Firefox takes a long time to start, unless I disconnect from the internet first, in which case it starts instantly.

Question

Whenever I start firefox, it takes an inordinately long time (usually close to a minute, sometimes longer) to start up. i.e. no window, no nothing. In task manager, it shows no activity for cpu, disk, or network activity - it's as if it's waiting for a connection to be made or something.
If I disable my internet access first, then start firefox, it starts up instantly, and once the internet re-enabled, it works normally.
Whatever it is doing at initial startup is taking a very long time - couldn't it be done in a separate thread, and let normal startup continue?

Answer 1

Press the '''<Alt>''' or '''<F10>''' key to bring up the tool bar.
Followed by;
Windows; '''Tools > Options'''
Linux; '''Edit > Preferences'''
Mac; ''application name'' '''> Preferences'''
Then '''General.'''
There are two settings;
* '''When Firefox Starts'''
When the browser is started, what page do you want to
display. Many of us choose '''Show My Home Page.'''
* '''Home Page'''
When a new page is opened, what do you want displayed.
# '''Use Current Page'''. Use what ever page(s) are open at that time.
# '''Use Bookmark'''
# '''Restore To Default.''' about:home shows a Mozilla page with tools.
You can use any of these that you wish;
'''about:home''' (Firefox default home page),
'''about:newtab''' (shows the sites most visited),
'''about:blank''' (a blank page),
or you can enter any '''web page''' or '''about: ''page''''' you want.