This isn't mentioned in the help article (Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings) but another way to get to the Reset feature is through the Safe Mode dialog. You could try either of these:

• Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• Exit Firefox and hold the Shift key when starting it up again

Any luck?

thanks for you response jscher2000! so holding down the shift key while starting firefox will reset it?

Holding down the shift key while starting Firefox should present the Safe Mode dialog, with a choice of two buttons: Start Firefox in Safe Mode or Reset Firefox.

You can only reset Firefox via a button on the Help > Troubleshooting Information page and via the Safe Mode start window if the profile that you start with is set as default=1 in the profiles.ini file.

If you include the profile in the desktop shortcut via -P "profile" then this is not guaranteed and you will have to use the Profile Manager either to select this profile to get a rest button or use the Profile Manager to create a new profile.
The latter will allow to test the new profile and possibly leave the option to repair the old profile.

jscher2000, i did as you suggested, and when i press and hold the shift key, the safe mode dialog presents but it does not have a choice to reset firefox.

Cor-el, i do get what you are saying, but is there a good guide online on how to do what you are suggesting?

thanks

To start the profile manager and start up in the problem profile, check out the method in this article: Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles (if it doesn't show you Linux commands, change the operating system above the article to Linux).

jscher2000, thanks for your response. but so, the plan here is to create a new profile and see if with the new profile firefox still hangs?

Well, good question, why did you want to do a Reset?

Creating a new profile carries over the least information from your current profile. Basically, Firefox will pick up some plugins and perhaps some extensions installed in the program folder.

If that works smoothly, then I would go back to the profile manager, switch to your old profile. Then do a Reset in that profile, which will carry over much more of your settings and data to another new profile. Note that after a Reset, your "broken" profile folder is moved to the desktop and renamed Old Firefox Data. I suggest retaining it for data mining in case something important turns up missing.

Can you clarify which issues you have with the current profile folder?

Note that a reset tries to import some data from the old profile and if you are unlucky then the reset may move over corrupted data to the new profile.
If you create a new profile with the Profile Manager then you leave the option open to use your old profile and you can manually copy the files that you need and check if it keeps working.
This is more work, but you lose less data that you may want to keep (e.g. cert8.db)

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

The problem I am having is that firefox keeps freezing. then, it unfreezes by itself after like 5 seconds. it keeps doing this every 5-10 minutes.