hello mjwaberdeen, do you use norton security software? it might be interfering here... http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Toolbar-Norton-Identity/NIS-2013-Norton-Toolbar-Unselects-Firefox-Remember-Passwords/td-p/836598

No I dont. Only got the machine yesterday. Was playing about with the mail app (in windows 8) and it seemed to suggest using https on all connections , but I assumed that was related to this hotmail account settings only to access the microsoft windows 8 apps etc. Is there a way to see if this has an impact. If I go to a normal website it doesnt have https in front of address so not sure if this is an issue. I havent installed any antivirus yet other than the windows defender with the OS.

What happens if you select "Use custom settings for history" and try to remove the check mark on "Always use private browsing mode" ?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration 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 or otherwise make changes.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

If you do not keep changes after a restart then see:

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Preferences_not_saved

Thanks both - I undertook a reset of firefox which seems to have cured the problem. I'll mark as closed so people can also try the reset as a solution if they also experience the same problem

regards