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Cannot scroll!

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 64 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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I am using Firefox on a Mac and when trying to read The Guardian I cannot scroll! It is the only website (so far) in which this happens. Any suggestions?

I am using Firefox on a Mac and when trying to read The Guardian I cannot scroll! It is the only website (so far) in which this happens. Any suggestions?

Chosen solution

Hi There are several threads about this issue with The Guardian. Sometimes it starts working.

It could be that some invisible overlay is present that prevents you from scrolling the page.

What element gets selected if you right-click on the page and open the Inspector ?

You can right-click and select "Inspect Element" to open the builtin Inspector with this element selected.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window

You can remove all data stored in Firefox for a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox for this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data for that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.

If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data for that website will be saved once again.

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Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to. You may also lose any settings for that website.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Did this help?

While you are in safe mode;

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration in Firefox. Since this feature was added to Firefox it has gradually improved but there are still a few glitches.

How to disable Hardware Acceleration {web link}

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Thanks for your suggestions! Unfortunately nothing seems to have worked. It is very odd that I can use other websites just fine, but no scrolling on https://www.theguardian.com/us with Firefox! I guess I'll have to use Chrome just for this. Thanks again.

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Chosen Solution

Hi There are several threads about this issue with The Guardian. Sometimes it starts working.

It could be that some invisible overlay is present that prevents you from scrolling the page.

What element gets selected if you right-click on the page and open the Inspector ?

You can right-click and select "Inspect Element" to open the builtin Inspector with this element selected.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window

You can remove all data stored in Firefox for a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox for this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data for that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.

If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data for that website will be saved once again.