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Firefox loses internet connect, when it restarts getting msg about firefo still running, then one about can't find profile.

  • 2 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

Maevee
Maevee
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For about a month now, multiple times a day my firefox just dies. It stalls at trying to load a new page. I have to close my browser and restart it. When I do I get the msg about firefox still running, would you like to close...I select yes and then I get an error msg about firefox being unable to find or load my profile but it still opens the browser and loads fine with a working connection to the internet...which works fine until it goes into "stall" again.

I am not using a proxy, I have windows firewall, all other programs with internet connections, including other browsers work fine.

What is going on and how do I fix it? It is really frustrating, I don't want to use Chrome or Edge but if this isn't fixed asap then I am going to have to.

Help please!

For about a month now, multiple times a day my firefox just dies. It stalls at trying to load a new page. I have to close my browser and restart it. When I do I get the msg about firefox still running, would you like to close...I select yes and then I get an error msg about firefox being unable to find or load my profile but it still opens the browser and loads fine with a working connection to the internet...which works fine until it goes into "stall" again. I am not using a proxy, I have windows firewall, all other programs with internet connections, including other browsers work fine. What is going on and how do I fix it? It is really frustrating, I don't want to use Chrome or Edge but if this isn't fixed asap then I am going to have to. Help please!

All Replies (2)

Scribe
Scribe
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Hello, McAfee WebAdvisor has been known to cause problems, so try disabling it - Add-ons Manager (Ctrl+Shift+A) > Extensions, or use Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

  • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

SafeMode-Fx35

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem. Thank you!

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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You need to locate the profiles.ini file and delete this file or use the Profile Manager to create a new profile.

See:

This issue can be caused by a problem with the profiles.ini file or with the permissions (owner) of involved folders.

You can use one of these to make Firefox create a new default profile or recover an existing profile:

  • Delete the profiles.ini file to make Firefox create a new (default) profile
  • Use the Profile Manager to create a new profile
    If you still have an existing profile then click "Choose Folder" in the Profile Manager and browse to the location of a lost profile to recover this profile
    https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Managing+profiles

You should find the profiles.ini file in this hidden location:

  • Windows: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
    *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/
  • Linux: *~/.mozilla/firefox/

If clearing the profiles.ini file isn't working then also check the location of the cache files.

  • Windows: *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\
  • Mac: *~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/
  • Linux:*~/.cache/mozilla/firefox/

You can also try to rename/delete the Mozilla\Firefox\ folder in both above mentioned locations (main, cache).