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

firefox won't open after update, black screen, beep and "do you want to allow program to make changes..."

  • 4 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

Updated Firefox yesterday and now the program will not open on my desktop. Screen goes black for a second, issues a beep and then get box asking if I want to allow Firefox to make changes to my computer. Does not matter if I click yes or no, box disapears and nothing happens. Willing to remove and reload the program but hate to lose all my bookmarks.

Updated Firefox yesterday and now the program will not open on my desktop. Screen goes black for a second, issues a beep and then get box asking if I want to allow Firefox to make changes to my computer. Does not matter if I click yes or no, box disapears and nothing happens. Willing to remove and reload the program but hate to lose all my bookmarks.

All Replies (4)

more options

Try the Firefox Safe Mode to see how it works there. The Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

  • You can open the Firefox 4.0+ Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you use the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • Or use the Help menu item and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

Don't select anything right now, just use "'Start in Safe Mode" To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before using the Firefox shortcut (without the Shift key) to open it again. If it is good in the Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one.

Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.

more options

Thanks so much for your reply, iamjayakumars. No such luck with Safe Mode. Didn't change the darkening of the screen and the message box about allowing Firefox to make changes to my computer. Any other ideas. I'm feeling lost without it.

more options

Please create a screenshot of the problem you're seeing by following the guide mentioned at How do I create a screenshot of my problem?.

Once you've done this, attach the saved screenshot file to your forum post by clicking the Browse... button below the Post your reply box. This will help us to visualize the problem.

more options

Check that Firefox isn't set to run as Administrator.

Right-click the Firefox desktop shortcut and choose "Properties".

Make sure that all items are deselected in the "Compatibility" tab of the Properties window.

  • Privilege Level: "Run this program as Administrator" should not be selected
  • "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" should not be selected

Also check the Properties of the firefox.exe program in the Firefox program folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\).