Mozilla Firefox is installed and verified location yet get error message
Installed latest Firefox update. When desktop shortcut icon is selected get this message "Windows can not find 'C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe'. Make sure you typed in the name correctly, and try again.' The program extension is there and when I click on that location get same message. I think my laptop has been hacked and I need to wipe the hard drive and reinstall windows. I have other desktop shortcut icons linking to apps that get same message, yet those applications are installed and worked in the past. Also when I opened Chrome it came up in Chinese language. The VPN app was not working yet it was yesterday. I have Avast virus protection, yet the scan showed no virus present. Do I have to wipe drive and reinstall Windows?
All Replies (5)
Hi dave5mox, thank you for your question. We have two other users with similar predicaments. One of them also mentioned using Avast. Although those threads are not solved, I thought I would suggest taking a look so you three could compare notes and see whether you can find a common cause before taking drastic action.
Oh, and please ignore the spam message with a phone number -- that's not official and we don't know what they will do to your system if you engage.
And if you do end up wiping Windows, here's the article on backing up your Firefox profile folder with your useful data:
Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles
If you can't run Firefox, you may need to turn on viewing of hidden files and folder to open that location:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14201/windows-show-hidden-files
Another user reported that moving the contents of:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
allowed Firefox to run. I don't know why that would make a difference.
Since this laptop was for use only for away from home it did not have any documents or photos on it. Only apps and used for accessing email and connecting to websites via public internet access. Has VPN and antivirus on it.
Decided to reload windows and used the Control Panel. Searched for reload windows and it walked me through it step by step. On one step there were two options, one to save my data and the other one to wipe the drive and reinstall windows. I did the wipe drive option.
It took about 2 hours to get back to the re-install.
After re-install, I loaded back the antivirus, VPN and used Chrome to get Firefox browser. Now everything is working like before. I did change some passwords and made them stronger.
Chrome now opens in English. And Google maps does not open to Singapore.