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Why does Firefox (FF) 28 behave so erratically?

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  • Last reply by Moses

JonathanPDX
JonathanPDX
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I've tried the same site in 3 browsers (FF, Chrome, IE11) and only FF does not function properly.

I've tried Safe mode (no change), uninstalling and reinstalling FF, clearing cookies, temp files, etc., yet the problems persist.

Examples: Using Fandango, on a page listing movies, there is a drop down to change the date. Clicking it with a mouse usually does nothing, however tabbing to the field and pressing down arrow will activate field. (No problems at all with other browsers.)

On Craigslist, updating a page in the forums takes anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds (other browsers are immediate).

When right-clicking objects in FF, the right-click menu will often not appear. It's shadow will be there, but no menu. Right-clicking numerous times in other places will eventually cause menu to appear.

I've tried the same site in 3 browsers (FF, Chrome, IE11) and only FF does not function properly. I've tried Safe mode (no change), uninstalling and reinstalling FF, clearing cookies, temp files, etc., yet the problems persist. Examples: Using Fandango, on a page listing movies, there is a drop down to change the date. Clicking it with a mouse usually does nothing, however tabbing to the field and pressing down arrow will activate field. (No problems at all with other browsers.) On Craigslist, updating a page in the forums takes anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds (other browsers are immediate). When right-clicking objects in FF, the right-click menu will often not appear. It's shadow will be there, but no menu. Right-clicking numerous times in other places will eventually cause menu to appear.

All Replies (1)

Moses
Moses
  • Moderator
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You should try a clean reinstall of Firefox. This means removing the Firefox directory and installing a fresh copy of it:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not run Firefox's uninstaller or use a third party remover as part of this process, because that could permanently delete your Firefox data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device!

Modified by Moses