Firefox won't run after I updated my Privacy Settings
I see other people have had this problem as well, but I haven't found any answers that fix it. I read that Firefox has pretty good security and anti-tracking software, so I went into the Firefox menu, and updated my privacy settings.
I didn't prevent cookies from popping up or anything like that, but I did click the "request websites do not track me," setting, and also a couple of others, and when I got done selecting the Privacy options, it said it needed to restart Firefox for the new settings to take place.
I said OK and restarted Firefox, but after that time, it was completely Unresponsive. I thought maybe it was my computer, so I restarted my computer. Firefox still wouldn't start up. I loaded up Internet Explorer to try and find a solution, and some people suggested I run it in Safe Mode. I tried that, and Firefox was still Unresponsive.
I can't even get into the Menu of Firefox to change the settings, as it just freezes up every time I try to load it up. I even tried uninstalling Firefox, but my original settings are still saved in Firefox, and it still freezes up. Can anyone help me out, please?
Réiteach roghnaithe
It sounds as though you might have turned on automatic private browsing; that's the only setting on that panel which says you need to restart Firefox. I don't think the setting did you in, but the updates to the settings may have corrupted something.
Could you try this:
Create a new Firefox profile
A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.
Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager by typing or pasting the following in the Start menu search box (or the Windows Run dialog):
firefox.exe -P
This should display a small dialog listing one or more profiles. Don't delete anything here!
Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.
Click the Create Profile button, assign a name like June2016, skip the option to relocate the profile folder, and click Finish. After creating the profile, select it and start Firefox in that profile.
Assuming Firefox starts and runs normally, you can migrate over some data (e.g., bookmarks, passwords) as described in this article: Recover important data from an old profile. Alternately, we could go back and try to figure out what's broken in your regular profile now that we've confirmed Firefox will at least run.
What was the result?
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (4)
OK, I read the Common Responses from "Firefox Crashes when you open it," response. I'm at work right now, but I'll post those details later tonight when I get home. Thanks in advance for anyone that helps me out!
Réiteach Roghnaithe
It sounds as though you might have turned on automatic private browsing; that's the only setting on that panel which says you need to restart Firefox. I don't think the setting did you in, but the updates to the settings may have corrupted something.
Could you try this:
Create a new Firefox profile
A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.
Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager by typing or pasting the following in the Start menu search box (or the Windows Run dialog):
firefox.exe -P
This should display a small dialog listing one or more profiles. Don't delete anything here!
Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.
Click the Create Profile button, assign a name like June2016, skip the option to relocate the profile folder, and click Finish. After creating the profile, select it and start Firefox in that profile.
Assuming Firefox starts and runs normally, you can migrate over some data (e.g., bookmarks, passwords) as described in this article: Recover important data from an old profile. Alternately, we could go back and try to figure out what's broken in your regular profile now that we've confirmed Firefox will at least run.
What was the result?
It worked!
Thank you so much! Yes, with the new profiles, all of my preferences and bookmarks are gone, so I may have to migrate some stuff over using that article you forwarded me.
So, any ideas as to what broke, and how to fix it? Hehe. Oh, and what privacy settings I SHOULDN'T pick so this doesn't happen again? lol.
Normally, just changing a few settings couldn't cause the problems you described. Perhaps you discovered a new bug??