I wonder if there is anyone out there who might shed some light on what appears to be simply a matter of 'settings'. I just bought a lovely new laptop, 17.3" screen, gobs of power, storage and revs, sweet video, AC, Auto, V8, fantastic mileage, the lot.

But, when using Firefox (my personal favourite browser) I cannot see to access the 'Message' line above a new post where we choose slanted or bold text, cross out or the Emojis section (this may help kerb use of pictures and such).

Using Windows 10's new 'Edge' browser blocks no such things, so no worries there. I've fiddled round with Firefox's settings, turned off ABP, etc., to no avail. I just cannot get it to appear using Firefox and I s'pose it's because they think it'll cause great harm to my 'puter.

HTML is ON
BBCode is ON
Smilies are ON

I'm not a card carrying Luddite, don't smash spinning wheels or shake my fist at AI, do prefer the good old days of on/off/volume with a tone knob, and can most often find my way round a hard drive, but this one has me puzzuffled. What am I missing in this first world person's problem?

Honestly TWB - nuke Firefox. The last three versions have added more 'security' features to them which have ended up blocking really simple things on websites. The latest version of Firefox won't even bookmark a site when told to. The Mozilla Foundation have admitted they have a problem with Firefox bloat/'security' and are about the nuke their codebase in favour of starting again with the Electron engine (the one that Chrome is built on... ).

I'm a longtime user of Firefox, way back to version 3. However, I've had enough of it in recent releases.

I understand that, but Chrome just means more Google, and Edge just means more Microsoft. I'll wait patiently for Mozilla to repair the damage.

Funny, but my other laptops run the latest version of Firefox no dramas.

Hmmmm Windoze 10, all the best mate.

Yeah, that's all you get nowadays when you buy new. I loaded 10 then removed it on one mini laptop. Heaps of things, like the sound card, stopped working. I'm using 7.1 again on that one with no issues. I've not used Mac at all since those opaque bubble laptops of the early '00s...

After seeing Crazy Frog's mention of a free upgrade to Win 10, I tried it on one laptop at home. Total disaster; hanging machine, failed display driver, constant need to reboot and fix things. I gave up and went back to Win 7.

Sorry I can't help with your Firefox issue.

2 options I see twb .....

get an older version of firefox ....say maybe 13 or something

or ...you can still use internet explorer (ie11)    ---its  still in win 10  if you have upgraded
and all those linky things were still in mine when I went there,
also using an older version of firefox as well ,  just deny the "oh there's a new version out for that " stuff as it appears .

Two Wheels Better wrote:
But, when using Firefox (my personal favourite browser) I cannot see to access the 'Message' line above a new post where we choose slanted or bold text, cross out or the Emojis section (this may help kerb use of pictures and such).

I've had this same problem a couple of times. I'm using Win 8.1 rolled back from 10 (give me 7 anyday). Its popped up twice now. I have no idea why but the first time the toolbar seemed to just reappear. The second time I think I cleared my 'Cashed Web Content'.... Tools > Options > Advanced > Cashed Web Content > Clear Now.
I'm not 100% sure but give it a go. I've had quite a few issues running both 8 and 10 on my newish laptop. I think Firefox does not like to play with this new architecture.
I'm starting to hate Microsoft with a passion and will probably go Mac or simply stick with a tablet after my current Windows laptop expires in a year or two.

Sold my soul to the devil three years ago when I bought a Mac.
I've so much spare time now instead of buggering about with Windows.

My main personal computer is a mid-2010 Macbook Pro which I've had since new. It got a new lease on life when I upgraded to a SSD and installed OSX El Capitan last year. It's going to be good for another 6 years.

Got a couple of laptops running Win7 only to support programs that interface to my fuel injection system on my Moto Guzzi (Guzzidiag, Power Commander, Tuner Pro). Otherwise, both sit around powered off, reminiscing of days past when they were Top Dog. Bye bye Windows, hello Mac.

Kaptain Holister wrote:
I think I cleared my 'Cashed Web Content'.... Tools > Options > Advanced > Cashed Web Content > Clear Now.
I'm not 100% sure but give it a go. I've had quite a few issues running both 8 and 10 on my newish laptop. I think Firefox does not like to play with this new architecture.

I've done this as you've suggested, cleared that, deleted this, made adjustments, blocked, unblocked, and searched websites for advice. Essentially, there's something in Firefox that 'thinks' the toolbar and Emojis are evil and should be blocked. It makes using Firefox less desirable and so I'l relegate it to the back of the desk and use Edge when on the Forum, where no such blocking occurs.

I'm curious how to find out whether the tollbar and Emojis are affected by Firefox needing them to be 'signed-on' or certified?

"In Firefox version 43 and above, Firefox prevents you from installing unsigned add-ons and disables any unsigned add-ons that are already installed."

Thanks for the input, one and all.

Very strange...
First about Windows 10, I am running it on multiple computers and tablets and have no problems at all. In fact it works so well that I would not go back to Windows 7.
Windows 10 is also working very well on my Macbook Pro running Bootcamp.
Over the last months, I may have installed Windows 10 on at least 15 friends and family computers and everybody is happy.
One thing that I am doing is removing all the bloatware and spying options provided as a "feature" by Microsoft. I will try to write something about it.
I didn't hear too many complaints about W10 since the major service pack came in October and this is also the consensus of the 40+ computer technicians/Network specialists in my department. We are intensively testing it as we may deploy it to over 10,000 computers.
I never had any crash. I swear!
About Firefox:
I run the latest version on all my devices (Tablets, laptops and even Chromebook running Ubuntu) and never experienced the problem described by TWB.
Here is a screenshot of my display:

Firefox has a feature that I widely use... (I am using multiple devices with different OS or IOS) and have a need to have all of them synchronized.
You have to trust Mozilla  
On your old device (the one working)
- Create an account with Firefox and login to this account.
- Click on the option "Sign in to synchronize"
- Select what you want to synchronize
- Wait for at least 5 min. and logout from Firefox. (I login just long enough to synchronize and then logout after)
- start your new laptop, sign in to Firefox and it will bring over all your old setup, bookmarks, addons,....whatever you chose to synchronize.
It may solve your problem.


On another note:
I am using the free avast anti Virus, but sometimes it could be annoying to see advertisements for update once a day. To disable the popups, just go on the Avast setup and turn the "slient gaming option" ON. No more popups
Bert

Thanks for that. I'll certainly give it a go. As for W10, I too am not having problems with it on my new laptop. I believe it's simply a compatibility issue with Firefox. I don't sign in to FF, so I'll set up an account and try that basic. Thanks again.

As I was reading complaints about Windows 10, I will share with you a couple of twicking tools.
This will makes your windows leaner and work a lot better without spying all the time on what you are doing.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY and if you don't understand, BACK OFF.

The first powerfull tool existing on Windows for many years is the God mode option.
It exists on every system but has to be manually activated :
Activating God Mode

If you are not a gamer or like me avoid social medias (Twitter, Facebook,....), here are tweaks to uninstall what I call Microsoft junk (W10 is an OS and not an application installer):
START WITH OPTION #2. (if something goes wrong, just recreating a new user will restore everything.
Uninstalling Windows apps

About an hour ago, one of my computer tech sent me the following "Ultimate Windows Tweaker".
He gave me a good review of the software but I have not personally used it. (I trust the judgement of this tech   )
Ultimate Windows Tweaker

BEFORE PLAYING WITH YOUR SYSTEM, BACK IT UP!
I am highly recommending Macrium backup. I use it for a couple of years and it's very efficient. On the top of that, it's free.
The first time that you start the software, DO NOT SKIP the recovery media creation. This is an important part of this software.
If you crash/mess up your computer, you can reload it without having to go to the pain of re-installing the OS.
Free Macrium reflect backup software
Sorry, no Mac version.

Thanks for this info CF. How relevant are these tools to Win 8.1?

Bugger me!! I find this morning that the issue with the missing forum toolbar and icons as described by TWB are missing on mine again. This is in FF only. Chrome works normally. This is the 3rd time this has happened. I cleared my Cashed Web Content as I described above but that has not worked. Now I have no idea how they reappeared in the past. It seems to be intermittent. I've tried disabling add-ons, starting the FF browser in safe mode. All other functionality in FF seems to be ok.

This is an answer from Mozilla for a similar problem.
or here is another option.
I've never seen the problem and this is a bit difficult for me to troubleshoot.

Thanks Bert. That last link jogged my memory. My previous post re: clearing the 'Cashed Web Content' was incorrect. All that is needed is to clear out cookies and temp internet files. I do that on a regular basis using Ccleaner but it never clicked that that's why my missing message toolbar seemed to reappear by itself. 

Cheers

This is all useful info, and I'm trying everything, including transferring old data from Firefox, but nothing is 'returning' the icons, toolbar, or Emojis. One thing that stands out: Tools, Options, Content, Fonts & Colours...mine is set to allow default, but I'd chosen Tahoma (I like the look of that type), the box is ticked to default, but it's still Tahoma, and there's no way to return it to what it might have been. I'd have to guess. I think this is not the cause, just strange that it doesn't do what you tell it to do. These things really do run on FM.

Two Wheels Better wrote: One thing that stands out: Tools, Options, Content, Fonts & Colours...mine is set to allow default, but I'd chosen Tahoma (I like the look of that type), the box is ticked to default, but it's still Tahoma, and there's no way to return it to what it might have been.

Here is a screenshot of "Option, Fonts & Color -> advanced
You will notice that there is an option to have the pages selecting their own fonts. Is that what you are talking about?

Yes, Bert, that's it.

The solution to your problem will be to re-install FF.
But...
When you de-install it, it keeps all your setup hidden on your C: drive.
Here is the right way to uninstall it:
First download and install Ccleaner (Select the free version)
- Run Ccleaner and select "Tools"
Select Firefox and click on the button "Run Uninstaller"
- Reboot your computer
- Now, you have to open the following folder: C:\Users\Your username\AppData\Local\Mozilla\ (This folder is a hidden folder.)
You should see a sub folder called "Profiles"..... Delete this folder.
- Run Ccleaner again and click on registry
Scan for problems then click on fix selected problems.
- Reboot your computer and normally all traces and setup of Firefox should be gone.
- Re-install Firefox

Important: If you don't delete the folder "C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Local\Mozilla\", if you re-install FF, it will be exactly in the same state as when you de-installed it.

Maybe my previous post (#17) above was not clear.
My missing toolbar and emoticons returned after I cleared FF cookies and temp internet files etc. I simply ran Ccleaner and bingo. Alternatively just got to Menu> History> Clear Recent History> Clear Now. Make sure 'Everything' is selected at the top and tick all the options below.

Cheers

I've downloaded and run CCleaner but got no love. Will try CF's suggestion of un-installing and re-installing this arvo.

Try disabling add-ons in the Help menu just to see if the problem lies there.

I've done that too.

Crazy Frog wrote:The solution to your problem will be to re-install FF.
But...
When you de-install it, it keeps all your setup hidden on your C: drive.
Here is the right way to uninstall it:
First download and install Ccleaner (Select the free version)
- Run Ccleaner and select "Tools"
Select Firefox and click on the button "Run Uninstaller"
- Reboot your computer
- Now, you have to open the following folder: C:\Users\Your username\AppData\Local\Mozilla\ (This folder is a hidden folder.)
You should see a sub folder called "Profiles"..... Delete this folder.
- Run Ccleaner again and click on registry
Scan for problems then click on fix selected problems.
- Reboot your computer and normally all traces and setup of Firefox should be gone.
- Re-install Firefox

Important: If you don't delete the folder "C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Local\Mozilla\", if you re-install FF, it will be exactly in the same state as when you de-installed it.

This would be a good solution but a warning as it will permanently remove all user settings and Bookmarks. There are settings located under 'Roaming' in AppData. There's a good chance that this is where the issue will be imo. My suggestion would be to delete that first. If not fixed the go ahead and remove the Profile folder.

Another option would be to simply rename the Profile folder 'Profile.old'. FF will create a new one when reinstalled. If that doesn't fix the problem then the issue will be with the files contained in the 'Roaming' directory not the 'Local' directory.