Firefox won't load web pages.

Discussion of bugs in Mozilla Firefox
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dmulls
Posts: 1
Joined: November 3rd, 2007, 6:34 pm

Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by dmulls »

Out of the blue, Firefox just stopped working. When I try to load
webpages I get the following error notice after a 15 second delay:


Server not found

Firefox can't find the server at mail.google.com.

* Check the address for typing errors such as
ww.example.com instead of
www.example.com

* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
connection.

* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.


Explorer is running just fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
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malliz
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Post by malliz »

What sort of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.
"Terry Pratchett"
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Loz@
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Joined: November 4th, 2007, 6:33 am
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Same Problem :(

Post by Loz@ »

... I have a same problem ... After 2.0.0.8. --> 2.0.0.9. update Firefox stoped working.

I tried everything but still doesen't work...

<Error> Work Offline is not checked.
[edit]Only Mozilla applications are having problems
If Firefox/Mozilla Suite/Thunderbird can't connect and other programs such as Internet Explorer can...

[edit]Connection settings
Make sure your connection settings are correct. If you have Internet Explorer and it works, compare Internet Explorer's connection settings (e.g., Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections: LAN) to those of Firefox (Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Connection Settings) or Mozilla Suite (Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Connection Settings).

If your Firefox or Mozilla Suite connection settings are not correct but any changes you try to make are not saved after restarting the application, make sure you don't have a utility program such as "Hide IP Platinum" that modifies your connection settings. Even if the utility is no longer installed, the user.js file may still contain the modified settings [1]. To resolve this problem, open the profile folder and look for a user.js file. If found, either remove the user.js file or edit it to remove any "proxy" settings it may contain as outlined here, then reset the connection settings.

[edit]Firewalls
Make sure that your firewall program is configured to allow internet access to Firefox/Mozilla Suite. Most firewalls will ask you whether to allow a new program to connect to the internet, so it is important to always allow access for new or updated Mozilla applications. Even if you see permission in the firewall list of permitted programs, it could be for the previous program version, as firewalls require permission to allow an updated program to access the internet [2].

Some firewalls can be rather tricky to configure, or even to disable or uninstall. In some cases they may continue running silently after supposedly being uninstalled or disabled. They may also have bugs that prevent the Internet access list from being updated correctly. The "EnumProcess" tool for Windows, available here, enumerates all running processes and identifies firewall processes. It also identifies some of the other security programs (but not necessarily all) that are known to cause problems. For more information on specific firewalls, see this article.

Firewalls have many ways of blocking Internet access. Some firewalls and other security software manage all aspects of Internet connections and Web traffic, including domain-name service (DNS), access to secure Web sites, and browser access to your computer.[3]

[edit]Other security programs
Besides personal firewalls, other security programs, including Norton or Symantec Antivirus, [4] [5] can block internet access or cause other connection issues, especially after the browser is updated. Older versions of Panda Anti-virus can cause connection problems. (Information on this is no longer available on the Pandasoft Web site.)

Note that some antivirus packages include web scanning features, such as Avast! "Web Shield" and Kaspersky "Web Anti-Virus", that process all HTTP traffic, which may cause intermittent timeouts and failed page loads (see below, under Websites randomly do not load) .

[edit]IPv6
The problem may be with IPv6 ("Internet Protocol version 6"). To disable IPv6, change the preference network.dns.disableIPv6 from "false" to "true" . Here are the steps:

Type about:config in the address bar, press Enter.
Find network.dns.disableIPv6 in the list.
Right-click -> Toggle.
Restart Firefox/Mozilla Suite and try again.
If this doesn't work, re-enable IPv6 by resetting the preference to "false".
--->

IE works fine, but I don't like IE :) Please help!

Thanks!



-------------------------

FIXED! Haha! I have ZoneAlarm Firewall but previously I had Kaspersky and when I uninstalled him Firefox started working again!
carnivore69us
Posts: 2
Joined: July 17th, 2008, 9:06 am

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by carnivore69us »

Ok...I'm bumping this thread...

I have the same problem after upgrading from 2.0.0.15 to 2.0.0.16. FF loads properly (nothing in the error console, etc.), but sticks while trying to load pages. Eventually get the standard "can't find" page after it times out. Problem has persisted since the aforementioned upgrade, and now through subsequent and numerous upgrades and downgrades between versions 1.0 and 3.0 in an attempt to isolate the problem. Here's more about it.

OS: WinXP Home, SP2
FF: All versions from 1.0 to 3.0, but it appeared during an upgrade from 2.0.0.15 to 2.0.0.16.
Extensions: none - uninstalled, physically removed all remnants including registry entries.
Firewall: none - uninstalled, physically removed all remnants including registry entries.
Virus checker: none - uninstealled, physically removed all remnants including registry entries.
Network connection - direct, no proxy, online, and FF remembers them.
IPv6: disabled (doesn't work enabled either)
Other options: basically, after reinstallation, default.
Standard diagnostics suggestions: have performed all as applicable.
Firefox hangs suggestions: have performed all as applicable.
DNS: works fine using DHCP assignments, and with manually configured settings.
TCP/IP stack: fine and functioning.
Other TCP/UDP/IP programs: work as expected (IE, FTP, POP/SMTP, YM, Skype, etc., etc., etc.).
OS checked for viruses, malware, spyware, adware, etc....none.
Uninstall FF: several times. Removed all physical (file/folder) remnants, and registry entries.
Reinstall FF: clean, several versions, wiped afterwards when they didn't work.
Other: no program installations or system changes since last FF update via popup to 2.0.0.15.
Other: FF not requesting or hooking into TCP/IP stack (i.e. not being assigned tcp/udp ports).
Other: Confirmed with sniffer...FF not active on IP network.

I understand this is an isolated problem, but I can confirm it's also isolated to FF only, and I have seen others complaining of this and similar problems be they sporadic, temporary, partial, or constant/always like mine, so there's something worth finding here. Mine simply hasn't been resolved using the more obvious avenues. Anyway, FF has worked brilliantly on my system since 1.0. It was working fine a few seconds prior to the upgrade notice, but hasn't worked since a few seconds after the upgrade. There were no system or program changes on my system since the previous upgrade to 2.0.0.15, and there haven't been any viruses or malware type issues since that time either. I have NO FIREWALL, and NO VIRUS CHECKER on my system, having made sure to go through and remove any and all remnants of both while troubleshooting this problem. I have checked my processes using a couple of tools, and I can assure you there are no known processes running that aren't essential for barebones operation. No rootkits on system either. All services associated with non-essential operations are turned off and/or disabled, including Windows Firewall. (though perhaps somebody might suggest which service, if turned off, could cause my symptoms). I have checked all tcp/ip related settings in the program and system, and all are fine. I've tried connecting to two different routers in two different ip ranges, both with and without manual dns/ip settings, both of which have no firewall functionality set currently, and both connected through two different egress points. The one notable symptom I see is that FF is NOT hooking into the stack...it gets no port assigned, and I confirmed this with a sniffer. It simply isn't getting that far. Sounds just like a firewall issue, but again...I don't have one installed, and there are NO remnants of it left on my system (and I have tried renaming the FF folder and exe to circumvent such an issue...which, not surprisingly, didn't affect a change).

Honestly, I've done everything my 15+ years as a network engineer tells me to do to try and isolate this, but I'm left competely stumped. I have no clue what's happening here (namely because I don't have an intimate knowledge of how FF initiates/starts), but something which took effect during the aforementioned upgrade persists through all subsequent upgrades and downgrades I've performed in addition to what I've described above. Anybody????
Sleeves
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Joined: September 30th, 2005, 11:06 am
Location: Research Triangle, NC

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by Sleeves »

I have the same issue on my ThinkPad (WinXP SP2) ever since applying FF 3.0.1 -- absolutely no luck correcting it. IE7 continues to work fine, FF 3.0.1 continues to work fine on my other computer (Vista SP1). After repeatedly uninstalling, rebooting, re-installing, I've given up. Which is a real shame -- I've depended on FF for years. But something is deeply broken.
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LoudNoise
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Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by LoudNoise »

Sleeves, I suspect you didn't bother to look at the link in the second message of this thread. It's your firewall.

carnivore69us what WAS your firewall and virus checker? Also, do you use Tea timer from Spy bot search and destroy?

Try copy and pasting this in your address bar: 64.233.187.99 Do you get to Google?
Post wrangler
"Choose between the Food Select Feature or other Functions. If no food or function is chosen, Toast is the default."
5starAffiliates
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Joined: July 27th, 2008, 1:59 pm

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by 5starAffiliates »

Same thing here, I've tried everything on every list and tip here and something is still blocking access.

2.0.0.15 was fine. Auto update to 2.0.0.16 no pages load.
So updated to 3.0 same problem no pages load.
IE and navigator work fine.
Reinstalled 3.0 no luck

Using Win Firewall. turned off - no luck.

Tried numerous times and different ways in Firewall to disable and/or delete FF in the firewall exceptions and then add FF back in to try to get it to allow the new version. No luck.

Do have Kaspersky but the firewall is off.
EnumProcess shows

Windows Firewall is on
antivirus process from Kaspersky detected
antispy process from Windows Defender detected
antispy process from Windows Defender detected
antispy process from Ad-aware detected

1 process from Kapersky detected

I have never had Norton and don't have remnants of any old firewalls.

I've tried a ton of other things I've found in help files here and at support.mozilla
I even called Linksys to see if my router had a firewall that could be blocking.

IM DESPERATE have been fighting this all day. No replies over at the support.mozilla forum.

Like I said over there - even if someone can just help me find a link to DL 2.0.0.15 I'd be fine, but I can only get to 2.0.0.16 DL which doesn't load pages either.

PLEASE HELP ME, I need to work and everything I need is in FF.

EDITED TO ADD: I can get to Google at 64.233.187.99 but nothing else.
What does that tell us? You ask if we can get there. But if we can what does that mean?


Linda
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Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by 5starAffiliates »

Fricken Kaspersky. Found this link buried somewhere and it worked.

EVen though K firewall is off, have to turn it on. Hit a page with FF. Allow FF. Then turn K firewall back off.

http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?s= ... ntry439830

Bugger just cost me a full day of work! Not happy!
sarra1833
Posts: 2
Joined: October 3rd, 2008, 1:33 pm

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by sarra1833 »

I tried to get that google url, but it still loads nothing at all.

I have vista, just updated to 3.0, tried uninstalling and reinstalling. it says it's going to the page but never gets there and times out like the first poster has. He/she was lucky they could get the google url.
I'm so tired of IE and Opera.... I want my ff back please.

I just restarted my subscription to Webroot Antivirus with Anti Spyware and it had also given me a firewall but I stopped that as I have windows firewall running.

Any advice or am i SOL with firefox since nothing else works?
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LoudNoise
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Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by LoudNoise »

Can you get anywhere at all or are you just having problems with Google?
Post wrangler
"Choose between the Food Select Feature or other Functions. If no food or function is chosen, Toast is the default."
sarra1833
Posts: 2
Joined: October 3rd, 2008, 1:33 pm

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by sarra1833 »

I can't get anywhere at all period. It says it's loading but then says server timed out and well, same as the opening topic person.

I tried to reformat my firewalls but nothing is happening.
I'm not sure what else to do here.
I'm slowly getting used to IE here but I really dont want to, haha.

So... :-k
I'm clueless.
wetworker
Posts: 4
Joined: October 5th, 2008, 5:34 am

Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by wetworker »

Watching this one with avid interest.

My identical problem here.
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=889025
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James
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Re: Firefox won't load web pages.

Post by James »

mim17, I splitted your post to viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1742535 as you replied to a old thread from November 2007.
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