Firefox ver 4.42.0.0 on XP_SP3, executable starts, takes 99% system resources but NO browser window .
- Earlier ver of FF failed
- Ok, updated to ver 4.42.0.0 NBG as above question
- firefox -safe-mode NBG as above question
- uninstalled and deleted all user/s profiles and data. GONE
- Deleted reistry of all instances of firefox/mozilla. Gone
- Ran CCcleaner ruthlessly. Cleaned
- Rebooted and redid steps 4 to 6 inclusive
- Reinstalled FF, same problem, exe starts using 99% resources but no browser window
- Delete user profile, deleted the sod. Heck, FF now complains of no user profile but result as at 8
- Both "firefox -p" and "firefox -safe-mode" result as at 8
- Run command "%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" yep no profile, do for all users.
- Dos window, "netsh winsock reset" with a reboot did not yeild a positive outcome.
edit, formatted, numbered paragraphs -J99
Is there a Mozilla support person with ideas on how to go forward to fix this. I am out of ideas but have to resort to eXploder. Hmmm at least it is working...
Regards and thanks in advance.
Modified by John99
All Replies (5)
What does NBG indicate, or should I not ask ;-)
It is not a good idea to delete profiles; unless absolutely essential; because you loose information like bookmarks and passwords.
Why try to use an outdated unsuported Firefox 4 that is not secure. Try instead to install the current Firefox release Firefox 16.x
- Download the installer from
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html - Delete the firefox programs folder so that any remaining files are gone
- then reinstall Fiefox by running the installer, remembering to use an admin account, and that security etc. software may need disabling or setting to install, allow changes, and allow internet access by Firefox
Thanks for the reply, (1) NBG=No Bloody Good; (2) The exe is named "Firefox Setup 16.0.1.exe" but internal is 4.42.0.0; (3) I config Linux, Unix, Windooz and Macs "free BSD"; (4) No probs with firewall nor permissions; (5) Deleted profile to run "firefox -p" for a new profile - NBG; . Interestingly and is of value; (1) When first installing FF, the browser window is available. Additional windows or tabs or combinations are available and do function. Closing such windows results in FF exe starting but no browser window. FF uses all available resources or 99% cpu. This was why I uninstalled FF, manually purged the registry of all references to FF and Mozilla, ran CCcleaner brutally, removed all references from the fileSystem of FF and Mozilla followed by a rebot and re-Install - NBG. (2) Problem started with previous install, hence the upgrade but this did not solve the problem.
Does anyone have a deeper understanding of what is the root cause of this problem, experienced by many, twood seem.
Regards and thanks to all. .
A possible cause is security software (firewall,anti-virus) that blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.
Remove all rules for Firefox and the plugin-container from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process and the updater process.
See:
See also:
. Again, thanks for the reply though I am reasonably versed in the firewall and the AntiVirus installed. Rather than "only" deleting instances within the fireWall rules/exception I dissabled the fireWall and the antiVirus.
Also, I have/had, deleted all persitent data, fileSystem files/links and registry entries for references to firefox AFTER I had uninstalled the version 4.42.0.0 (16.1).
A reinstall put me back at square one, the exe starts at 99% cpu without a browser.
I am stumped, having to resort to eXploder though at least this seems always to function (least I have not had a problem with eXploder, touching wood..).
Thanks to all yet I do hope someone has further thoughts other than to reBuild this host.
Regards. .
Sometimes you only disable the user interface of security software, but the firewall or anti-virus services are still running in the background.
Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.