Does the same problem occur if you type the URL into the address box and then press Enter ? Open your mouse settings in Control Panel and adjust the double-click speed to your liking. When closing Firefox, try to get away from using the X in the upper right corner. Close FF using File:Exit. I don't know why, but it makes a difference. If you believe FF is still running when it shouldn't be, do a CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the Task Manager and if FF is still running, select it and then click End Task. It shouldn't be necessary to restart Windows.

Does the same problem occur if you type the URL into the address box and then press Enter ?
Yes, it does.

I do have my mouse click set as I prefer.

When closing Firefox, try to get away from using the X in the upper right corner. Close FF using File:Exit. I don't know why, but it makes a difference. If you believe FF is still running when it shouldn't be, do a CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the Task Manager and if FF is still running, select it and then click End Task. It shouldn't be necessary to restart Windows.

Thank you, I will remember about closing FF using File, exit.
When I do Ctrl/Alt/Del the list is empty. Restarting Windows is the only way I can close FF at that point.

Anything else you can think of? :) Thanks in advance.
Pam

I don't have a link at this time, but I have been told of a known bug in FF. I have experienced it the same as you have. In fact, the FF program has closed (that's why it is not shown as running in Task Manager), but the image of the FF window is not erased from the screen. It has been less of a problem when using FILE : Exit to quit Firefox. Hope that helps.

pfmastin-
When you get the message that Firefox is still running, it sometimes takes several seconds after the browser is closed for the program to actually exit. If you get this message, as I sometimes do, give it 5 seconds and then try opening it again. If you get the message a second time, bring up Task Manager and click on the "Processes" tab to see if there is a listing for "firefox.exe" If there is a listing, end that task. I agree that you shouldn't have to re-boot.

Also, if you are having a problem getting pages to load, or open, close out your browser and check the connection with the Command Prompt: Go to Start / Programs / Accessories, and click on "Command Prompt." When the window opens up, type "ping google.com" (without the quotes), and hit enter. If the connection is working, you will quickly get 4 lines of responses, each one starting with the word "Reply." If you can't get these replies, there is a problem with your connection, such as the DSL signal itself, the router, or some setting relating to your connection.

Hi kudzu...yep,the ping works and my connection is working in that 75% of my pages load instantly. CenturyLink shows everything is fine on the "other end". Thank you for the task manager processes advice.

Hopefully, I'll be able to try another computer with my dsl connection and see if I get the same results.

Thanks again,
Pam

try clearing all your cache then you may have to try clearing the cookies also. See if that helps, once you clear it shut down firefox fully then restart it.

If you happen to get the pop up box that firefox is being used and ask if you want to create another profile do NOT do that, just x out of that box and do as stated go to task manager and end task on firefox.
make sure you have everything on firefox updated including all extensions.

Hi RC,
Yes, I've done those things. The tech at CLink suggested I shut down and restart Windows and the modem (for 15 seconds) at least once a day and I'm doing that.

I will remember what you said about creating another profile. I'll check my Add ons for updates.

I'll post again after I borrow a laptop and see if FF loads pages poorly on it, too. Thank you!
Pam

Per the CenturyLink tech, it seems that my problem is that there is a conflict with Zone Alarm that is causing pages to load incorrectly (since pages load correctly in safe mode). I have activated Windows firewall. Is there a better choice for a firewall? Thanks in advance for your help....again. :)

Pam wrote:- I have activated Windows firewall.

So what happened?

Now you have the Windows firewall I assume the Zonealarm is disabled? Are you finding things are better, worse or no change?

You could load and try Opera and Chrome to see the effect, they can easily be removed once the experiment is done. But this will help determine whether the fault lies with Firefox or elsewhere.

Hi owbist,
I'm sorry...it was late and I wasn't making myself very clear, was I? Yes, I have uninstalled Zone Alarm and pages are loading normally.

Are Chrome and Opera browsers? I think what you're saying is that if the conflict was with ZA and FF that I need to replace FF because I can't get along (safely anyway!) without ZA? . Sorry, I don't know all the ins and outs about those things.

Thanks!
Pam

Well, you do need a firewall, whether it be ZA or some other. The Windows firewall would be the last choice.

Chrome and Opera are both first-rate browsers. I use both of them as well as FF. I am currently using Online Armor Firewall and it works with all of them. It bothers me more with questions than ZA did.

Hi Grandms,

The Windows firewall would be the last choice.

I was afraid of that. :)

So you don't have any conflicts with Online Armor and Firefox? I never had a problem until we changed to the dsl connection. I'll do some reading tonight about the browsers and Online Armor Firewall and make a decision. Thank you so much.

If you are using a good router with a built in firewall that is extremely helpful in keeping you protected, having the windows xp firewall on is definitely better than none.
I think I would check the ZA forums to see if there is a fix for the problem you are seeing.

Do you have the very latest version of firefox? Which one?

try using ATF also
ATF-Cleaner
directions are on the page.

have you checked your event viewer for error messages? look and see, tell us if you see red ones. Especially if any aspect of za is causing them. You may want to do a full uninstall of ZA and re-install fresh. I would get REVO uninstaller to make sure all of the ZA you had is gone then try to re-install.

One of the first things I would try is to go to Start>all programs> firefox> firefox safe mode. It could well be one of your firefox add ons conflicting with ZA or something.

I have been using the excellent free version of Comodo's firewall since it first appeared a couple/few years ago.

The company has gradually developed a full security package now but I have only used their firewall as my other security requirements were already covered.

Colin

Here is a link that might be useful: Comodo Free Firewall

The other posters are right Pam, Windows firewall is not very good in XP. However, my point was to try isolating the issue, a better firewall can easily be installed once we know the conflict is/was between Firefox and Zonealarm on your computer.

Colin do you find there is more input needed by the user with Comodo? I tried it about 3 years ago but found it seemed to need so much attention popping up like a kid's Jack in the Box. Too annoying back then (perhaps my tolerance is low?)

Thank you, RC. I'm running FF 3.5.5. I did run CCleaner just after I noticed the problem with no change. Is AFTCleaner similar to CCleaner?

As usual, I run AVG daily and Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware and Spyware Blaster weekly.

I did uninstall and reinstall Zone Alarm with no change, but I didn't use REVO Uninstaller. I don't have ZA installed at the moment.

The tech at CenturyLink had me switch to Windows safe mode and pages loaded fine. At one point, I disabled my FF Add ons and still had the problem, but I have not run FF in Firefox Safe Mode.

It sounds like I need to do the following:

1) Reinstall ZA, Uninstall it with REVO and then reinstall again to see if I experience the same problem. Do I check the event viewer or is that a moot point since I've uninstalled it?

2) Then, if I'm still having a problem, run FF in Firefox Safe Mode and check the results.

Thank you, also, bee4mee...I'm waiting to hear the answer to the Jack in the Box question before I check out Comodo, but I will certainly do that if Zone Alarm doesn't work out. :)

Thank you,
Pam

BTW, I'm just noticing in some cases, the "progress wheel" on the FF tab is continuing to turn indefinitely after the page is loaded. It doesn't have any affect on the loading....just an observation that something is still odd even though I don't have Zone Alarm installed. It stops and the website icon appears instantly when I click on the red X on the top toolbar.

checking the event viewer is still advised since it will still show you from that time period if you were having any red flags associated with anything including za which you had at that time.

I personally, and many others, no longer recommend comodo products due to some very questionable business practices with some very questionable companies that a security based company should not be participating in, there is quite a bit of info and discussion about it at various locations in the security community including Corrine's blog. How can you trust a company to keep you secure when they do that kind of biz. To each his own.

I would use REVO to do a full uninstall then try the new install.
It really sounds like you have something wrong with your firefox, I wonder if a corrupt profile could do that, I really don't know. The folks over at the firefox/mozilla forums are awesome you may want to check there if that has been happening you may find something listed for it actually.

It really sounds like you have something wrong with your firefox, I wonder if a corrupt profile could do that, I really don't know. The folks over at the firefox/mozilla forums are awesome you may want to check there if that has been happening you may find something listed for it actually.

I'll go check that out before I do anything else and go from there, RC. Thanks!

RC...you are so good. :)
This sounds complicated, though.

The FF support forum addresses what sounds like my problem. Seems to be a bug in the new FF upgrade 3.5.5 (which I recently did)or the AVG update 9.0.704 (which I also did). :)

Here's the link to the Firefox conversation.....http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1580405 and if that doesn't get you there it's:
Board Index
Also, this discussion pertains to it on the AVG Forums:
http://forums.avg.com/us-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=29275 or Free forum » Main topics » AVG 9.0 Free Edition » AVG LinkScanner » AVG V9 LinkScanner Causing System Hanging

If you get a chance, would you mind taking a look at these? My pages are loading fine now, but I still don't have ZA reinstalled, either. What would you recommend to be as safe as possible (firewall wise) until this gets sorted out?

Here's a post that particularly addresses my situation...I got the update to AVG 9.0.704 this morning & then re-enabled the Surf-Shield again but it just started playing up again after a couple of clicks so I so I had to untick it again.
My LinkScanner version shows as 146 now so even a newer LinkScanner version doesn't seem to have fixed the problem, on the AVG forum most of the posts on the problem seem to be from ZoneAlarm users but I don't know how much that means.

BTW, my LinkScanner version is also 146.

Pam

Owbist, yes it does need an o.k. click whenever a programme's settings change i.e. pretty often, but no more so than ZA Pro when it is used in sensible mode i.e. without every single warning displayed.

To be honest, I have never looked so see if Comodo's clicks can be reduced because I find it reassuring to know that it is actively watching what is going on.

I find Comodo's reliable "always active" popups preferable to having ZA's frequent boot up warning that it cannot start because it is "Waiting for True Vector to load"

Colin

"I'm finding that some (~25%) pages will not load on a first click...some will load load on a 2nd click and a few won't load at all until I restart Firefox. Also, the little "progress wheel" on the tab will not stop turning even after the page has loaded. A few times the tab has frozen and I can't do anything but close the application. Firefox then appears closed but I get an error message that it is still running if I try to restart it. I then have to restart Windows. I've never had a problem with pages loading with the cable."

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

I have the same problem on several computers with various versions of Windows (PX, Vista, 200 Professional). We use DSL but also began to see the issue while still using cable (which became less and less reliable). For us, I am fairly certain that this is a Firefox bloat problem with it's later versions. It's been the common denominator for me, not windows. So far I deal with it, but you have given me renewed energy to try another alternative.

Any other browser suggestions (other than Firefox) for Windows PC's?

Sorry for the spelling. Meant to say that I have "XP, Vista home premium, and windows 2000 professional" on different computers.

Homebound, it's been a relief for me, too, to see I'm not the only one with the problem. ie. the Firefox and AVG forums.

My first thought was that it was a dsl problem, but I changed from cable to dsl, updated FF and AVG at about the same time so couldn't figure out what is the culprit.

that link scanner has been a big problem in AVG at various times, I would try doing as one person suggested and disable that link scanner from AVG and see if that works. AVG in their FAQ in fact tells how to install AVG with out the link scanner since it causes so many problems.
Frequently Asked Questions

this is the reply I am referring to by ripling
"I tracked my particular problem to AVG 9 , specifically the AVG Active Surf-Shield in their LinkScanner, I unticked that & all has been fine since apart from not having that particular component of AVG available to use."

Of course you can always try reverting back to an earlier version of Firefox which it seems many there have done and it seems to go back to normal.

do you have the no script add on in your firefox by chance? I see in some threads there may be an issue with it causing a similar problem, however the most recent update of no script supposedly fixes it.

from over on BBR I found this comment
"tool>options>security uncheck block reported attack sites and block reported web forgeries. restart firefox and see if that helps"

There is a new release candidate of firefox that you can give a try if you want to do that, see if it makes any difference
new Firefox!

seems to be a problem many are trying to find a cure for and none I have seen is the end all be all fix, some things work for some not for others. Those are so difficult to dig out the root cause.

RC...thanks so much for doing more research for me. I did try a previous version of FF and still had the same problem. I do not have the no script add on. My extensions are AVG Safe Search, Colorful Tabs, Java Quickstarter 1.0, Microsoft NET Framework Asistant, MultiRowBookMarks toolbar and WOT.

Right now, I'm not having any problems with pages loading, but I also don't have a firewall except for Windows. ;)

I'll start by re-installing Zone Alarm and disabling the LinkScanner in AVG and go from there with some of your other suggestions if that doesn't work. Thank you SO much for your help.

Everyone...you are such a great group of folks! Thank you for taking your time and energy to help all of us who can't do it all on our own.

I would disable the NET framework assistant add on also it has been known to be a problem child.
Trying firefox in firefox safe mode should disable all the add ons then you can add them in one by one to see if you have a conflict, I know the AVG safe search has had problems in the past. I doubt colorful tabs would interfere, WOT has not had any issues that I am aware of.

I will keep an eye out for any more options.

Hi RC,
I reinstalled ZA and disabled the AVG LinkScanner and so far all this evening....knock on wood....it's working perfectly. Ahhhh!

I guess my next question would be how important is LinkScanner? I'll check in with the AVG and FF forums regularly to see what others are doing about that as well as if/when any fixes come about.

Thank you again for all your help.

pfmastin,

My sentiments also (that I'm not the only one...)

Since you mentioned AVG, I did go through a problem with that several months ago, so I switched to Avast. I recalling doing an upgrade, and then whammo, problems. So I changed to Avast and it seemed to improve..for a while...but things keep pointing to FF....in fact, now that you mention it, I just remembered that I purposely reverted to an older version (2.0.0.14, I think) on the main computer and it was great....then one day I came home and someone in the house told me they "did me a favor" and upgraded! After all that......noooooooo!

I hate to say it, but it's probably Firefox. I want to like it, but it's getting harder and harder.

(You should see what just occurred as I tried to post this: "Server not found"....aaarrrrghhhh!

don't worry about not having the link scanner, many have had to disable it, I prefer using WOT instead anyway.
Glad everything is working for you so far. I will keep my fingers crossed!
When AVG started to add so much stuff to their great AV program is when many people had conflict issues and ended up leaving AVG for AVAST or AVIRA, AVG was a very good product till they tried to make it do too much.

Thanks for the info, RC...I think I'll be joining the AVAST crowd after about one more incident. :)