Standard diagnostic

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Revision as of 19:49, 18 August 2005 by Np (talk | contribs) (don't skip checking the processes)
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If your Firefox/Thunderbird/Mozilla Suite was working fine but isn't anymore and no other application is exhibiting strange behaviour, follow these steps.

  1. Reboot your computer. If the problem persists, continue on.
  2. 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. Completely close the problem application (using "File -> Exit").
  4. Make sure the application is not running in the background. Do not skip this step.
  5. (Firefox and Thunderbird only) Start the application in Safe Mode (not Windows Safe Mode). If the problem doesn't exist in Safe Mode, the problem is most probably with one of your themes or extensions. Select the default theme in "Tools -> Themes" and use "Tools -> Extensions" to uninstall 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, you can try first just uninstalling that one. Restart Firefox/Thunderbird. If the problem exists in Safe Mode, or the problem was not solved by switching themes and uninstalling extensions, or Firefox or Thunderbird didn't start at all in Safe Mode, then continue on.
  6. Back up your profile. Your profile contains your bookmarks, settings, extensions, etc., so backing up your profile will ensure you don't lose those things.
  7. Perform steps 3 and 4 again, then delete "XUL.mfl" (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, continue on.
  8. Perform steps 3 and 4 again, then delete "localstore.rdf" from your profile folder. You will lose any changes you have made to the toolbars. If the problem persists, continue on.
  9. Perform steps 3 and 4 again, then delete "chrome" and "extensions" folders in your profile folder. You will lose all your extensions and themes. If the problem persists, continue on.
  10. Perform steps 3 and 4 again, then create a new profile. If the problem is fixed, you had a corrupt profile. If the problem persists, continue on.
  11. (Firefox only) Rename firefox.exe to firefox1.exe in the program directory and execute firefox1.exe. If the problem persists, rename it back to firefox.exe and continue on.
  12. Uninstall the application, clear your OS temporary folder, download it again, and reinstall. If the problem persists, continue on.

If none of these steps work, perhaps it's a problem with your system and not Firefox. Scan your system for viruses and adware.