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Firefox worked then stopped and will not work at all now. I have done all that is listed as fixes. I have windows 8.1 any ideas for help? I have no ideas.

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  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I was using firefox and it wouldn't load a page so I closed it. But it kept saying it was running still when I tried to re-open it. I had to go into task manager to shut the process down. Since I did that, it wouldn't work at all. so I reinstalled the newest version, I checked for virus/malware, I cleared the history and cookies, checked the proxy, and defraged the system. I have restarted the computer multiple times. I can still not get it to connect to a website and when I shut it down, it will not close unless I go into task manager to close it under the processes. I can open IE just fine. any thoughts? I am using an HP with windows 8.1 and I have no idea how to start in safe mode since I do not know how to get to it. That is the only thing I have not done.

I was using firefox and it wouldn't load a page so I closed it. But it kept saying it was running still when I tried to re-open it. I had to go into task manager to shut the process down. Since I did that, it wouldn't work at all. so I reinstalled the newest version, I checked for virus/malware, I cleared the history and cookies, checked the proxy, and defraged the system. I have restarted the computer multiple times. I can still not get it to connect to a website and when I shut it down, it will not close unless I go into task manager to close it under the processes. I can open IE just fine. any thoughts? I am using an HP with windows 8.1 and I have no idea how to start in safe mode since I do not know how to get to it. That is the only thing I have not done.

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Hey, these are the instructions on how to try safe mode. Please post back with your results. Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that turns off some settings, disables most add-ons (extensions and themes).

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

  • In Firefox 29.0 and above, click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.
  • In previous Firefox versions, click on the Firefox button at the top left of the Firefox window and click on Help (or click on Help in the Menu bar, if you don't have a Firefox button) then click on 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".
Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow 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.

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Some problems occurs when your Internet security program was set to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow Firefox to connect to the Internet again;

  • Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
  • Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see

Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet. {web link}