Standard diagnostic

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Revision as of 17:21, 15 September 2005 by Np (talk | contribs) (closing completely is step 4, not step 3)
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This article deals with what to do if Thunderbird, Firefox, or Mozilla Suite is no longer working properly and no other application is exhibiting strange behaviour.

  • 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, continue on.
  2. (Firefox, with extensions) Review the list of problematic extensions to see if your problem is listed there.
  3. (Firefox and Mozilla Suite) If you can open the program and use the menus:
    • (Mozilla Suite) Switch to the standard Classic or Modern theme: "Edit -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Themes".
    • (Firefox and Mozilla Suite) Clear the cache: "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Cache -> Clear" (Firefox) or "Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache -> Clear Cache" (Mozilla Suite) and restart. If the problem persists, continue on.
  4. Close the program (if open) using "File -> Exit" and make sure it 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). This will start the program with all extensions disabled and with the default theme. If the problem exists in Safe Mode, or if Firefox or Thunderbird doesn't start in Safe Mode, continue on to the next step. If the problem goes away in Safe Mode,
    • Uninstall your most recently installed or updated extension or theme, perform step 4 again, and start Firefox or Thunderbird normally. If the problem persists,
    • Select the default theme in "Tools -> Themes" and uninstall your extensions in "Tools -> Extensions" to uninstall your extensions (although the extensions appear grayed out, you will still be able to uninstall them), perform step 4 again, and start Firefox or Thunderbird normally. If the problem persists, continue on.
  6. Back up your profile and then:
    • Perform step 4 again and delete the file XUL.mfl (Windows), xul.mfasl (Linux), or XUL FastLoad File (Mac OS X) from your profile folder. This file will be regenerated on next startup. If the problem persists,
    • Perform step 4 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 4 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 4 again, then create a new profile. If this solves the problem, you have a corrupt profile. If the problem persists, continue on.
  7. (Firefox only, Windows OS) Perform step 4 again, then rename firefox.exe to firefox1.exe in the program files folder (by default, C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) and then run (double-click) firefox1.exe. If the problem persists, rename it back to firefox.exe and continue on.
  8. 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.