Firefox 3.6.13 won't log onto gmail or google accounts, plus issues with hotmail

Question

Running 3.6.13 on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. Since 3.6.12, I've had hit-or-miss issues being able to log onto my gmail (no, not a password issue). When I tried loading gmail (either through the unsecure or the https version), the connection would often time out, with Firefox telling me the connection was interrupted and/or had been reset. Hotmail would load, but if I selected multiple messages to move or delete, it wouldn't work, and a notice would pop onto my hotmail session, saying that I wasn't connected to the internet.
So I tried Chrome, and the gmail issue wasn't a problem in Chrome. But, sure enough, the Hotmail thing was still an issue in Chrome.
After running through all the suggestions I could find here and elsewhere--including deleting cookies, cache, etc., and creating a new profile, and running in safe mode, and moving to Firefox 4 beta (same issue as 3.6.x), and a total uninstall & reinstall of Firefox--nothing worked. In fact, after upgrading to 3.6.13, gmail wouldn't load at all. I couldn't even log on to any aspect of my google accounts--so, no docs, no calendar, etc.
So I started over, with a system wipe & reinstall of the OS. After initial install of Firefox, it *seemed* to have solved the problem. But soon after--and this was before adding any customizations other than Adblock Plus (which I have disabled on any google domain)--the problem returned. I ran through the troubleshooting again (e.g., deleting cache, cookies, creating new profile, etc.). No luck. Then I realized the culprit might be... JAVA!
Uninstalled java, and lo! and behold, gmail loaded. But hotmail still was problematic. And gmail was still hit-and-miss, and loading slowly when it did work.
So I went to my work computer, which is also running Win 7 Pro 64-bit, and copied all my Firefox files (install directory, profile, etc.) over to my home computer. Y'see, my work computer--despite having all the same settings and software--has no problem with gmail or hotmail. Well, those same settings applied to my home computer still were problematic. And no, it's nothing to do with my home network setup--which hasn't changed since before I started having these issues, anyway.
So I did a complete uninstall of Java on my home system, and voila! Gmail works, doesn't take a whole lot of time to load (though it's still sluggish compared to my work computer). Hotmail is still buggy, but hey--it's hotmail.
Unfortunately, when I then installed OpenOffice, Java was re-installed (and I'm not sure how essential having a standalone java install is for OpenOffice, so I'm holding off on any uninstall) and now I'm back to hit-and-miss gmail.
Long story short, there is something in java (and I've tried version 21, 22, and 23) that is messing up Firefox when it comes to gmail, google accounts, and hotmail. Chrome is not affected by this in gmail or google accounts, but has issues in hotmail. IE8 isn't affected in google or hotmail.
I hate IE8, and I'm not sold on Chrome. Don't drive me away, Firefox.
Prior to my OS wipe & reinstall, other sites that use java--primarily for file uploading, like flickr & photo finishing businesses--were not working with Firefox 3.6.13 or Firefox 4 beta.
Again, clearing cache, clearing cookies, creating a new profile, running in safe mode, uninstalling any individual and/or all add-ons and extensions... none of these was the answer to this problem. Even a fresh OS install didn't quite fix it. Java seems to be implicated in the problem, and I'll be posting this issue over at Oracle's forums, too.
Other computers I have on my home network are affected by this issue, as well, but not all of them, and not to the same degree.

Answer 1

I also have this problem and it just started in the last week or so. It seems to be dependent on my home network and the problem only exists with firefox. I have used chrome and IE8 with no issues. I can verify tomorrow that it only exists in my network but one thing I was able to test is that the problem exists even on my linux boot. I am totally dumbfounded with this problem and I can't find anything that will allow the gmail page to load. All other pages I have tried load fine, all be it a little slower than normal but they load. If anyone knows of a difference between firefox and all other browsers on how it goes through the router I would appreciate the info cause I don't know of any differences.