Updated Firefox on Mac OS to 85.0, menu items don't work -- cannot open new tab, Preferences, or Add-Ons
Seems that Firefox broke itself on my Mac.
Since I updated to 85.0, I cannot open a new tab either by clicking on the + icon or by key combination.
I cannot open Preferences either from the Firefox menu or by key combination. I can open About Firefox.
I cannot open Add-ons either from the Tools menu or by key combination. I can open Page Info.
I'm posting this from Safari, which appears to be working fine. I generally use Firefox, can these problems be fixed or is it time to give up on it?
PS I cannot open Troubleshooting Information from the Firefox Help > Troubleshooting Information
All Replies (6)
I can open a new window, but entries in the URL bar don't work, except for google.com
I've restarted Firefox several times, yet I'm still getting the "restart to update" message
I give up. What I need to do is deinstall Firefox, clean it off my machine, and maybe download it again and reinstall it.
How do I backup essential items in order to potentially reinstall them?
Is it possible that you need to reboot your system for it to use the updated software? You no doubt have backup software or commands. At the least you can copy your profile folder to another location. If the update process on a Mac interferes with your profile folder, that may be too late.
I want to wipe Firefox off my system completely. I'm fed up with all the glitches.
I prefer to do a clean install rather than "refresh Firefox", instructions for which being ridiculously complex.
I want to backup preferences, bookmarks, etc. in case I ever install it again.
See:
Location used for the main profile that keeps your personal data (Root Directory on about:profiles).
- ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/<profile>
In Mac OS X v10.7 and later, the "~/Library" folder in the Home directory is a hidden folder.
On Mac Firefox saves a pending update in the hidden Caches folder location. MAC: ~/Library/Caches/Mozilla/updates/Applications/Firefox/updates/
If there is a problem with updating or with the permissions then best is to download the full version and trash the currently installed Firefox application to do a clean reinstall.
Download a new copy of the Firefox application and save the Disk Images file to the desktop Firefox 85.0:
- trash the currently installed Firefox application (open the Applications folder in the Finder and drag the Firefox application to the Trash) to do a clean reinstall
- install the new version that you have downloaded
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-mac
Your personal data like bookmarks is stored in the Firefox profile folder, so you won't lose personal data when you reinstall or update Firefox, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.