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after upgrading to Windows 8.1 firefox longer works. I got it to load but screen is either blank or doesn't go to target address

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  • Last reply by njdude88

after upgrading to Windows 8.1 from 8 nothing works correctly. Firefox 1st received 'unable to load XPcom' After resetting and uninstalling several times Firefox now loads to either a support screen or blank screen. It accepts address input but doesn't execute to target. So far I have been unable to roll back upgrade. Although IE11 works, it doesn't work correctly.

after upgrading to Windows 8.1 from 8 nothing works correctly. Firefox 1st received 'unable to load XPcom' After resetting and uninstalling several times Firefox now loads to either a support screen or blank screen. It accepts address input but doesn't execute to target. So far I have been unable to roll back upgrade. Although IE11 works, it doesn't work correctly.

All Replies (6)

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.


Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back soon.

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

Please report back soon.

It is possible that your security software (firewall, anti-virus) 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 and the plugin-container 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 and the updater process.

See:


If you keep having problems then do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of 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 that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.


Thank You for your Reply. I had already did most of what you mentioned to do. After wasting approx. 12 hours on this fiasco I fell back on my Mainframe Operations back ground. And I quote " When in doubt Wipe it Out!" This morning I got up refreshed and backed up my personal files and then did a System Image Restore back to Windows 8. As of this post, I haven't restored my personal files yet but everything else works, even internet explorer. Unfortunately I don't know what went wrong even though I had a clean upgrade but at this point I don't care. Thank you for your help. GMD...

Sorry for any inconvenience that this issue has caused you.


Try starting you computer in Safe Mode with Network Connections enabled.

I had the same problem, and I searched high and low for an answer, and eventually found the solution posted by ianself on this page:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/974612

It works like a charm.