This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Can't change homepage from Findwide

  • 2 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 18 views
  • Last reply by oakglen26

more options

Have tried to change homepage as per Firefox HELP (numerous times) but can't get rid of Findwide page at startup. I've tried to install and run add-on per another post but can't get the add-on to run. I'm running Windows 8 from a Dell laptop. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Have tried to change homepage as per Firefox HELP (numerous times) but can't get rid of Findwide page at startup. I've tried to install and run add-on per another post but can't get the add-on to run. I'm running Windows 8 from a Dell laptop. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Chosen solution

I assume that you mean the SearchReset extension.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

You can also check for problems with preferences and try to rename or delete the prefs.js file and possible numbered prefs-##.js files and a possible user.js file to reset all prefs to the default values.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do not click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.
Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

I assume that you mean the SearchReset extension.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

You can also check for problems with preferences and try to rename or delete the prefs.js file and possible numbered prefs-##.js files and a possible user.js file to reset all prefs to the default values.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do not click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.
more options

The above helped somewhat, but I finally got rid of the 'Findwide" startup by: 1. Tapping 'Alt' key (getting pulldown menus) 2. Clicking once on 'Help' 3. Selecting 'Troubleshooting Information' 4. In the upper right of the Troubleshooting screen, selecting 'Reset'

This eliminated the 'Findwide' start-up page, but left my bookmarks and bookmark bar selections unchanged. I could then reenter Firefox and set the desired homepage.