Firefox doesn't even try to load webpages
Firefox doesn't load webpages at all. The exact behaviour is as follows:
Open a new tab:
- New tab opens with title "New Tab". - Address bar says "Search or enter address". - Page display is blank white page (having set new tab page to be blank page).
Enter a valid URL and press the "Enter" key.
- New tab title changes to "Connecting..." briefly and then reverts to "New Tab". - Address bar doesn't change. - Page display remains blank page.
So in an attempt to figure out what was going on, I ran Wireshark. After turning off Google safebrowsing, I can see that Firefox is doing a DNS lookup. That's it. JUST a DNS lookup. There is no attempt at all to open a TCP/HTTP connection to anything at all. With Google safebrowsing enabled, it does two DNS lookups, one for google.safebrowsing.com and one for some other apparently unrelated address.
I have followed all the steps in the existing troubleshooting guides. I have completely uninstalled Firefox including all profile data and reinstalled. Twice.
The next debugging question that's sure to be asked is "what did you do before this started happening?" the answer is nothing. I didn't upgrade Firefox. I didn't install any new addons. I didn't change my networking setup at all. I didn't install any new Windows upgrades. I did NOTHING. At least nothing that I can think of. I am not sure of the exact sequence of when this started happening, but it may have started happening since I installed Glyph/ArcheAge. Or maybe Firefox was still working for a day or so after I installed it. I really do not remember. Certainly there was no distinctive landmark activity. Oh, and my wife's PC which is exactly the same build as mine, but may have slightly different Windows updates (for example) also has Glyph/ArcheAge installed on it and Firefox works fine.
Isisombululo esikhethiwe
Do you have an Nvidia graphics card?
Firefox 43.0.3 seems to have an incompatibility with a piece of software from Nvidia which may be named either "NVIDIA Network Access Manager" or "ForceWare Network Manager". This is an older firewall program intended for business users that may get installed in a driver bundle.
If you have that installed/running, could you uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program?
Funda le mpendulo ngokuhambisana nalesi sihloko 👍 1All Replies (8)
I would really appreciate some help with this. I have been using Firefox for years and recommending it to friends and family. Now I will need to switch to Opera if I cannot get it working again.
I have tried tweaking various settings, but the fact is that Firefox simply isn't actually making a GET request at all, so there's not much to tweak!
Hi there. We will try to help you with the problem. First, try these;
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?
Start your Computer in safe mode with networking. Then start Firefox. Try Safe web sites. Is the problem still there?
Isisombululo Esikhethiwe
Do you have an Nvidia graphics card?
Firefox 43.0.3 seems to have an incompatibility with a piece of software from Nvidia which may be named either "NVIDIA Network Access Manager" or "ForceWare Network Manager". This is an older firewall program intended for business users that may get installed in a driver bundle.
If you have that installed/running, could you uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program?
Try to update to Firefox 43.0.3.
You can find the full version of the current Firefox release (43.0.3) in all languages and all operating systems here:
FredMcD said
Hi there. We will try to help you with the problem. First, try these; Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?
Start your Computer in safe mode with networking. Then start Firefox. Try Safe web sites. Is the problem still there?
Firefox in safemode didn't help. Is something like mail.yahoo.co.uk what you mean by a "safe" website? It is what I have been trying (among others) all along. I haven't tried starting the computer in safe mode. There is nothing wrong with the networking. All other programs, other browsers, online games, torrent programs, etc. all work fine.
jscher2000 said
Do you have an Nvidia graphics card? Firefox 43.0.3 seems to have an incompatibility with a piece of software from Nvidia which may be named either "NVIDIA Network Access Manager" or "ForceWare Network Manager". This is an older firewall program intended for business users that may get installed in a driver bundle. If you have that installed/running, could you uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program?
I had no idea that was a firewall program. It has no user interface with which to set up firewall rules, so I'm not quite sure how it works as a firewall. Very strange.
I'm actually running Firefox 43.0.2, but I uninstalled it anyway - will let you know after reboot how it goes.
cor-el said
Try to update to Firefox 43.0.3. You can find the full version of the current Firefox release (43.0.3) in all languages and all operating systems here:
I installed the latest version I found on the main Mozilla website, so I was quite surprised to find that there is a newer version out there.
jscher2000 said
Do you have an Nvidia graphics card? Firefox 43.0.3 seems to have an incompatibility with a piece of software from Nvidia which may be named either "NVIDIA Network Access Manager" or "ForceWare Network Manager". This is an older firewall program intended for business users that may get installed in a driver bundle. If you have that installed/running, could you uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program?
That fixed it! Thanks!
It's weird how it suddenly just started not working, and a bit worrying that I had a firewall on my PC that I never even knew about, but at least now I am up and running again.
Many many thanks!