Firefox error:
This article deals with the causes of the message "Could not initialize the browser's security component. The most likely cause is problems with files in your browser's profile directory. Please check that this directory has no read/write restrictions and your hard disk is not full or close to full. It is recommended that you exit the browser and fix the problem. If you continue to use this browser session, you might see incorrect browser behavior when accessing security features.".
Hard drive space
Check your hard drive's free space.
- Open My Computer
- Right click on the C: drive
- Choose . A dialog will come up.
- Go to the tab.
- Go to your Desktop.
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- Press F11
- Select Macintosh HD.
- Press command+I to display the Macintosh HD info window.
- Click the menu, and select .
- Right-click on Filesystem.
- Choose . A dialog will come up.
- Go to the tab.
If it reports less than 1MB free space available, you'll need to make more room.
File permissions
Check the file permissions in your Firefox profile folder. The file named cert8.db must not be read-only.
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Open your profile folder:
- (Firefox 3.5): See How do I find my profile?
- (Firefox 3.6):
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under Application Basics, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select menu, go over to the menu (on Windows XP, click on the menu) . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under the Application Basics section, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox window, click on the button ( menu in Windows XP) and then clickOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select On the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select .
- Right-click on the file named cert8.db.
- Choose . A dialog will come up.
- Go to the tab.
- Make sure the Read-only checkbox is not checked.
- Press .
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Open your profile folder:
- (Firefox 3.5): See How do I find my profile?
- (Firefox 3.6):
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under Application Basics, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select menu, go over to the menu (on Windows XP, click on the menu) . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under the Application Basics section, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox window, click on the button ( menu in Windows XP) and then clickOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select On the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select .
- Select the file named cert8.db.
- Press command+I to display the cert8.db info window.
- Expand the Sharing & Permissions section.
- Make sure your Mac user account is set to Read & Write.
- Close the cert8.db info window.
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Open your profile folder:
- (Firefox 3.5): See How do I find my profile?
- (Firefox 3.6):
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under Application Basics, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select menu, go over to the menu (on Windows XP, click on the menu) . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under the Application Basics section, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox window, click on the button ( menu in Windows XP) and then clickOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select On the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select .
- Right-click on the file named cert8.db.
- Choose . A dialog will come up.
- Go to the tab.
- Make sure Access is set to read and write.
- Press .
Restart Firefox and the problem may be fixed.
Corrupted file
The file cert8.db in your profile folder may have become corrupted. Delete this file while Firefox is closed.
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Open your profile folder:
- (Firefox 3.5): See How do I find my profile?
- (Firefox 3.6):
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under Application Basics, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select menu, go over to the menu (on Windows XP, click on the menu) . The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
- Under the Application Basics section, click on filesfolder will open. . A window with your profile
- At the top of the Firefox window, click on the button ( menu in Windows XP) and then clickOn the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select On the menu bar, click on the menu and select At the top of the Firefox window, click on the menu and select .
- Click on the file named cert8.db.
- Press command+Delete.
- Restart Firefox.
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cert8.db will be recreated when you restart Firefox. This is normal.
New profile
Your settings may have become corrupted due to changes in your system or a lack of hard drive space at one point. Create a new profile with theProfile Manager. If the problem goes away, you can thenmove your settings to the new profile. If the problem remains, you can go back to your original profile.
from:http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Could%20not%20initialize%20the%20browser%20security%20component