Hello,

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.

Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

Boo hiss. I tried Reset Firefox once before for something and discovered after the fact as you now note that it trashes ALL settings and preferences including all those for all the add-ons (I believe it even purged all the blacklisted domains I'd added to NoScript) . It took several hours and several shots of vodka to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. That is an extreme and iffy remedy for a relatively minor annoyance. Unlike the other problem I'm experiencing (and to which you replied in detail) this annoyance doesn't happen often enough to be worth trashing everything. There "should" be an option to "Preserve Settings" if Firefox can ensure that it works better than Windows' near useless System Restore Points.

BTW, thanks for playing "Try to Help the Grumpy User"  :)

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

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.

Please report back to see if this helped you!

Hello, feer56,

Thanks for replying to my horrified recoil to the thought of doing another Reset Firefox scorched earth solution. Unfortunately, your reply about doing a "Clean Install" instead of a Reset wasn't quite clear... will a Clean Install preserve all my FF preferences and the blacklists for my NoScript and Ghostery add-ons? IOW, are any FF preferences or add-on settings overwritten with defaults or cleared or removed?

tyvm