Hi healy1948, in order to solve this, Mozilla still needs to understand the specific cause of this problem for the people participating in this thread (and 7 clicked that they also have this problem). I don't have any lead on it at this point. Did you start a new question with your system details as I suggested?

I did not start a new thread. I use a windows 8.1 OS on a 64bit HP machine. The only thing I did was install the 31.0 version as an automatic update. The rest is the same as others have posted. That is all I can tell you.

Additionally, I have uninstalled and installed the 31.0 update numerous time with do change in the workings or should I say non-workings of the browser.

I have not started a new thread either. I too have multiple machines running windows 8.1 64bit OS machine.

This problem only started after version 30. All of current beta Firefox versions do the same affect. This problem does not effect Windows 7 64bit OS's from my testing.

The only thing I did was update from 30 to 31.0 version as an automatic update. I have also tried doing so from a fresh install of windows 8.1 with out existing Firefox instance installed. It has the same affect each time. Just as healy1948 said, I have uninstalled and installed the 31.0 update numerous time with no change in the workings the browser.

I can get on a Windows 8.1 system tomorrow and sneak a copy of Firefox onto it to see what happens.

The HP laptop I visited had Firefox 29. I updated it to Firefox 31 and nothing unusual happened with the home page (built-in home page) or the "3-bar" menu button. There must be some additional variables.

Did this laptop have windows 8.1 on it?

Hi zenithtwc, yes, it was Windows 8.1 (home version, not Pro). System is less than 6 months old.

Windows 8.1 Home 32bit or 64bit?

Hi jscher2000. My system is Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit so I guess we still aren't comparing apples to apples. Looks like I will stay with the statusquo (version 30) till 32 comes out and if it still has the problem I may have to look at a different browser all together. jscher2000 are you with Mozilla or just a user like me?

Kind of the same boat here too, Mine is Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64bit. Not much different from Pro though.

Hi zenithtwc and healy1948, there could be important differences in how Windows handles privileges and permissions on Pro and Enterprise variants that are not seen in Home editions.

Maybe if I go to the Microsoft store at the mall they'll let me test on an 8.1 Pro system. (I assume they re-image regularly, so why not?) Otherwise, all systems I can lay hands on are Windows 7 Pro x64.

Just to summarize, are you both seeing the same symptoms:

• Firefox 30: designated home page opens at launch; "3-bar" menu button functional
• Firefox 31: home page does not open at launch (blank); "3-bar" menu button nonfunctional

P.S. I'm a regular volunteer here.

jscher2000. From my perspective your summary is correct. However, since going back to the Firefox 30 after installing and then uninstalling the Firefox 31 even in Firefox 30 now the home page still doesn't load but everything else is like it was before the 31.

Thanks.

Hi healy1948, Firefox 31 might have modified something in your settings folder that isn't reverted by reinstalling Firefox 30. Could you do a three-minute experiment?

Create a new Firefox profile

A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.

Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager using Start > search box (or from the lower page of the home screen, Run):

firefox.exe -P

Do not delete anything here. Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.

Click the Create Profile button, choose a name like Aug11, and skip the option to change the folder location. Then start Firefox in the new profile you created.

Firefox should default to the built-in home page. If you change that to you preferred home page, exit Firefox and start it again (normally), will it load or only the blank screen?

When returning to the Profile Manager, you might be tempted to use the Delete Profile button on Aug11. But... it's a bit too easy to accidentally delete your "real" profile, so I recommend resisting the temptation. If you do want to clean up later, I suggest making a backup of all your profiles first in case something were to go wrong.

I have my homepage back but now all of my bookmarks are gone. This is not better having lost my bookmarks. Not happy.

Hi healy1948, it wasn't the intention that you would be stuck using the new profile. The test confirms that there is a settings issue in the regular profile. You can use the profile manager to switch back to switch back now.

I have switched back so I will await your next suggestion. Thanks.

Hi jscher2000, I am also having the same problems described in this board. Here's the catch: I have six identical computers with version 31 installed but only one computer is having these issues. The six computers are HP EliteDesk 800 G1 desktops with Windows 8.1 installed. Five of the computers work just fine, but for the one computer having problems, the home page does not display when the browser is opened, the 3-bar menu button does not do anything when clicked, and a blank browser window pops up with no address in the address bar when a hyperlink (from Outlook, for instance) is clicked. Let me know if I can provide you with any other information to help you troubleshoot this issue. Thanks.

Hi valley1, your setup sounds like a perfect scenario for comparison.

Do you have a text file comparison tool you could run against files copied or generated from the nonworking computer and one of the working ones? I generally use WinMerge (http://winmerge.org/) but you can use any tool you prefer. Here are the suggested comparisons:

(1) Troubleshooting Information page

To open the Troubleshooting Information page, one of these methods should work:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
• (menu bar - tap Alt to activate) Help > Troubleshooting Information
• type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the upper left corner, there is a button to Copy text to clipboard. You can use this button to capture the page data and paste it into a text file for comparison. I'm particularly interested in differences between extensions and plugin states, but other differences could be relevant.

(2) prefs.js file

While the Troubleshooting Information page lists many modified preferences, prefs.js may have more. You can find those files by clicking the "Open Folder" button in the first table on the Troubleshooting Information page.

As you may know, Windows will hide .js extensions by default, showing the file name as prefs with a JScript file type. Or you can unhide the extensions using the steps in this article: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/show-hide-file-name-extensions

(3) Enabled plugins list

You can capture a list from this page: https://jeffersonscher.com/res/jstest.php

The page cannot detect whether the plugin is set to "Always Activate" or "Ask to Activate", but if the problem system has a different plugin or plugin version, that would be worth exploring.

jscher2000. Not having heard anything lately I assume you have given up on my situation.

As requested, I have the WinMerge project files ready to go. How would you like for me to send them to you?