Welcome Internet Users! NOTE: These instructions are designed for those running Windows 2000/XP/Vista, so there may be a few discrepancies if you are running another operating system. Please take this into account. Closing Firefox: * Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc (or ctrl + alt + delete) to view Windows's Task Manager. * On the "applications" tab, make sure Mozilla Firefox isn't open. (Note: The name of the website will precede "Mozilla Firefox.") * If you find any instances open, right-click it and select "end task." * Click on the "processes" tab and look for "firefox.exe." * If it is present, right-click it and select "end process." It will pop up with a notice/warning...click "yes." * Click the "X" to close Windows Task Manager. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uninstalling Firefox: * Go start->control panel->add/remove programs. * Select Firefox, and remove/uninstall it. * Click the "X" to exit add/remove programs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Removing the Remnents of Firefox: * Double-click "My Computer" and go to "C:\Program Files". From there, delete the Firefox (or "Mozilla") folder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Firefox Profile folder: * The location of this folder varies based on your operating system. * Note that "username" is your Windows username. * Note that "random characters" is actually a series of random characters. * The Application Data/AppData folder is hidden by default. To view it, you must go Tools->Folder Options, select the View tab, and select "show hidden files and folders" before proceeding. (Vista users can press the Alt key to temporarily display the File menu.) Windows Vista: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\random characters.default Windows 2000/XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\random characters.default Windows 95/98: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\random characters.default Linux: ~/.mozilla/firefox/random characters.default Mac OS X: ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/random characters.default -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Backing up your bookmarks/favorites: * Go to your Firefox Profile folder. * Right-click bookmarks.html (displayed as just "bookmarks") and select "copy." * Go to your desktop, right-click it, and select "paste." * Repeat for "bookmarks.bak". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deleting your old profile: * Go back to your Firefox Profile folder. * Delete the folder "random characters.default". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reinstalling Firefox: * Launch the Firefox installer and proceed to install the latest version of Firefox. * A new profile folder will be automatically created for you. (It will be a different series of random characters.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Restoring your favorites/bookmarks: * Go to Firefox Profile folder and open the new folder. * Delete the bookmarks.html and bookmarks.bak files you find there. (**Make sure Firefox is not running at this point.**) * Copy and paste the old bookmarks.html and bookmarks.bak files from your desktop into that folder. * The default favorites have now been deleted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Verification: * Launch Firefox. * Verify that your bookmarks are in tact. * Verify that there is no lingering corruption. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finishing Touches: * Redownload the desired themes/extensions again, one at a time. * After installing one, close and relaunch Firefox to make sure it is not responsible for corruption. If everything's OK, continue on. * Modify your settings (tools->options) any way you like to customize your browsing experience. Restore the File Menu Bar: A.) Go Tools->Menu Bar to display it permanently. B.) Press the Alt key to temporarily display the menu bar. Moving the Menu Bar to the Top: 1.) Press Windows + R and type in regedit followed by pressing Enter. 2.) Browse to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser. 3.) Right-click anywhere in the right pane and choose to create a new DWORD named ITBar7Position. 4.) Double-click ITBar7Position and change the value to 1. 5.) Restart IE7 for the changes to take effect. Removing the Tabbed Browsing Toolbar: 1.) Go Tools->Internet Options. 2.) Click the Settings button under Tabs. 3.) Uncheck the box to “Enable Tabbed Browsing.” 4.) Restart IE7 for the changes to take effect. Removing the Command Bar: 1.) Press Windows + R and type in regedit followed by pressing Enter. 2.) Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\CommandBar. 3.) Right-click anywhere in the right pane and choose to create a new DWORD named Enabled. 4.) Restart IE7 for the changes to take effect. Removing the Search Bar: 1.) Press Windows + R and type in regedit followed by pressing Enter. 2.) Browse to HKEY_ CURRENT_USER \Software\Policies\Microsoft. 3.) Right-click Microsoft and choose to create a new Key named Internet Explorer. 4.) Right-click Internet Explorer and choose to create a new Key named Infodelivery. 5.) Right-click Infodelivery and choose to create a new Key named Restrictions. 6.) Right-click anywhere in the right pane and choose to create a new DWORD named NoSearchBox. 7.) Double-click NoSearchBox and change the value to 1. 8.) Restart IE7 for the changes to take effect.
Nice info for beginners and new users of Firefox... Good tips and frequently asked questions. Thanks strjms72, nice work! Someone will find this useful i think...
I'm still unsure about OP's intentions. The first half of his post describes removing Firefox from your system, the last half, registry keys for Internet Explorer.
