Where is the cogwheel when I open a new tab in Firefox 42?
I am trying to have tiles shown when I open a new tab in Firefox 42. The instructions say to click on the cogwheel in the upper right corner of the new tab page in order to enable the tiles function. There isn't any cogwheel when I open a new tab.
Gekose oplossing
To what page does the New Tab Override set the new tab page?
If you want to use the about:newtab page with the tiles and the cogwheel then you do not need this extension. The New Tab Override extension is only required if you want another home page and such a page won't include this cogwheel.
See this article about the New Tab page (about:newtab):
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/new-tab-page-show-hide-and-customize-top-sites
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/hide-or-display-sites-new-tab-page
All Replies (11)
How about when you go to about:newtab ?
With Firefox 41 (and higher), it's no longer possible to customize the page shown in a new tab via changing the preference browser.newtab.url in about.config. Because of the fact that hijackers abused the preference in the past, Mozilla decided to remove it (see bug 1118285). Fortunately, by removing it, Mozilla also introduced a new API to bring this functionality back to life as an add-on. This add-on allows the user to choose a certain page in a new tab.
New Tab Override (browser.newtab.url replacement) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/new-tab-override/
This is also available using Classic Theme Restorer (Customize Australis) {web link} Restore squared tabs, appmenu, add-ons bar, small button view and more on Australis UI (Windows/MacOSX/Linux + Fx 29+).
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox menu button/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.
- Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox menu button/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window
Received by e-mail;
Thank you for responding to my question about where the cogwheel is on a new tab page in Firefox 42.
My main reason for asking that question is that in the older version of Firefox, when I opened a new tab, I could have icons on the new page of recent/frequently used websites.
Can you tell me if by adding the browser.newtab.url.replacement add-in, will I be able to once again populate the new tab page with the icons for frequently used websites, and if so, are there additional steps to use?
Thank you again for your help. Doug Treadway
With the newtab add-on, the newtab page should work as before.
The about:newtab page should work without the need to use an extension as that is the default for the new tab page.
What page currently opens when you open a new tab?
cor-el, When I open a new tab I get a blank page with a search box, 'Xfinity' above the box and 'enhanced by Google' below the box.
FredMcD, I opened the browser.newtab.url replacement as you suggested, but I need more specific info on how to rename it, if that is what needs to be done. I read the responses on that page, but, I'm sorry, none of them really told me how to activate the newtab. Thanks in advance for your help.
Can you post your extensions list?
In Firefox 42 it shouldn't be that easy to change the new tab page. This requires an extension or possibly code injected via a file in the Firefox program folder.
Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.
- Download the Firefox installer and save the file to the desktop
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.
- Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by 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\"
- It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your personal data like bookmarks is stored in the Firefox profile folder, so you won't lose personal data when you uninstall and (re)install or update Firefox, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.
If you keep having problems then create a new profile.
Extensions are as follows:
New Tab Override (browser.newtab.url replacement for Fx 41+) 1.1 true newtaboverride@agenedia.com XFINITY Toolbar 4.6.0.12 true Logitech SetPoint 6.5 false Norton Identity Safe 2015.5.6.76 false
Gekose oplossing
To what page does the New Tab Override set the new tab page?
If you want to use the about:newtab page with the tiles and the cogwheel then you do not need this extension. The New Tab Override extension is only required if you want another home page and such a page won't include this cogwheel.
See this article about the New Tab page (about:newtab):
When other things seem to fail, and you get tired of searching, go back and do the simplest thing first. REFRESH FIREFOX is the easiest thing to try, and like rebooting a balky computer, it works and fixes things. Thanks to Cor-el and FredMcD for your time and suggestions.