Firefox speed dial has stopped working
I have installed on my Windows 7 laptop computer Firefox speed dial. I have it set to when I open up a new tab it's there. Recently my speed dials don't open up on a new tab. Instead its a conduit.com search engine. I have tried to open up speed dial on a new window instead of a new tab, restarted not only my browser but also my system and it didn't work. I have opened up a new tab, in the url typed in about:config, scrolled down to browser.newtab.url and try to change it and it won't work. What do I have to do to get my speed dial to work again? I want it to be open in a new tab. Firefox is the only browser I use, it's the only one I like. Any decent suggestions will help me out greatly. I use speed dials on a daily basis.
All Replies (13)
For starters, uninstall the "Default Tab" extension and clear the user.js file. Here's what I mean:
(1) Disable or remove nonessential or unrecognized extensions.
Open the Add-ons page using either:
- Ctrl+Shift+a
- orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
In the left column, click Extensions. If you aren't sure an extension is providing value, disable or remove it.
Extensions that do not have a Remove button typically have an entry in the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. Clicking the "Installed on" column heading can help reveal the programs that were bundled together so you can get rid of all of them.
(2) To track down and remove the user.js file, see this article: How to fix preferences that won't save.
You might also want to run some general cleanup programs. This article lists programs other Firefox users have found helpful: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.
Okay I get you so far but the problem I am having is the instructions are telling me to click on the firefox botton at the top of my window. I don't have a firefox button at all. I am using version 26 if that helps.
On Windows, you can switch between the orange Firefox button and the classic menu bar. So if you are looking for Help on the Firefox button, look for it on the menu bar instead.
Okay, where? I only have File, Edit View, History, Bookmarks, Tools, Help and that's it.
Sorry if I seem like a total moron but when it comes to firefox, I pretty much am.
I should start by asking what you're looking for. If you are hunting down the user.js file, open the Troubleshooting Information page using either:
- Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
Then in the first table, click the "Show Folder" button. This will launch a window showing numerous files which are all part of your currently active Firefox settings.
If you can't find user.js but you can find a file named user, Window may be hiding file extensions. Actually, it does that by default. To work with file names accurately, I suggest switching that setting so you can see extensions like .js. This article has the steps: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/865219.
Okay, if I were to just reset Firefox, would it solve the problem? I figured out how to get to profile and such but the file I needed to look for was not present at all. Can I just reset Firefox to solve the issue. Even if I have to redo my speed dials, that's fine.
I'm not sure it makes sense to reset Firefox at this point after you've already done so much cleanup.
I think I might have missed something, though. To get Speed Dial on your home page, I think you need to choose a blank page.
Tools menu > Options
Click the first icon for "General" then change "When Firefox starts" to "Show a blank page" and click OK.
Press Ctrl+n to open a new window. Does Speed Dial appear?
I haven't really done any cleanup or anything for that matter simply because I can't figure anything out. When it comes to track down and remove the user.js file, I can't find it at all. I even followed all the instructions to get to the profile page that it would be one. I am not trying to get speed dial as a home page, I want it to be there when I open up a new tab. On the whole speed dial options, it is selected as a new tab however this flippin search page conduit.com is there. I have even set the speed dial to open up in a new window, and that did not work. I don't know what to do. I feel for whatever reason my Firefox is not installed properly. When I installed it, the so called firefox button at the top was never there. When an online instructions shows me pictures, I have something completely different and have to spend time figureing out where this whatever is. If resetting firefox will fix the issue, even if I have to re install Speed dial and reset it all, I am totally game for that. Nothing else has worked and I am getting very frustrated by it.
You can check in "Windows Control Panel > Programs" for recently installed programs (sort by "Installed on") to see if anything from Conduit or any other suspicious software shows up.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the (other) extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
You can use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.
Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).
I have decided to leave it alone and take it in to tech support. I don't want to run the risk of messing anything up. I am not that skilled in tech stuff. Thanks for all your help.
Hi DenverGuy2011, if you are taking it to a big box store, please do yourself a favor and make a backup of your Firefox settings outside your computer (for example, on a USB flash drive). I've heard plenty of stories of people losing all their data in the hands of those folks.
There is a program that can assist with this named MozBackup. http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/
I am only doing it because nothing else has worked or I can't figure anything out even with your help. I have taken my computer into this shop before and they were awesome so I am good to go. Thanks though.