Solved Firefox 40.0.2 Obscuring Addresses

[marsmimar]

After updating Firefox to 40.0.2 typed addresses in the awesome bar (aka: address bar) are partially obscured. All previous versions worked. What I've done: (1) Uninstalled/reinstalled Firefox; (2) Installed previous versions; (3) Removed all add-ons; (4) Cleaned cookies/temp files; (5) Rebooted computer. Nothing has helped. Any suggestions?

 

[MoxieMomma]

Hi:

Most Firefox problems originate in the user's profile, not in the program itself.

Firefox - Standard Diagnostic

Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems

It might help at this point to create a new, vanilla profile with NO extensions or add-ons or tweaked settings/options:

Creating a new Firefox profile

Doing so does not burn bridges, as you can switch back to the old profile later, if you wish.

If the new profile resolves the issue, then you can import your bookmarks (saved from the "old" profile), and you can then customize the new profile by adding extensions, changing settings, etc.

Cheers,

 

[jamis]

Just updated from v40.0 to v40.0.2 and don't have the problem you describe. MoxieMomma may be right.

 

[Gary]

Try using a better Theme

 

[marsmimar]

UPDATE: Did a complete uninstall of Firefox and all user data and settings using the steps outlined in the Mozilla Support article here. Also used regedit to delete all traces of mozilla and firefox from the registry. Used Mozilla's archive to reinstall default 39.0.3 without any extensions or add-ons or tweaked settings/options. 39.0.3 worked perfectly. Upon updating to 40.0.2 (without any extensions, etc) address bar problem returned.

Uninstalled Firefox and all user data and settings for a second time, cleaned registry, installed 39.0.3 again. Worked perfectly without any modifications. Installed my extensions/add-ons/tweaks and it continued to work flawlessly. Updated to 40.0.2 and it went to s**t again.

Third time I uninstalled Firefox and all user data and settings again, cleaned registry. This time I downloaded/installed 40.0.2 directly from Mozilla's website. Address bar still doesn't work right.

For whatever the reason, 40.0.2 does not like this computer. And for my few remaining brain cells, it doesn't make sense that all previous versions of Firefox have worked perfectly. But 40.0.2 fails. Guess I'll just live with it until Firefox releases its next update and see what happens.

EDIT: @ Gary. Guess I was composing while you were adding your suggestion. Tried a few different themes for 40.0.2 but no joy. Address bar still obscures letters.

 

[Shimshom]

Not sure it'll help but just in case in about:config change browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled to false

 

[UsernameIssues]

Your screenshot shows FF full screened. Does it happen when you have FF in a window?

Try the Windows native magnifier to see if that changes things. I'm thinking that it is a combo of your video driver and the way FF wants to display info in that field. The magnifier might change the way the info is processed.

You mentioned themes. I'm guessing that you tried FF themes. Have you tested with the classic OS theme? (just as a test)


The FF change log was of no help :-(

 

[MoxieMomma]

Your screenshot shows FF full screened. Does it happen when you have FF in a window?

Try the Windows native magnifier to see if that changes things. I'm thinking that it is a combo of your video driver and the way FF wants to display info in that field. The magnifier might change the way the info is processed.

You mentioned themes. I'm guessing that you tried FF themes. Have you tested with the classic OS theme? (just as a test)


The FF change log was of no help :-(

^^ Agree with those suggestions. If it's not the program installation or the profile, it does sound as if it could be something on your system.^^

You might post over at forums.mozillazine.org -- a lot of serious "power users" and script kiddies hang out there. Perhaps someone will be able to explain or resolve the issue for you.

and/or

You might want to check at bugzilla -- if this has not already been reported, then you could file a bug report

Needless to say, you won't want to stay on an outdated version for too long, because of the security vulnerabilities.

Sorry it's still not working -- hope you get it resolved.

 

[Callender]

Would you be prepared to try a Firefox variant to see if you get the same issue? You could try Cyberfox as it uses it's own profile and doesn't interfere with any Firefox profile. In other words it doesn't share Firefox profile like some other Firefox variants.

If you want to test you need one of these options:

Cyberfox 64bit Intel optimized version

or if you want to use 32bit plugins (Java)

Cyberfox 32bit Intel optimized version

Either way you can choose to install or just use the portable version of either.

It would be interesting to know if it works without the url obfuscation issue.

 

[marsmimar]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Everyone!

Not sure it'll help but just in case in about:config change browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled to false

Appreciate the suggestion, Simon but changing to "false" had no effect.

Your screenshot shows FF full screened. Does it happen when you have FF in a window?

Try the Windows native magnifier to see if that changes things. I'm thinking that it is a combo of your video driver and the way FF wants to display info in that field. The magnifier might change the way the info is processed.

You mentioned themes. I'm guessing that you tried FF themes. Have you tested with the classic OS theme? (just as a test)

The FF change log was of no help :-(

- Problem occurs full screen, separate window, private browsing, etc.
- Using Windows native magnifier had no effect other than enlarging the problem.
- Yes, tried FF themes, classic OS theme, other 3rd party themes, etc. Problem persists.

Your screenshot shows FF full screened. Does it happen when you have FF in a window?

Try the Windows native magnifier to see if that changes things. I'm thinking that it is a combo of your video driver and the way FF wants to display info in that field. The magnifier might change the way the info is processed.

You mentioned themes. I'm guessing that you tried FF themes. Have you tested with the classic OS theme? (just as a test)


The FF change log was of no help :-(

^^ Agree with those suggestions. If it's not the program installation or the profile, it does sound as if it could be something on your system.^^

You might post over at forums.mozillazine.org -- a lot of serious "power users" and script kiddies hang out there. Perhaps someone will be able to explain or resolve the issue for you.

and/or

You might want to check at bugzilla -- if this has not already been reported, then you could file a bug report

Needless to say, you won't want to stay on an outdated version for too long, because of the security vulnerabilities.

Sorry it's still not working -- hope you get it resolved.

Thanks MM. I couldn't find anything similar on the Mozilla forums or at Bugzilla so I filed a new bug report. I would have to agree that 40.0.2 doesn't like something about my computer. What irks me the most is I haven't changed anything on my machine. I even used a few system images to rule out all updates for the past three months (Windows Updates, security updates, Flash updates, etc.) No matter what I've tried 40.0.2 address bar won't show addresses/URLs until I click Enter. Then they show up just fine.

Would you be prepared to try a Firefox variant to see if you get the same issue? You could try Cyberfox as it uses it's own profile and doesn't interfere with any Firefox profile. In other words it doesn't share Firefox profile like some other Firefox variants.

If you want to test you need one of these options:

Cyberfox 64bit Intel optimized version

or if you want to use 32bit plugins (Java)

Cyberfox 32bit Intel optimized version

Either way you can choose to install or just use the portable version of either.

It would be interesting to know if it works without the url obfuscation issue.

Took your advice Chris and installed Cyberfox. It's using Firefox's 40.0.2 coding. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.



Just for giggles and grins I tried Pale Moon and Waterfox. Both of them have versions earlier than FF 40.0.2 and they worked fine (just as earlier versions of FF worked fine.) So once again I have to conclude that something in the 40.0.2 coding isn't working on this computer (a Sony Vaio.) But 40.0.2 is working as it should on a Dell and a Lenovo.

I'm going to keep Firefox installed so I can continue to troubleshoot but I'll be using Opera as my primary browser. It works fine as does IE and Chrome.

 

[Callender]

Thanks for testing Cyberfox. It does then rule out any problems with a corrupt Firefox profile or problematic add-ons. I have 40.0.2 installed and it seems to work fine.

I guess you'll probably have to wait for the next version of Firefox to be released then see if it's fixed.

 

[Callender]

Someone with a font rendering problem reported the issue here: https://8pecxstudios.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1114

Seems to apply to the latest build and the developer is blaming it on the graphics driver.

The issue reported isn't identical to yours but maybe it's related. You could also try posting that Cyberfox screenshot in the same forum and see if the developer has any ideas. Usually there's a response within a day or so.

 

[marsmimar]

Someone with a font rendering problem reported the issue here: https://8pecxstudios.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1114

Seems to apply to the latest build and the developer is blaming it on the graphics driver.

The issue reported isn't identical to yours but maybe it's related. You could also try posting that Cyberfox screenshot in the same forum and see if the developer has any ideas. Usually there's a response within a day or so.

Thank you for the info, Chris. I submitted a bug report to 8pecxstudios as well as Mozilla's Bugzilla. As soon as I hear something I'll update this thread.

 

[MoxieMomma]

Hmmm, this sure is weird.
Please keep us updated on the status of your issue.

Thanks,

 

[marsmimar]

According to Cyberfox Admin "Toady", this is a hardware acceleration issue. In Firefox, Cyberfox, and presumably any other Firefox variant, do the following:

1. Go to the Menu bar and click Tools > Options


2. From Options click Advanced tab (left column) > Browsing > Uncheck "Use hardware acceleration when available"


If this doesn't work, an alternate solution is:

1. In address bar type about:config > Enter > accept warning
2. Scroll down to gfx.vsynch
3. Reset gfx.vsync.compositor, gfx.vsync.hw-vsync.enabled, and gfx.vsync.refreshdriver to "false" by double clicking each item


I've requested additional info as to why the obfuscated URL only appears in the start page address bar and not in any other subsequent address bars. I also asked why does 40.0.2 only affect my Sony Vaio. And finally, I asked if this was a coding error of some kind since all previous versions of Firefox did not have a hardware acceleration issue. Hopefully I'll get an answer to these questions and I'll post back with more updated info. In the meantime I'll leave this thread open for a while.

Again, thanks to all for the suggestions.

 

[FerchogtX]

I know this may sound stupid but... have you tried upgrading your graphics driver?... I had issues with hardware acceleration too a while ago, upgrading my ATI drivers to use a set from 2012 solved it...

 

[marsmimar]

I know this may sound stupid but... have you tried upgrading your graphics driver?... I had issues with hardware acceleration too a while ago, upgrading my ATI drivers to use a set from 2012 solved it...

Definitely not a stupid question. One of the first things I did was go to the Sony eSupport site and check for updated drivers and software. I have the latest and greatest of everything installed. This lappy is using the Intel HD 3000 graphics. I went to Intel and used their Driver Update Utility. The scan came back "no new drivers found".

The most puzzling thing to me is: With hardware acceleration enabled, a URL won't show correctly in the Firefox/Cyberfox start page. Even though it doesn't show correctly I can click Enter and go to whatever website I typed in. Then the address bar shows everything correctly and continues to work correctly until I close the browser window. If I close the browser window, then open a new window, the URL will again fail to show properly. If this is a driver issue, how would the driver know if I was on a new start page or not? Or is it "normal" for drivers to work on some pages and not others?

 

[MoxieMomma]

Dang!

"Who'da thunk" that hardware acceleration would be the explanation?
(As others have pointed out, it has been known to do weird things, but this rather "takes the cake".)

Most bizarre.

I assume you've had no response to your bug report at bugzilla?

 

[UsernameIssues]

~~~
I've requested additional info as to why the obfuscated URL only appears in the start page address bar and not in any other subsequent address bars.
~~~

It probably only does it when the Firefox box (for lack of a better term) is involved. [See the second screenshot.] That FF box should go away as soon as you type the first letter of yahoo.com.

In your first screenshot, the FF box barfs on its transition out of the way.





I'm going to guess that you already had the issue "fixed" by the time you took the screenshot below:





This URL probably was typed into a new tab - one that never had the FF box in the address bar.


(Or maybe you had that URL bookmarked


As a test, you might "unfix" FF and try typing in a URL while on that aboutreferences page.

 

[marsmimar]

Dang!

"Who'da thunk" that hardware acceleration would be the explanation?
(As others have pointed out, it has been known to do weird things, but this rather "takes the cake".)

Most bizarre.

I assume you've had no response to your bug report at bugzilla?

Correct. No response yet from Bugzilla. If and when they respond I'll post back with whatever info they provide.