Standard diagnostic

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Revision as of 11:47, 29 August 2005 by Alice (talk | contribs) (adding Note regarding xpicleanup.dat and consolidating profile steps)
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If Thunderbird, Firefox, or Mozilla Suite is no longer working properly and no other application is exhibiting strange behaviour, follow these steps.

  • Note: If Firefox won't start after updating, go to the program installation folder (on Windows OS, usually C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) and delete the "xpicleanup.dat" file (BUG 283680)

1. Reboot the computer. If the problem persists:

2. (Firefox and Mozilla Suite): If you can open the program, clear the cache: "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Cache -> Clear" (Firefox) or "Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache -> Clear Cache" (Mozilla Suite). If the problem persists, continue on.

3. Close the program (if open) using "File -> Exit" and make sure it is not running in the background. Do not skip this step.

4. (Firefox and Thunderbird only) Start the application in Safe Mode (not Windows Safe Mode). This will start the program with all extensions disabled and the default theme. If the problem goes away in Safe Mode, then select the default theme in "Tools -> Themes" and use "Tools -> Extensions" to uninstall your extensions (although the extensions appear grayed out, you will still be able to uninstall them). If the problem occurred after installing or updating a particular extension, try uninstalling that one first, then restart Firefox or Thunderbird.

5. If the problem exists in Safe Mode, or if Firefox or Thunderbird doesn't start in Safe Mode, or if the problem was not solved by switching themes or uninstalling extensions, you may have a corrupt profile. Back up your profile and then:

  • Perform step 3 again and delete the "XUL.mfl" file (the name may differ slightly, e.g. "xul.mfasl") from your profile folder. This file will be regenerated on next startup. If the problem persists,
  • Perform step 3 again, then delete the "localstore.rdf" file from your profile folder. You will lose any changes you have made to the toolbars. If the problem persists,
  • Perform step 3 again, then delete the "chrome" and "extensions" folders from your profile folder. You will lose all your extensions and themes. If the problem persists,
  • Perform step 3 again, then create a new profile. If the problem persists, continue on.

6. (Firefox only, Windows OS) Rename firefox.exe to firefox1.exe in the program files folder and then run (double-click) firefox1.exe. If the problem persists, rename it back to firefox.exe and continue on.

7. Uninstall the program, clear your OS temporary folder, download it again, and reinstall.

If none of these steps help, the problem could be with other running programs such as a firewall, mail-screener, spamblocker, parental control or similar program that is conflicting with your Mozilla program. Try disabling these other programs one at a time, until you find the culprit. Also check your system for viruses and other malware.