Hello Casal.

As I said before (another topic), you may be having a problem with some Firefox add-on that is hindering your Firefox's normal behavior. Have you tried disabling all add-ons (just to check), to see if Firefox goes back to normal?

Whenever you have a problem with Firefox, whatever it is, you should make sure it's not coming from one of your installed add-ons, be it an extension, a theme or a plugin. To do that easily and cleanly, run Firefox in safe mode and select Disable all add-ons. If the problem disappears, you know it's from an add-on. Disable them all in normal mode, and enable them one at a time until you find the source of the problem. See this article for information about troubleshooting extensions and theme. You can troubleshoot plugins the same way.

If you want support for one of your add-ons, you'll need to contact its author.

Hi Morbus

Yes, I have done that. Still doesn't work. Worked fine yesterday. With 3.6.4 it no longer works.

It is 3.6.4 that is the problem. I don't want support for Adobe I want support for Firefox, whose update is buggy.

So if you run Firefox 3.6.4 in safe mode, with add-ons disabled, it still behaves badly?

Ok, if that's the case, can you please go into Help > Troubleshooting Information... > Copy all to clipboard, while in safe mode with add-ons disabled, and paste here? That will help me, hopefully, see if there's anything wrong with your profile.

 Application Basics

       Name
       Firefox

       Version
       3.6.4

       Profile Directory

         Open Containing Folder

       Installed Plugins

         about:plugins

       Build Configuration

         about:buildconfig

 Extensions

       Name

       Version

       Enabled

       ID

       Norton IPS
       1.0
       false
       {8545daff-ad1e-493f-a37e-eed1ac79682b}

       Adblock Plus
       1.2
       false
        

       1-ClickWeather
       1.1.9.1
       false
        

       RealPlayer Browser Record Plugin
       1.0
       false
        

       Norton Toolbar
       3.7.2
       false
       {7BA52691-1876-45ce-9EE6-54BCB3B04BBC}

       Java Console
       6.0.20
       false
        

       Adobe DLM (powered by getPlus(R))
       1.6.2.63
       true
        

 Modified Preferences

     Name

     Value

       accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar
       0

       browser.history_expire_days.mirror
       180

       browser.history_expire_days_min
       2

       browser.places.importBookmarksHTML
       false

       browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion
       2

       browser.startup.homepage
       http://www.google.ie/

       browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone
       rv:1.9.2.4

       extensions.lastAppVersion
       3.6.4

       font.size.variable.x-western
       18

       network.cookie.prefsMigrated
       true

       places.last_vacuum
       1273701046

       print.print_printer
       hp deskjet 845c

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_bgimages
       false

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_command

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_downloadfonts
       false

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_edge_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_edge_left
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_edge_right
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_edge_top
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_evenpages
       true

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_footercenter

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_footerleft
       &PT

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_footerright
       &D

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_headercenter

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_headerleft
       &T

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_headerright
       &U

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_in_color
       true

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_oddpages
       true

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_orientation
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_paper_data
       9

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_paper_size_type
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_paper_size_unit
       1

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_reversed
       false

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_to_file
       false

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.printer_Send_To_OneNote_2007.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_bgimages
       false

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_command

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_downloadfonts
       false

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_edge_bottom
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_edge_left
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_edge_right
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_edge_top
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_evenpages
       true

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_footercenter

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_footerleft
       &PT

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_footerright
       &D

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_headercenter

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_headerleft
       &T

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_headerright
       &U

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_in_color
       true

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_oddpages
       true

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_orientation
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_paper_data
       9

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_paper_size_type
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_paper_size_unit
       1

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_reversed
       false

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_to_file
       false

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.printer_hp_deskjet_845c.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       privacy.clearOnShutdown.cookies
       false

       privacy.clearOnShutdown.history
       false

       privacy.clearOnShutdown.sessions
       false

       privacy.item.cache
       true

       privacy.item.downloads
       false

       privacy.item.formdata
       false

       privacy.item.history
       false

       privacy.item.passwords
       false

       privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs
       true

       privacy.sanitize.promptOnSanitize
       false

       privacy.sanitize.sanitizeOnShutdown
       true

       security.warn_viewing_mixed
       false

From that info, I can see that you don't have Flash installed (let alone enabled), although you have Adobe Download Manager installed (and enabled, are you sure that's from safe mode without add-ons?). Are you aware of this?

I can't find any clear problem with your profile from that. Do the download manager problems persist in safe mode without add-ons?

You may want to try creating a new temporary profile, for diagnostic purposes, and see if it works correctly: managing profiles.

Thanks for looking at this. That is really confusing. I've installed & enabled Flash quite a few times today trying to resolve this; so to hear that it's not installed is surprising.

I'll take a look at the Download Manager when in Safe Mode and get back to you on that; can you walk me through installing Flash properly? I go to the Adobe page, follow their instructions, I see the little moving image when done, is there anything else I need to be doing vis a vis Firefox to get it to show as installed?

By the way, it seems to be one website that has a major issue with this, and I have contacted their tech support about it; it may be a conflict with them (although their wesbite works fine in Explorer).

http://www.irishnews.com - you will see a preview box where an icon that says FSI viewer is, if it is working properly, you will be able to see an image of the newspaper turning its pages; if not, you'll just see the blue and white FSI viewer icon.

Thanks again for your help and time

Yes, I can confirm in Safe Mode with add-ons disabled Download Manager no longer works properly. When you go to the DM box, it is just white with no list; no matter what you have just downloaded. The dialog works, the pop up does not.

"Thanks for looking at this. That is really confusing. I've installed & enabled Flash quite a few times today trying to resolve this; so to hear that it's not installed is surprising." Flash is a real pain in the ass. Of that there is absolutely no doubt. The thing is, to install it, you need first to install an extension (Adobe's download manager), then go there, to the install page, and, with that extension enabled, you need to download the Flash plugin. Remember: the Flash reader itself is a plugin, not an extension.

"can you walk me through installing Flash properly?" Hopefully this article is enough.

""By the way, it seems to be one website that has a major issue with this, and I have contacted their tech support about it; it may be a conflict with them (although their wesbite works fine in Explorer)."" Different websites may be displayed differently in different browsers. This is very unfortunate, and a big headache for web developers. The whole web is working to fix this, and has been for years now, but it takes time, and some sites are still not correctly programmed and may display errors in some browsers and/or systems.

"http://www.irishnews.com - you will see a preview box where an icon that says FSI viewer is, if it is working properly, you will be able to see an image of the newspaper turning its pages; if not, you'll just see the blue and white FSI viewer icon. " Yes, it's not working on my side either. Latest Flash, Firefox 3.6.4. It's probably a bug on their side.

"Yes, I can confirm in Safe Mode with add-ons disabled Download Manager no longer works properly. When you go to the DM box, it is just white with no list; no matter what you have just downloaded. The dialog works, the pop up does not. " So, effectively, you can't download anything, is that it? Try right clicking any image on the web and pressing Save image as... and save it (you can delete it after). Does the image appear in the download manager?

Oh, I have no problem downloading; it is just that the pop-up box Download Manager that shows you how the d/l is progressing and then lets you click into it when it's done (also accessible under Tools) no longer displays properly. It is just white, with no d/l information, no history, nothing. (I've d/l'd things since the update and so there should be something on the list). The littler box that pops up in the bottom corner telling you the d/l has started and telling you it has finished still works. It's the big one that doesn't.

Re the Irish News - their viewer worked fine yesterday before I updated FF; now it doesn't. There's a bug/incompatibility issue there.

Followed the instructions on the link you posted, it went as displayed and it's showing as described in my Add-ons/Extensions list - so, weird!

I'm at a loss.

"Oh, I have no problem downloading; it is just that the pop-up box Download Manager that shows you how the d/l is progressing and then lets you click into it when it's done (also accessible under Tools) no longer displays properly. It is just white, with no d/l information, no history, nothing. (I've d/l'd things since the update and so there should be something on the list). The littler box that pops up in the bottom corner telling you the d/l has started and telling you it has finished still works. It's the big one that doesn't. " Maybe you clicked "Clear List" in the Downloads window? That will have erased your download history. I asked that to know whether new downloads would appear in the download box. Do you think a screenshot of the window will help me understand better what's going on?

"Re the Irish News - their viewer worked fine yesterday before I updated FF; now it doesn't. There's a bug/incompatibility issue there. " It's possible that it's some kind of incompatibility, but if that's the case, I can't help you. I will not recommend you to downgrade Firefox. It may even be an incompatibility issue with Flash 10.1, if you, like myself, updated it when you updated Firefox.

"Followed the instructions on the link you posted, it went as displayed and it's showing as described in my Add-ons/Extensions list - so, weird!" Again, the flash player is not an extension: it's a plugin. See if "Shockwave Flash" is present in the plugins list. The extension is just the download manager that helps you install Flash.

Here is the screenshot - what happens is while the d/l is in progress, you can see the info bar in the DM box, but as soon as it is done, nada - just the empty white box. Is that a problem in the settings that somehow the update has adjusted? As previously, the DM box would retain the history of what was d/l'd until I manually cleared it. Now it doesn't even give me the chance.

Re Flash, sequence was updated Firefox upon notification of new version, then went thru the Flash update all day today when I discovered it was no longer working. I am kinda done with Flash at this point, lol.

I've included in the screenshot the plugins list.

I believe this is due to a corrupt file in your profile. You can confirm this if you create a new temporary Firefox profile (managing profiles) and if the problem disappears.

To fix this problem (hopefully), do this:

- access about:support in your location bar - click Open Containing Folder - close Firefox - delete the file downloads.sqlite (send it to the recycle bin, if, for any reason, you want to get it back later) - start Firefox

Now the problem should be solved. I believe it's simply a matter of this file having become corrupt. For whatever reason. It's really unfortunate, but I hope this fixes the issue.

Will try that later tonight/tomorrow (it's almost 8pm here), need a break from this dang computer. I'll let you know how it works out when I try it. Thank you very much for your help and all your time trying to figure out the problem for me.

We're on the same timezone Casal.

Take as much time as you need. I'm sorry that this is happening, and it's perfectly understand that you're tired of dealing with this problem. I'll be here when you need me.

Hi Morbus,

I've the same problem as Casal and have done everything you've suggested. Have run in safe mode, disabled the addons deleted the downloads.sqlite file and still the same thing happens. Adobe tells me it's installed yet the plugin disappears and sites tell me I don't have it installed and that the plugin has crashed. And all of this has happened since the update to FireFox last night, it was working fine until then. Flash will install and work a-okay with my IE, but FF seems to refuse to let it load and stay loaded.

The screenshot attached shows successful loading of Flash, but I also get a failed box too, which I'll post as a separate screenshot in a moment

I'm totally at a loss, I really don't want to go back to using IE as my main browser again, FF is so much better, but I can't do without Flash

Here's the failure screenshot, and I'll also put up a screenshot to where I get the plugin crash report

And the Facebook plugin crash screen as an example

I see, Snowball. It seems that Flash was not installed in your Firefox. Can you please check in Tools > Add-ons > Plugins if "Shockwave Flash" is in the list? If it is, you have Flash installed (although possibly an old version). If you don't, you don't have Flash installed.

You will need to contact Adobe on why the installation has failed. I really have no idea why that is. It may be some sort of incompatibility with Firefox 3.6.4, but, ultimately, plugins are made for the browser, not the other way around.

And as an example - Facebook plugin crash screen