This usually happens because of a failed Firefox update that left you with a mixture of old and updated files in the Firefox program folder.

Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

• Download the full Firefox installer and save the file to the desktop
  https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/

If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

• Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

• (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
• (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

• It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox

Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Clean_reinstall

Is a System Restore a rollback of recent updates or something more drastic?

You can do the following type of reinstall without touching your settings files. Important: do NOT uninstall Firefox first. That is not needed.

Clean Reinstall

(1) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 36 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(2) Exit out of Firefox.

(3) Rename the program folder

(64-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

(32-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(4) Run the installer you downloaded in #1. It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

When starting Firefox, you may need to use the profile manager to switch back to your regular profile. Ignore: copy/paste glitch.

Any improvement?

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that OldFirefox folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

• \OldFirefox\Plugins
• \OldFirefox\browser\plugins