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Problem starting Firefox fron Thunderbird email link

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  • Last reply by rbsteup

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When I start Firefox by clicking on an email link in Thunderbird Firefox opens in a "strange" way. Most notable is the windows icons in the upper right of the window are all black ( see attached image ) Clicking on the location where the close / minimize would be still works. The web page displays ok but if the page contains an Adobe flashplayer video I get a message box: the flashplayer has crashed.

If Firefox is already open the web page displays normally. If I copy the email link URL and create a desktop shortcut with it then Firefox opens normally. I switched my default browser to Internet Explorer and that works properly.

I have tried reset Firefox - no help. I refreshed Firefox - no help. I tried remove and re-install Firefox - no help.

When I start Firefox by clicking on an email link in Thunderbird Firefox opens in a "strange" way. Most notable is the windows icons in the upper right of the window are all black ( see attached image ) Clicking on the location where the close / minimize would be still works. The web page displays ok but if the page contains an Adobe flashplayer video I get a message box: the flashplayer has crashed. If Firefox is already open the web page displays normally. If I copy the email link URL and create a desktop shortcut with it then Firefox opens normally. I switched my default browser to Internet Explorer and that works properly. I have tried reset Firefox - no help. I refreshed Firefox - no help. I tried remove and re-install Firefox - no help.
Attached screenshots

All Replies (2)

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I would recommend trying to open the third party link in Firefox while it was in Safe Mode to make sure that it was not an add on, however it might be easier to disable all the add ons in Firefox then try to start it by clicking on the link in Thunderbird.

This will tell you if it is an add on.

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After receiving the above message I tried to test it but was unable to reproduce the problem! The problem has been 100% consistent for the last several months and I have gotten into the habit of keeping a Firefox window open while reading my email ( the problem only happened if Firefox was not already open when clicking an email link ).

I think that an add-on may have been the problem as at least one of my add-ons has been updated in the intervening time ( colorful tabs ), possibly others.

Thanks for your help! Problem closed (for now).