Why does my Firefox keep saying "not connecting"?

Question

Hi,
I have Firefox for my Windows Vista (I believe the version is 20. I don't know precisely and don't know how to find it) and have had problems since last night. After I was up and running smoothly for about ten minutes, there was a message in the upper left hand corner of Firefox that said "not connecting" (or something along those lines). In the past, this would happen and I'd click "CTRL/ALT/DELETE" to close it out, reopen and everything would run fine. Now when I use those three keys, the computer eventually freezes. I contacted Geek Squad for assistance and the lady there claimed you all have had problems in the past couple weeks. Maybe I finally caught up with those problems (as this just happened last night and it's been happening all today)? Anyways, I'd like this resolved quickly. On my first call to Geek Squad, he advised me first to check for Windows updates and install them (there was one recommended to install and three optional ones. When I clicked to install the recommended one, it again froze with the "not connecting" message or whatever it says). Let me know how I can proceed on this issue. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,
Please update to the latest version of Firefox by going to getfirefox.com and then if that doesn't help, please try safe mode as outlined below:
'''Try Firefox Safe Mode''' to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.
''(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)''
* On Windows you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the '''Shift''' key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
* On Mac you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the '''option''' key while starting Firefox.
* On Linux you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
* Or open the Help menu and click on the '''Restart with Add-ons Disabled...''' menu item while Firefox is running.
[[Image:FirefoxSafeMode|width=520]]
''Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"''
[[Image:Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win]]
'''''If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode''''', your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]] article for that.
''To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.''
''When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.''
Thank you.