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web pages get messed up; I clear "Recent History" and that works but what's going on?

  • 2 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 9 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

JMSB
JMSB
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Every couple days, certain web pages look all messed up (as though HTML layout isn't working; more like lines of text and no formatting -- Facebook & Huffington Post are often problems) or pages won't load content I know should appear (like Google Maps). Somehow I figured out a few months ago that if I clear the "Recent History," it fixes the problem. But I'm tired of doing this, sometimes several times a day, because I have to reenter passwords or user names on open pages. I did reinstall Firebox months ago but that had no effect. What is happening and why? (At one point, I thought it was a Java problem but I don't even know what Java is.) Can you fix it?

Every couple days, certain web pages look all messed up (as though HTML layout isn't working; more like lines of text and no formatting -- Facebook & Huffington Post are often problems) or pages won't load content I know should appear (like Google Maps). Somehow I figured out a few months ago that if I clear the "Recent History," it fixes the problem. But I'm tired of doing this, sometimes several times a day, because I have to reenter passwords or user names on open pages. I did reinstall Firebox months ago but that had no effect. What is happening and why? (At one point, I thought it was a Java problem but I don't even know what Java is.) Can you fix it?

All Replies (2)

user633449
user633449
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Please update to Firefox 20.0.1 Update Firefox to the latest release

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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You can first try some basic steps like these:

Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • Press and hold Shift and left-click the Reload button.
  • Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • Press "Command + Shift + R" (MAC)

Clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window or otherwise make changes.