Firefox again

[slipstreamer]

I have read the other threads here on Firefox and neither of them seem to fit this problem.

 

I have not used Firefox but I have a friend who uses it and she is now unable to open it. She has some favourites on her Firefox browser that she would like to access. Might there be an easy fix to get it started up again? Like maybe downloading Firefox 3? But, will she lose her favourites in the process? How about changing the security settings on her firewall or maybe just shutting it down temporarily?

 

There seems to be some clued-in folks here on firefox so hopefully one of you has the magic bullet.

 

:backinmyday:Thanks a bunch.

 

Cliff

[frogmaster]

I have been on FF for last 4 or 5 years and every time I did the "Update or Upgrade" from earlier version I never lost my FAVS here. Cliff if she can NOT access it now might as well reboot. Reboot worlds #1 Majic Bullet with 98% fix rate 2% OH CRAP rate.... Good Luck

[Hagmaster]

Ditto Frogmaster have been using it forever and updating.

[slipstreamer]

Thanks Charlie. If by reboot you mean format the hardrive and reload everything back on I think that would be beyond her technical capability and I am 3,000 miles away. She still has IE 7 to fall back on so she is not without browsing capability. Do you think that just upgrading to FF3 will do the trick?

 

Are there any other possible solutions How about turning off her firewall just to open FF ?? And then turn it back on when FF is up and running.

[Freebird]

What version is not working for her? I downloaded the new 3.5 version and it would not work at all. Lot's of problems. I went back and downloaded 3.0.13 and re-installed it and everything is good again. It will import your bookmarks from whichever version you tell it to.

[barend]

Thanks Charlie. If by reboot you mean format the hardrive and reload everything back on I think that would be beyond her technical capability and I am 3,000 miles away. She still has IE 7 to fall back on so she is not without browsing capability. Do you think that just upgrading to FF3 will do the trick?

 

Are there any other possible solutions How about turning off her firewall just to open FF ?? And then turn it back on when FF is up and running.

 

Reboot: turn the computer off and start it back up??

FF3.0.12 works fine, I went to 3.5 and this site won't load right though I do not have any problems anywhere else. So I use IE8 for this!

[Yammer Dan]

Never did get my favorites back from MSN. I had stuck with them for years. Not sure what they changed but it got me.

[Lonehunter]

This may not help this time, but FF has a option that saves bookmark info. It is called xmarks.

 

Jeff

[V7Goose]

I am using FF 3.5.2 with almost no problems here (have it on four different computers). The only odd thing I have seen is that new private messages do not seem to generate a prompt to view them.

Goose

[frogmaster]

Reboot: turn the computer off and start it back up??

FF3.0.12 works fine, I went to 3.5 and this site won't load right though I do not have any problems anywhere else. So I use IE8 for this!

 

REBOOT = Turn it off and wait 1 minute and turn it back on.

 

Sometimes a PC LOCKS UP and if a Laptop it has a battery and unplugging it will only convert to Battery... The trick here is to hold the POWER ON down for 7 seconds. It will then SHUT DOWN then START UP.

[slipstreamer]

Thanks for all of your input guys. Judging from your experiences FF seems to be a bit fiddly and might depend on where one is using it and/or what one is using it for. I will just tell her that she needs to try another version or just reload the version she is using and to make it a practice of saving her favourites elsewhere in case she has to delete FF in the future and reload.

 

Yeh Charlie, that is what I knew reboot to mean but I thought maybe you might have had something else in mind.

 

Thanks again all

 

 

[Dave77459]

Regarding the bookmarks, you can save them. They are stored in a file called, oddly, bookmarks.html

 

You can search your computer for this file. If you are using Windows, chances are that it is in:

 

C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\profile\

 

user is the user name she uses. On this computer, it is hathawayd, because that is my login name.

 

profile is her Firefox profile name. This is more or less randomly generated. You can see the name by looking in the Profiles folder. On this machine, my current profile is xcbm3qbk.default. If you have multiple profiles, you will have multiple bookmarks.html files.

 

I make it a habit to send this file to my gmail account, so it is never lost. (I don't delete gmail since storage is nearly unlimited.) If I ever have to restore my Firefox installation, I can just copy this file down. If I am on a foreign computer, I can open the file out of email and find a link.

 

Now, regarding the weirdness, she might create a new profile to see if it is an extension she is having issues with. This firefox help page might be useful. Depending on version, she might also try disabling Adblock Plus, to see if it is maybe blocking something necessary. I use the NoScript extension also, and that causes weirdness.

 

Hope her problem is resolved!

 

Dave

[V7Goose]

Regarding the bookmarks, you can save them. They are stored in a file called, oddly, bookmarks.html

 

You can search your computer for this file.

Dave

I don't think this is correct. "Bookmarks.html" is normally generated as an export from IE (such as when you initially install FF and import favorites). You may find multiple copies of this file on your computer, but it probably will NOT have your most recent additions. Better add a new and unique bookmark, then check the file you are saving to verify that new item is REALLY there!

 

I'm pretty sure about this, but just slightly hedging my bets until I jump on one of my desktop computers with decent speed to complete a full search for that file!

Goose

 

Here is an easier way to ensure you always have the most current copy of bookmarks in FireFox - If you have more than one computer, just use the Xmarks add-on to magically keep the bookmarks in sync on ALL of the computers.

[a1bummer]

I found mine here, "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\profile". Just back it up and update Firefox. There is also a portable version of Firefox that can be installed onto a thumb-drive. It also works great. You can take all your bookmarks and settings with you to any computer. And NO, none of your personal information is left behind on the computers you use for others to find.

[slipstreamer]

Thanks again Bummer, Dave and Goose. I will wait to see what she says to my initial response and, if she has not been successful, I will forward this and any other new information to her.

 

Cheers all,

 

Cliff

[Dave77459]

I don't think this is correct. "Bookmarks.html" is normally generated as an export from IE (such as when you initially install FF and import favorites). You may find multiple copies of this file on your computer, but it probably will NOT have your most recent additions. Better add a new and unique bookmark, then check the file you are saving to verify that new item is REALLY there!

 

I'm pretty sure about this, but just slightly hedging my bets until I jump on one of my desktop computers with decent speed to complete a full search for that file!

Goose

 

Here is an easier way to ensure you always have the most current copy of bookmarks in FireFox - If you have more than one computer, just use the Xmarks add-on to magically keep the bookmarks in sync on ALL of the computers.

 

I use Windows XP64 here, so other's experiences may vary. Interestingly, I found a bookmarks.html both in

 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\profile

 

Created 11/21/2008

Modified 10/17/2008

Accessed 8/27/2009 10:21:32AM

Size: 7KB

 

and

 

C:\Documents and Settings\hathawayd\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xcbm3qbk.default

 

Created 11/21/2008

Modified 10/17/2008

Accessed 8/27/2009 10:33:34AM

Size: 885KB

 

Both files are updated recently. Looking in the "Program Files" version file, it appears truncated. *shrugs*

 

Probably the safest thing to do is use the Bookmarks Organizer (Ctrl+Shift+B) and select "Export Bookmarks" to make a copy.

 

Dave

[SilvrT]

Some swear by FireFox but frankly, almost everytime someone is having a problem with a browser, it's seems to be with fireFox ... I don't get it. I refuse to use firefox for that simple reason. I have been using Maxthon for as many years as it has been out (maybe 10?) and I have NEVER had a problem with it....ever. I've also installed it on numerous other computers and nobody has yet to have a problem with it...FireFox isn't even compatible with all websites or specialized web-based applications so why do folks seem to think FireFox is so great is totally beyond me.

 

Maxthon uses the IE engine and has many features not included in IE.

 

Sorry I can't offer assistance even though I am a tech but I just don't support FireFox.

 

Sorry for ranting ;-)

[loehring]

I'm using Firefox with no issues at all. It's version 3.5.2. The whole reason I started using it was response time. I've been having issues with IE being slow to pick-up keystrokes. I'll type something and there are multiple characters missing. It got pretty frustrating so In started using Firefox. I've had no problems at all and it loads much quicker than IE. My OS is Vista HP.

[Lonehunter]

I'm on a lot of different forums. I have been using FF for the last couple of years, and have had No problems with it at all.

 

I have noticed that if a FF update is due, it seems to run slower and slower,until I down load the update.

 

It is funny how some browser will work great for some and terrible for others.

 

Jeff

[slipstreamer]

Once again thnx guys. Your clue about being able to find the FF faves on C was a good one Dave. She has not got back to me about whether or not she found her faves or not. I will let you all know if she was successful.

 

Cheers,

 

Cliff