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Firefox will not start, cursor blinks

  • 2 cavab
  • 1 has this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Firefox recently stopped working. I tried uninstall/reinstall, removal (name change) of AppData\local\Mozilla, local low and remote folders before installing. All the same result that when I click Firefox, the cursor will start to flicker, the program shows in the task manager but never starts. When the AppData folders were removed, new ones were not created.

The only to changes were that I was given temporary admin privilages on Avecto Privilage Guard and I installed Visual Studio 2022 - removed 2019 as well.

Firefox recently stopped working. I tried uninstall/reinstall, removal (name change) of AppData\local\Mozilla, local low and remote folders before installing. All the same result that when I click Firefox, the cursor will start to flicker, the program shows in the task manager but never starts. When the AppData folders were removed, new ones were not created. The only to changes were that I was given temporary admin privilages on Avecto Privilage Guard and I installed Visual Studio 2022 - removed 2019 as well.

All Replies (2)

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Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox program folder, the user profiles would not be affected.


Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Firefox ESR; Extended Support Release {web link}

Beta, Developer, Nightly versions https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/

Install Older Version Of Firefox {web link} Be sure to read everything here.


Download and save the program you want. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

How to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; {web link} Free Online Encyclopedia

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You can check for issues caused by a corrupted or incomplete Visual C++ installation that is missing runtime components (Redistributable Packages) required by Firefox, especially VCRUNTIME140_1.dll.

See "Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022":

You may also have to install the Visual Studio 2013 Redistributable Package. You need to reboot the computer.