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windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. you may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.

  • 8 cavab
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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this morning, I get the above error message when attempting to open ff. I was able to open ff from the start menu(windows 7 enterprise), but all of my bookmarks have disappeared. I had the system administrator attempt to restore my computer, with no results, then reinstalling ff. upon reinstall, I was able to open ff, but bookmarks were still missing. then, a ff update "esr" was run, and now I get the error msg above trying to open ff from anywhere. I cannot open ff at all to restore defaults or run in safe mode to fix.

this morning, I get the above error message when attempting to open ff. I was able to open ff from the start menu(windows 7 enterprise), but all of my bookmarks have disappeared. I had the system administrator attempt to restore my computer, with no results, then reinstalling ff. upon reinstall, I was able to open ff, but bookmarks were still missing. then, a ff update "esr" was run, and now I get the error msg above trying to open ff from anywhere. I cannot open ff at all to restore defaults or run in safe mode to fix.

Chosen solution

Next step,

Some problems occur when your Internet security program was set to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow Firefox to connect to the Internet again;

  • Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
  • Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see

Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet. {web link}

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All Replies (8)

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no help available from Mozilla on this? new version release today, 12-11-18, and I cannot access any firefox at all...

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We do not live here.

The people who answer questions here, for the most part, are other Firefox users volunteering their time (like me), not Mozilla employees or Firefox developers.

If you want to leave feedback for Firefox developers, you can go to the Firefox Help menu and select Submit Feedback... or use this link. Your feedback gets collected by a team of people who read it and gather data about the most common issues.

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There could be several reasons for this problem.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

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Fred, I cannot open firefox at all, get the above error msg...

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the problem started this am... I was not able to open firefox thru the pin on my taskbar, but was able to open thru start menu, but all of my bookmarks were gone. I reinstalled firefox, was able to open, but then an update was performed and now I cannot open firefox at all, so no safe mode, no refresh, no nothing...

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Seçilmiş Həll

Next step,

Some problems occur when your Internet security program was set to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow Firefox to connect to the Internet again;

  • Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
  • Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see

Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet. {web link}

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thanks, fred. not sure what the issue was or how it was resolved, but our it dept apparently figured it out. my assumption was that it was the firewall settings not recognizing the new version of firefox released today...

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Glad to help. Safe Surfing.