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About:newtab not working

  • 5 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

jhep3304
jhep3304
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Win7x64Pro, Firefox 19.2 I have the homepage set to have several tabs open when I start Firefox, the last tab has always been "about:newtab" which I find helpful. Today, that tab is looking for a web URL instead of newtab. My homepage has not changed and still has ...about:newtab as the last entry.

The popup box says: The address isn't valid. The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded.

I have recently downloaded several RSS Feed readers trying to find a sub for Google Reader. I don't know if one of these corrupted newtab or not.

Win7x64Pro, Firefox 19.2 I have the homepage set to have several tabs open when I start Firefox, the last tab has always been "about:newtab" which I find helpful. Today, that tab is looking for a web URL instead of newtab. My homepage has not changed and still has ...about:newtab as the last entry. The popup box says: The address isn't valid. The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded. I have recently downloaded several RSS Feed readers trying to find a sub for Google Reader. I don't know if one of these corrupted newtab or not.

Chosen solution

UPDATE: Prior to getting your helpful answer I went the Safe Mode route and couldn't find the problem there. I then did the Reset and still had the problem. I then did a Windows Restore to 3 days ago when I knew for sure that everything was normal and before I started to download the various RSS Feeders for trial.

After the Windows System Restore Point everything is back to normal. I have not however reran today's Windows Defender Update. I'll wait until tomorrow when I can still keep my 72 year old eyes open.

Thanks for the info your responses have been most helpful in the past.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (5)

Amit Kumar Thakur
Amit Kumar Thakur
  • Locale Leader
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hey, use it without quotes "-url about:newtab" in youy browser

jhep3304
jhep3304 Question owner
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There are no quotes in the homepage entry. Sorry for the confusion. Other than the RSS reader downloads, the only other download was a new microsoft defender update this morning.

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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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 or otherwise make changes.
jhep3304
jhep3304 Question owner
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Chosen Solution

UPDATE: Prior to getting your helpful answer I went the Safe Mode route and couldn't find the problem there. I then did the Reset and still had the problem. I then did a Windows Restore to 3 days ago when I knew for sure that everything was normal and before I started to download the various RSS Feeders for trial.

After the Windows System Restore Point everything is back to normal. I have not however reran today's Windows Defender Update. I'll wait until tomorrow when I can still keep my 72 year old eyes open.

Thanks for the info your responses have been most helpful in the past.

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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It may also have helped to close and restart Firefox or reboot the computer.