hello GBinHoosick, in this case please try to reset the whole browser (this will keep your bookmarks & passwords):

Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings

Dear Madperson:

Thanks for the quick reply and the help. Resetting the browser certainly is an option and I suspect would solve the problem, but I see it as a relatively "drastic" solution, as I've done a lot of customizing of Firefox and the article you linked me to indicates that much or all of that would not be saved, and would then require considerable time to redo.

So I'm going to wait awhile and see what other help may be offered. In the meantime, do you have any thoughts as to why this problem has occurred? Thanks again.

i first suspected it might be some adware addon that is wanting to hijack your search engine clicks - but priceblink is also listed at addons.mozilla.org, so i suppose it's checked and trusted.

another thing you could try is downloading the full setup file for firefox 18 from getfirefox.com & install it on top of your current system (this will keep all your customizations), maybe it can restore the search plugins for google & wikipedia, in case they got corrupted or deleted somehow.

in case it still doesn't work afterwards, you could try to launch firefox in safe mode once & see if it's possible there to restore the default set in "manage search engines"...

Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems

Hello GBinHoosick, If you can't make permanent changes to search engines maybe it is possible that an extension in interfering, confirm madperson's reply to check in safe mode.

also the problem may be a corrupt "search.sqlite" file in Profile folder

Delete the search.sqlite and also the search.json file in profile folder, see: Unable to search or add new engines

thank you

Thanks for the suggestions.

I opened Firefox in Safe Mode, but the problem was still present, and the "Restore Defaults" button in the Manage Search Engines box was still greyed-out.

Ideato, what would happen after I deleted the search.sqlite and search.json files in my profile folder? Do you anticipate that when I restarted Firefox, those files would be recreated in their default settings? Or is it possible I could lose all Search Box functionality, since those files would be gone? Not trying to second-guess you, just wanting to learn and understand. Thanks.

'This Solution worked for me'

Dear GBinHoosick

Suddenly all my Default Search engines from FireFox search disappeared. Sweet Im was replaced.. The fix for me was fairly simply after searching hours for many that did not work.

I went to C: Program Files\MozillaFirefox.. I noticed there were two folders that said SearchPlugins, which was empty, and Searchplugins (2) which contained all the defaults, Google Yahoo etc. I copied those From Searchplugins(2) and pasted to Search Plugins and Problem solved. Hope it works for you also

Thanks for joining in, FirefoxReply, and what you suggest is interesting because ...... I discover that in my Progam Files folder, there are 2 relevant folders: one called precisely "Mozilla Firefox" and one called "Mozilla Firefox(34)", the latter of which I don't remember ever seeing before and whose Properties indicates it was created on 1/12/13 at 2:49 AM, which would be right around when this problem began. Now, the first Mozilla folder doesn't contain any folder called "Search Plugins", whereas the second (34) folder does have a "searchplugins" folder that contains XML document files for Google and Wikipedia, as well as Amazon, Bing, eBay, Twitter and Yahoo ..... which may be all the original default search engines.

Hmmmm ....... who knows why this (34) folder was created, but could it be that somehow the "searchplugins" folder got moved from the original (and correct) Mozilla Firefox folder to this new (34) folder? And, if so, might copying the "searchplugins" folder in (34) and pasting it into the original Mozilla Firefox folder solve the problem?

What do you, and anyone else out there who's following this, think? And, does anyone know anything about this (34) folder and whether it's "supposed to" exist?

I'm partially answering my own question. I have the Shadow Explorer program, which essentially activates the Shadow Copy function of Windows and allows me to see historical versions of files. I just checked Program Files for various past dates, and it turns out that prior to 1/13/12, the Mozilla Firefox folder did contain a "searchplugins" folder that included Google, Wikipedia et. al., and a "Mozilla Firefox(34)" folder did not exist!

This strongly suggests that the solution will be to move the "searchplugins" folder from the apparently bogus (34) file into the original Mozilla Firefox folder. Your thoughts, please?

I would give that a try.. As soon as I added the older file that contained the files Google and all the default search engines it worked fine. Please let me know if it works for you.

Yup, I suppose it can't do a lot of harm and could do a lot of good. Of course, I should close Firefox before I do this. But, once the changes are made to the folder, did you do a system reboot, or just reopen Firefox?

BTW, it's really great that you and the others who've contributed are willing to help out like this. Thanks! This is the Internst at its finest.

Yes, when you delete the search.sqlite and search.json file in profile folder, reset the search engines to default.

thank you

OK. And I would do that by clicking the "Restore Defaults" button in the "Manage Search Engines" box?

Ideato, may I also ask you to read the above exchange I had with FirefoxReply re: making changes to the Mozilla Firefox folder in C: Program Files, specifically making changes to the "searchplugins" folder, as a possible solution to the problem? What's your opinion about that, please?

In case you don't have it easily available to you, you can find the entire thread here (I think): https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/947023#question-reply

Thank you.

Hello GBinHoosick, i thought you had done this :

"And I would do that by clicking the "Restore Defaults" button in the "Manage Search Engines" box?"

do the above you said : "And I would do that by clicking the "Restore Defaults" button in the "Manage Search Engines" box?"

and if doesn't work then do the delete the search.sqlite and search.json file in profile folder in case they are corrupted.

the FirefoxReply reply works also (if you have the two folders)!

see : Removing a search engine

thank you

SUCCESS!!!! I used the same concept as yours, but had to modify the procedure slightly, as I discovered that a few other folders had also been moved to the odd Mozilla Firefox(34) folder, from the original Mozilla Firefox folder. So, using the Shadow Explorer program, I copied the entire contents of the Mozilla Firefox folder as it existed on 1/12/13, which was the last day before the problems began. I then replaced today's version of that folder with the 1/12/13 version, then deleted the entire (34) folder. I then held my breath, reopened Firefox and ...... BINGO, all my previous search engines were back in the Search Bar, and everything else also appears to be functioning fine! YES!!!!

Thanks again, FirefoxReply, for sharing your clever strategy with me. I'm marking your answer as the Solution.

BTW, I think what caused this whole thing was that I'd attempted to update to FF 18.0 from my current 17.0, but the download got interrupted and hung up for some reason. I think that parts of 18.0 did somehow get installed, which is probably how the Mozilla Firefox(34) folder got created and how some subfolders, including the "searchplugins" folder, were placed in it. All's well that ends well, though. I think I'll enjoy my current restored full functionality for awhile before attempting to update to 18.0 again.

The first to check in cases like this is if all the default search engines are still present in the searchplugins folder in the Firefox program folder.
If not then you need to reinstall Firefox or otherwise see if you can restore them from another source.
If they are present then deleting search.json (and search.sqlite from older Firefox versions) should restore them.

delete the search.json file and a possible search.sqlite file in the Firefox Profile Folder.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

there is a much easier solution than resetting firefox.

You can simply download "searchreset" from firefox support. It installs and then removes itself, and takes mixidj out of the search function

This is the only solution that really works, to get rid of Mixi.dj in your search. This does not relate to removal of the the toolbar or add-ons, which is performed easily through Tools....

Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/searchreset/ Very simple and effective!!