Firefox Focus for PC Archives

This article describes steps to take if you are unable to download or save files using Firefox.

Firefox includes a download protection feature to protect you from malicious or potentially harmful file downloads. If Firefox has blocked an unsafe download, you will see a warning message about the file in the Downloads panel, along with options for handling the pending download. You can open the Downloads panel to view completed and pending downloads by clicking on the Downloads button (the down arrow on your toolbar). See the articles Where to find and manage downloaded files in Firefox and How does built-in Phishing and Malware Protection work? for more information.

Clearing the download history can fix some problems with downloading files:

1. Click the Downloads button , and then click Show all downloads. The Downloads window will open.
2. In the Downloads window, click Clear Downloads.
3. Close the Downloads window.

Firefox may not be able to download files if there is a problem with the folder in which downloaded files are saved:

1. Click the menu button and select Options.Preferences.
2. Select the General panel.
3. Go to the Downloads sectionFind the Downloads section under Files and Applications.
4. Click the BrowseChoosebutton next to the Save files to entry.
5. Choose a different download folder for saving files.
6. Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.

If you have tried the above suggestions, you can restore the default Firefox download folder settings:

1. Type about:config in the address bar and press EnterReturn.
   A warning page may appear. Click I accept the risk!Accept the Risk and Continue to continue to the about:config page.
2. In the Search field, enter browser.download.
3. If any of the following settings have a status of modifiedare in bold text, reset their values. To reset a value, right-clickhold down the Ctrl key while you click the setting and select Reset from the context menuclick the Delete or Reset button, depending on the preference:
   • browser.download.dir
   • browser.download.downloadDir
   • browser.download.folderList
   • browser.download.lastDir
   • browser.download.useDownloadDir
4. If desired, you can revert back to your preferred download folder settings in your Firefox OptionsPreferencesGeneral panel, in the Downloads section under Files and Applications.

If downloading certain file types does not work, check to make sure Firefox is not set to handle those file types differently from others. See Change what Firefox does when you click on or download a file for instructions on how to view and change how different file types are handled.

Reset download actions for all file types

To reset how all file types are handled by Firefox back to default:

1. Open your profile folder:

   • Click the menu button , click Help and select Troubleshooting Information.From the Help menu, select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
   • Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderDirectory, click Open FolderShow in FinderOpen Directory. A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.
2. Click the Firefox menu and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu and select Quit.
3. Delete or rename the mimeTypes.rdf file (for example, rename it mimeTypes.rdf.oldhandlers.json file (for example, rename it handlers.json.old ).
4. Restart Firefox.

Internet security software, including firewalls, antivirus programs, anti-spyware programs, and others can block certain file downloads. Check the settings in your security software to see if there is an setting that may be blocking downloads.

To diagnose whether Internet security software is causing problems, you can try temporarily disabling it, seeing if downloads work, and then re-enabling the software.

You may be able to diagnose your download problem by following the steps given in the Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems article.

Based on information from Unable to save or download files (mozillaZine KB)

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Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove your Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. This process does not remove your Firefox profile data (such as bookmarks and passwords), since that information is stored in a different location.

To do a clean reinstall of Firefox, please follow these steps: Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from mozilla.org (or choose the download for your operating system and language from this page) and save the setup file to your computer.
2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (or open the Firefox menu and click the close button ).
3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
   • Windows:
     • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
   • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
   • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
   1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
   2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not use a third party uninstaller as part of this process. Doing so could permanently delete your Firefox profile data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be easily recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device! See Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Please report back to say if this helped you!

Thank you.