Firefox problem! Help please?

Hi folks, I've been using Firefox for ages now after seeing it mentioned on here, & absolutely love it, however, I've got a problem with it.

Whenever I start Firefox, I get the google toolbar start up screen, & the very first google page (the one that says 'you wont see this page again' or something similiar on it, as if it's the first time I'm using Firefox after installing.

I've tried uninstalling it, & then re-installing, but it doesnt fix it, it also 'remembers' my bookmarks too when I re-install, if that's of any relevance.

Unfortunately I've been very daft & my sytem restore hasnt been on for ages so that wont fix it (stupid, I know, but I left it off after getting rid of an annoying Trojan that hid there).

Your help would be most appreciated in this, I love using Firefox & nothing else comes close so dont wanna start using another browser, but this problem's most irritating.

Thanks in advance.

 

What about manually changing your homepage? Does Firefox still revert to the first page?

In case you didn't know, you can specify your own homepage by doing the following:

1. Select 'Options' from the 'Tools' menu
2. In the 'General' section, type the URL in the 'Location(s)' field under home page

 

Yeah, that's one of the problems it's causing, it still reverts to the pre-set first homepage, not what I change it to.

It's acting as if it's the first time I run it in every respect except my bookmarks, which are saved.

 

Hmmm... so you've had malware in the past, and your homepage keeps getting changed.

Maybe we better start with following the instructions in the malware removal thread. That way, we can eliminate malicious software as a suspect.

 

Ok, will do, I'll be back if it doesnt work, thanks!

 

Problem fixed!

It seems there was a problem with my Hard Drive, when I restarted in 'safe mode' following your malware removal guide, CHKDSK kicked in & restored some lost files, & this fixed it.

Ran the files as directed & found some malware that may have caused the problem, thanks very much for your help!

 

Hey, no problem! The malware forum here is fantastic. You may also be interested in the how to protect yourself from malware thread. That will show you how to set up redundant virus and spyware scanning for free.

 

Also, the reason your bookmarks are remembered after you re-install Firefox is that your Firefox profile is kept separate from the browser's Program Files, and this is where bookmarks, extensions, and other customizations are stored. This is so you can install updated versions of Firefox without losing that stuff, but it also means that few problems are ever fixed by re-installing Firefox. To learn more about the profile, see: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder