Firefox, Internet Explorer and Windows Live Messenger Will Not Start

tekcorzziJ · 09-08-2009, 02:03 PM

Hey guys,

Just read some similar questions to mine on this forum and other, but couldn't find anything that matched my problem. I am currently only accessing the internet through Google Chrome, which works perfectly but isn't my favourite browser, and even if it was, I'm concerned that theres something wrong with my system. Essentially, the problem is that IE and Mozilla Firefox will not start at all - when I double click on the appropriate icons the "Firefox/Internet Explorer has stopped working" error message appears, before the window has even opened.

So far I have tried the following steps:

1) Reinstalling Firefox

Reinstalled firefox once, which didn't work. Then uninstalled it totally, then reinstalled it again. Still didn't work.

2) Starting the system in "Safe Mode with Networking".

Strangely, this worked perfectly. Both browsers worked perfectly and could connect to the internet, leading me to believe there was another program or virus that was preventing the browsers from functioning.

3) Using Google Chrome

As you can see, this works, and solidified my belief in the point above.

4) Tried a wide variety of anti-virus and firewall software.

Didn't work, and Vista One wants me to uninstall McAfee before installing it, which I don't really want to do.

5) Attempted an ipconfig flush.

Using the cmd.exe command followed by an ipconfig flush. Didn't work.

6) Made a new profile for Mozilla Firefox.

Attempted to make a new profile for Mozilla Firefox, as described by support on their website using the firefox.exe -ProfileManager command in the Run tab, while in Safe Mode with Networking. When I went back to regular Windows, this same command (firefox.exe -ProfileManager) had the same response as before - "Firefox has stopped working". This made me wonder if there was another program that stopped firefox.exe and iexplorer.exe from working.

7) Finally realised that Windows Live Messenger wasn't working either.

I know WLM works off of Internet Explorer, so this wasn't too surprising. In case it helps, the error code was 81000306 - I couldn't find what this meant.

8) Started to realise that certain malware removal programs were not allowed to run either. These included Spybot Search and Destroy and Malwarebytes - the message shown was "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item." I was running it as an administrator, so I dont understand.

I was going to attempt a clean boot, but I wanted to put this past some experts before I tried it, as I don't really know what I'm doing. Anything else I can try? Also, finally, I want to make the point that the browsers aren't loading at all - the windows don't open and it goes straight to error message. Any suggestions?

09-08-2009, 02:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
tekcorzziJ Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1 OS: Vista 6.01	Firefox, Internet Explorer and Windows Live Messenger Will Not Start Hey guys, Just read some similar questions to mine on this forum and other, but couldn't find anything that matched my problem. I am currently only accessing the internet through Google Chrome, which works perfectly but isn't my favourite browser, and even if it was, I'm concerned that theres something wrong with my system. Essentially, the problem is that IE and Mozilla Firefox will not start at all - when I double click on the appropriate icons the "Firefox/Internet Explorer has stopped working" error message appears, before the window has even opened. So far I have tried the following steps: 1) Reinstalling Firefox Reinstalled firefox once, which didn't work. Then uninstalled it totally, then reinstalled it again. Still didn't work. 2) Starting the system in "Safe Mode with Networking". Strangely, this worked perfectly. Both browsers worked perfectly and could connect to the internet, leading me to believe there was another program or virus that was preventing the browsers from functioning. 3) Using Google Chrome As you can see, this works, and solidified my belief in the point above. 4) Tried a wide variety of anti-virus and firewall software. Didn't work, and Vista One wants me to uninstall McAfee before installing it, which I don't really want to do. 5) Attempted an ipconfig flush. Using the cmd.exe command followed by an ipconfig flush. Didn't work. 6) Made a new profile for Mozilla Firefox. Attempted to make a new profile for Mozilla Firefox, as described by support on their website using the firefox.exe -ProfileManager command in the Run tab, while in Safe Mode with Networking. When I went back to regular Windows, this same command (firefox.exe -ProfileManager) had the same response as before - "Firefox has stopped working". This made me wonder if there was another program that stopped firefox.exe and iexplorer.exe from working. 7) Finally realised that Windows Live Messenger wasn't working either. I know WLM works off of Internet Explorer, so this wasn't too surprising. In case it helps, the error code was 81000306 - I couldn't find what this meant. 8) Started to realise that certain malware removal programs were not allowed to run either. These included Spybot Search and Destroy and Malwarebytes - the message shown was "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item." I was running it as an administrator, so I dont understand. I was going to attempt a clean boot, but I wanted to put this past some experts before I tried it, as I don't really know what I'm doing. Anything else I can try? Also, finally, I want to make the point that the browsers aren't loading at all - the windows don't open and it goes straight to error message. Any suggestions?