I wrote this for a few co-workers today. We run linux, and giving options for people to fix stuff when I am late coming in.

Firefox or Thunderbird won't work. How to fix.

FIREFOX

user@host:~$ cd .mozilla/firefox/weirdstuff.default/
user@host:~$ rm .parentlock

Commands Meanings:

cd = Change Directory, also "cd ~" will put you back in your home directory.

ls = List Screen, remember DOS days of dir? same thing, dir will also work.

rm = remove. BE CAREFUL with that command.

pwd = print working directory. Basically lets you know where you are.

Also .file means hidden. you can type in ls -a for all files

Notes:

If you hit TAB while typing it will finish what your typing for each directory.

weirdstuff.default is your profile directory, it changes on each machine.


THUNDERBIRD EMAIL

cd .mozilla-thunderbird/weirdstuff.default/
rm .parentlock

example: cd .mozilla-thunderbird/nq92xeeb.default/

P.S.
Also If you have an issue where your bookmarks have dis-appeared and the buttons don't work, mv places.sqlite to places.sqlite2 (You can delete it, but I always like to keep it around just incase.)

Also Firefox Usually does backups everyday, so in 3 you can just roll back. But as always make backups.