For you to enter text into a box of any kind, first you have to select that box.

In my experience, if the cursor is already present and flashing, it indicates that you can go ahead. but that is not the case here. The cursor is present and flashing, but it does not accept input.

I think I have fixed it. I had Google as my home page. There is a blue Google icon on the Firefox toolbar, and when I clicked that it activated the cursor. If you right click on the blue icon you will see a Google address with some gobbledegook suffix. I pasted all that in as my home page, and now the cursor is activated when I open Firefox.

I should have said if you right click on the blue Google icon and choose Properties you will see the address you need for your home page.

I thought my solution above had worked, but it hasn't stuck - it doesn't work on the first launch of Firefox. I cannot understand how a longstanding computer convention, namely that a flashing cursor means that you can enter text, is being violated here. I have no add-ons, so that isn't the cause. What is also frustrating is that the makers of Firefox don't seem to provide support for their product. I am using Windows 7. I notice also that sometimes when i forget to click in the search box, the cursor moves to the address bar. But not always.

I'm not sure what you mean with that blue Google icon.

Can you attach a screenshot?

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenshot
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/how-do-i-create-screenshot-my-problem

• Use a compressed image type like PNG or JPG to save the screenshot
• Make sure that you do not exceed the maximum size of 1 MB

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

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

Thank you for the reply. I switched to safe mode, and found that I have no add-ons, and one extension - a History bar, which I disabled. I was already using the Default theme appearance. There was no change in the behaviour of the Google search box. The interesting thing is that this problem always exists when I first launch Firefox after computer startup. If I then use and close Firefox and re-launch it later, the Google search box sometimes works as it should, but sometimes doesn't - the cursor blinks but does not accept text. With regard to the Google icon on my toolbar, i can't send a screen shot of that because I deleted it in my search for a solution.

OK, the mystery deepens but at least I have a solution! There is a difference between opening Firefox from the desktop icon to opening it on the Taskbar, my normal practice. If I open it from the desktop using 2 clicks as for other applications (set via Folder Options) the Google search box works correctly. If however I open Firefox from the Taskbar with 2 clicks the Google cursor NEVER works correctly. But If I open it from the Taskbar with a single click, the Google cursor works correctly. I have now tested this many times after accidentally discovering it. So I need to remember to only use 1 click on the Taskbar icon. But why does the extra click on the Taskbar make this happen??

This is still broken. The about:config page and the Google search page are both affected.

The cursor appears and flashes like it's ready to accept my typing, but I start typing and nothing happens. Only after clicking in the search box does it accept my input, meaning that the cursor was flashing when the search box didn't have focus! This is totally wrong, and stupid. Can it be fixed?

I'm on Firefox 32.0.1 and Vista at the moment, but this has happened with multiple Firefox versions for me.

Nicole, did you try my solution above - are you opening from the desktop or the taskbar? Chris

I've been opening it from the desktop, but it does not work correctly.

Anyway, it seems like a bug. It should work correctly whether you click on the Firefox icon from the desktop, the start menu, or the quicklaunch (taskbar).

How Firefox is opened should not matter.

It could be the work of one of your add-ons, or even add / mal-ware.

Open your Add-ons Manager <Control><Shift > A and make sure you know what each one is and what it does.

Some added toolbar and anti-virus add-ons are known to cause Firefox issues. Disable All of them.

Also, check the programs that are on your computer

Windows: Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

Go thru the list. If you find something that you don't know what it is, use a web search.

Troubleshoot Firefox Issues Caused By Malware {web link}

Chrism3

Update your Shockwave Flash v15.0.0.152 http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/

I did that, but it didn't change anything. What's the connection?

Probably none. But all of your software should be updated when an update shows up.