So I assume the Vista/Firefox 4 information in your post is from the laptop.

Can you describe the problem in more detail? Version 3.6 or version 4 installs and starts up, but it doesn't let you navigate through links on the Google page, or through bookmarks, or though search? It's just stuck there?

I believe any version past 3.0. My goal is to be able to download the latest version of Firefox (4.whatever).

On my PC once I download the latest version, it takes me to my home page, which is a Google search page with the Firefox logo. That's it. I cannot navigate to anywhere else on the web.

I'm running Vista on my laptop (works fine); Not sure what system my PC has.

If your PC dates to 2002 or earlier, you could have Windows 98 or ME. The last supported version of Firefox for those versions of Windows was Firefox 2. (Compare Mozilla Firefox 2 System Requirements with Mozilla Firefox 3 System Requirements).

If you have Windows 2000 or Windows XP, then Firefox 4 is an option for your PC.

Can you check on that first?

I have Vista on my PC. I don't know if this helps, but.............

I downloaded Google Chrome this morning. It didn't work, as I got a coding error when I navigated away from the start-up page.

I tried using Explorer 8 this morning. No pages would load after the start-up page.

I can use Firefox 2.0 on my PC, however, it doesn't load pages properly or errors come up with shockwave, etc. Basically, it's useless.

So.............do you think my issue is with my computer settings? I appreciate any help you have with getting me back online with the updated Firefox.

I am emailing you from my laptop, which works fine.

Thanks.

For most browsers to stall after the home page suggests some problem at the Windows level, or if you use a software firewall, perhaps something in its configuration. Forums that specialize in Windows issues might offer more detailed suggestions. For example, you could try the Windows Vista Forum at Windows Secrets Lounge.

Have you noticed any unusual slowness, hard drive activity, or network activity? I wonder whether your PC might have a malware problem. You may want to run some supplemental scans. These two tools are highly regarded:

Malwarebytes Anti-malware : http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

SUPERAntiSpyware : http://www.superantispyware.com/

I'll give those a try and let you know what happens.

Thanks!

I had one malware issue............the file was removed.

I still get the shockwave error when trying to access my email through the Windstream website.

Sound like a Windows issue?

You can test whether the Flash plugin (Shockwave Flash) is installed on Adobe's "about" page: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

If your plugin is up-to-date, then it may be something in the site's scripting. Many sites use different HTML code to display Flash in different browsers, and if there is a glitch in the script, the site may say you need a plugin when that is really not the case. Anyway, you probably don't want to be bothered with Flash content when you're reading your email. :-)

Did you check your security software (firewall)?

A possible cause is security software (firewall) that blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.

Remove all rules for Firefox from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process.

See:

• https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Server+not+found
• https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Firewalls

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser_will_not_start_up
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_websites