Firefox will not start following system restore

[tqh]

Hello MB Forum,

 

I have searched quite a bit on the web and can't find a good solution to my problem. I hope I may be able to get some help here.  Some background...

 

I have a computer running XP and have a TV hooked up with a DVI to HDMI cable.  I tried hooking up some headphones through my analog jack and ended up losing sound on my TV - but only for that particular profile.  My solution was to try and do a system restore because I have never had a problem doing that in the past.  I restored back a couple weeks and I noticed that SRestore changed some file names.  Of course I did not write them down because they seemed harmless.  The sound worked, but when I got around to starting firefox, it did absolutely nothing.  I went to the actual application under program files and it still would not work.  I tried to go back under system restore and that did not help.  I then stopped because I suspected malware. 

 

I ran a scan w/ MB and the scan failed initially.  I also noticed that my program is not updating to 2.2.0.1024.  Maybe because it is XP?  When I finally got MB to run, it did not detect anything.  I also ran a boot-time scan with AVAST.  I have a corrupted file under C:\NVIDIA\Display Driver.  This may be what caused the problem with the sound, but under another profile the sound worked.  So, I am at a loss because I suspect that if I uninstall FF and reinstall it I will lose everything including bookmarks and plugins.  I have a few restore points I could try but I don't think that will work.  I'm starting to think system restore messed up my FF profile/folder.  Any help would be great.

 

Thanks in advance 

[Firefox]

Hello and Welcome to Malwarebytes

Since you did a system restore, that most likely corrupted your Malwarebytes install, so run the steps below to get Malwarebytes re-installed and working properly. The system restore may have corrupted your Firefox profile as well, you may have to re-install Firefox as well. Also if you provide the logs requested below it will give us a better understanding of what may be going on.

Let's try this first....

• Please follow the steps in this pinned topic to uninstall your current version of MBAM and reinstall the latest build - MBAM Clean Removal Process 2x
• If that does not correct the issue, then please read the following and attach to your next reply the 3 requested logs - Diagnostic Logs (the 3 logs are: FRST.txt, Addition.txt and CheckResults.txt)
• NOTE: More info about v2.2.0 HERE; User Guide ONLINE; User Guide PDF; FAQ: Common Questions, Issues, and their Solutions

Please let us know how it goes.

Thank You,

Firefox

[David H. Lipman]

The easiest thing to do is just download the latest Firefox and re-install it.

{ The software, not the forum member Firefox }

[tqh]

Ok to DH Lipman.  Pretty good and I laughed, but will I lose all my bookmarks, plugins, etc.??

[tqh]

Well I can't access the forum with IE.

[daledoc1]

Hi,
 
Until David returns, you wrote:
 

Ok to DH Lipman.  Pretty good and I laughed, but will I lose all my bookmarks, plugins, etc.??

 
Your bookmarks and preferences are stored in your Firefox (Fx) profile, not in the program.
 
Reinstalling Fx should not affect those.
However, it's always a good idea to back up one's profile (using Mozbackup, FEBE or other means) before making major changes to Fx.
 
Having said that, most problems with Fx originate in the user's profile, not in the program itself.
While reinstalling Fx is certainly a reasonable option and *may* turn out to be the solution to your issue, it may not be the *first* step in the troubleshooting process.
 
This article contains a step-by-step troubleshooting process, ranging from the "non-invasive" measures (such as trying Mozilla safe mode) to steps that do "burn bridges" by removing bookmarks, preferences, etc., to creating a new profile: Standard Diagnostic - Firefox
This article likewise contains helpful advice, including instructions to refesh Firefox and other steps: Firefox does not work

Please let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks,

[tqh]

So, can you make a copy of the profile folder, xyz.default for example, to a memory stick then reinstall firefox?  If on reinstall the profile gets deleted can you then replace the contents of the new profile folder with the older content?  Also, AVAST notified me of a firefox update but I was not able to update through AVAST.  I have not been able to sit down and work on this, so thanks for your patience.

[tqh]

So I reinstalled firefox (did not uninstall then install) and that seemed to work well.  I uninstalled MB and installed per the instructions above and updated then scanned.  Got a shutdown and error message, but then rescanned and it worked.  No malware detected.  Audio seems to work.  However, I keep getting notifications about the malicious sw removal and now I am getting one about a security update for IE8.  I don't think these are that big a deal, but if someone thinks differently, then please let me know.  Since I started this whole thing, windows wants to download and install the malicious sw removal tool after every reboot.  I probably was being overly cautious.  If you guys think everything is ok, then we can probably close this topic.  Thank you very much for your help.

[tqh]

Hello again.  I was hoping this was a done deal, but I still keep getting the windows update notifications everytime I reboot.  I watch and make sure they install successfully yet they still come back.  Any ideas?

 

 

[tqh]

Nevermind.  Seems like it is ok now.  Thanks.