Firefox stuck in a search loop!

[jacks91]

Wonders will never cease! Not sure how long this will last, but with the latest update to FF (73.0.1) the computer now comes up from a dead off position with FF operating as normal and showing "up to date" instead of continually searching for updates. Also is OK from a restart after a Microsoft update. I'll give it a few more days to be sure but at this time it appears that the problem has quietly gone away. No guarantees but it's worth just trying a few more days of normal operation to see what happens. FF also seems to be quite a bit faster then the earlier version. I'll post again in a couple of days to report what happens.

[jacks91]

So the intermittent problem still exists! Even showed up a couple of times using the TEST profile! Now after reading some posts on the 'net, I'm beginning to wonder if there's a conflict between Firefox and ESET Internet Security. I've been playing with startups and shutdowns on the computer and so far the problem has not changed. Sometimes it will boot and FF works normally, then in middle of the day FF just decides to start searching for updates. A computer restart usually fixes this. In my FF options, there appears to be NO button to turn off the auto update function!

I want to try a new tack. Need advice from the gurus on this one. Suppose I simply uninstall and delete my ESET Internet security and go with the Microsoft security built in to Windows 10 Pro, along with my Malware Bytes program. Run for a few days in this configuration to see what happens. Would appreciate any more advice! I'm almost ready to do a complete uninstall of FF73 using REVO4 uninstaller. Can I do that after saving all my passwords and bookmarks to a flash drive then reinstall FF from scratch and just start over? Will this create a new profile? Thanks again for your help!!

[costark]

So the intermittent problem still exists! In my FF options, there appears to be NO button to turn off the auto update function!

I want to try a new tack. Need advice from the gurus on this one. Suppose I simply uninstall and delete my ESET Internet security and go with the Microsoft security built in to Windows 10 Pro, along with my Malware Bytes program. !

See Update Control in below Link - Assume you just glazed right over it -

I have ESET EIS and MBAM with no issues - Which doesn't help you - BUT, Why not Post on ESET Forum B4 giving up on it
https://forum.eset.com/forum/23-eset-in ... romLogin=1


https://i.imgur.com/F3qEyI6.jpg?1

[jacks91]

Yes -I have that on my screen - but when I check the Check for update but let me choose to install nothing happens. FF still with no warning starts the "checking for updates" thing which on my system does not allow FF to access the net and I cannot stop that function. I then have to exit FF manually, wait about 30 seconds and restart the computer, then FF starts with the "FF is up to date" listing and all is good. This usually works for most of the day. Today, however, the system and FF started perfectly normal. Murphy is still active!

[therube]

if you use the test profile ..., and the problem doesn't occur, why that might fix the problem with original profile

Only because if there were something screwed up in the original profile, testing in the new Profile may have cleared that screwup, subsequently alleviating the issue in the original profile.


(As it is, he did update, automatically, to 73, so that is then less likely the issue at hand.)

[therube]

FF started the "searching for updates" thing again.

Screenshot?

(I gather it is not something like, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploa ... update.png.)

If you decide to backup your original profile

You should.

Normally I shut the computer off and also the UPS at night.

Should you be shutting off the UPS?
If your UPS is off, is there then zero power going to your computer (as in like if you had pulled the cord from the electric outlet)?

Win10, when you "shut down", I believe does something like restore (at least some) programs that were open at the time of shutdown (like, Firefox) - unless you specifically close the program, first. (That seems totally illogical to me, as the point of a "shut down" is specifically to ensure that everything is closed out... so when you start up, you are starting up as clean as you can be. And if Windows is saving the state of various programs, then a "shutdown", & subsequent restart is hardly, clean.)

In order to do that, there needs to be some (small) amount of electricity flowing.

[LIMPET235]

Therube,
I also run a UPS unit & after I close Firefox & all the running programs & disable the PC from the Router, I hit "shut down."
After the PC has turned off, I flick the main power switch on the back of the PC & then I turn the screen off.
After which, I turn the router off & then shut down my UPS unit. (No power to anything.)
(This is on WIN 7 though.)
The UPS units supply ~220 Volts AC.....Just not quite the 240 Volts that are available at the mains.
Everything works fine.

I do not have any problems when firing the system up each day or night.

[jacks91]

I appreciate all the inputs - but as of today the FF seems to be starting just as it used to. I don't remember doing anything different except late yesterday I uninstalled Dell Support Assist. Note that I have two Cyberpower UPS's. One UPS is on 24/7 and supplies only the router, modem, phone and a Tablo device. This is all through a commercial cable network - has been there for several years. The other UPS supplies the computer and several peripherals - scanners, label printer, etc. This one is turned off at night. My three printers (2 LASER and one inkjet) are connected through only a surge protector as I don't need them in case of power outage - and they use too much power to run from a UPS. They are also thru wi-fi instead of USB or Ethernet. My home network has two computers thru Ethernet. Everything else is wi-fi. My procedure to shut down is to close Firefox, wait about 30 seconds, then hit the shutdown button (Windows 10 Pro). Now for the surprise! The last two days the computer has been booting as normal and FF comes up in the "up to date" state. As Alice put it, "curiouser and curiouser" Maybe the profile has in fact repaired itself. I'll watch it for a few days and post again with any results. At my age (92) I need all the help I can get LOL

[therube]

In order to do that, there needs to be some (small) amount of electricity flowing.

Oh, I was (only) thinking about "sleep", where sleep only suspends to RAM (that's what I use).

Forgot there are other methods, including suspend to disk, & in that case, state is written to disk rather then to RAM, so electricity is not required for that, so if you turn your UPS off, the system can still resume upon awakening.

[jacks91]

That works OK for me so I'll just leave it alone for a few days to see what happens. "If it works, don't fix it!"