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

I can not open Firefox. Keep getting the error message "Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator." What do I do?

  • 1 reply
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by JoeB

more options

I can not open Firefox. I keep getting the message "Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator." I have tried uninstalling Firefox and then reinstalling it but without success. What should I do?

I can not open Firefox. I keep getting the message "Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator." I have tried uninstalling Firefox and then reinstalling it but without success. What should I do?

All Replies (1)

more options

Which Fx version? When you uninstalled Fx, did you reboot computer before reinstall? Also, check for / delete any leftover files in the Fx programs install folders, before reinstall?

Is your profile in the default location or custom location?

Have you tried creating a new, completely clean profile - to test (then make sure to select that profile to start Fx - from the Profile Manager)? (no addons or plugins installed).

Does the user acct (that Fx fails under) have access ("rights") to all locations - especially for Fx profiles location?