rootkit didnt do anything.

It turns out now that None of my browsers are working.

I can still ping ip addresses through command prompt but the browsers wont find anything and they cannot connect to like mozilla to check for updates either.

its tried various cmd netsh resets but they havnt helped either.

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Chosen Solution

Ok so after doing a few more netsh resets it is working now.

in the end i did:

Checked firewall and Security program blockages. Clean Reinstall of firefox Update all windows updates malware checks virus checks registry cleanup

netsh resets:

 - netsh int ip reset
 - netsh winsock reset catalog
 - netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
 - netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

and it is now working.

Thank you to all who helped.