At first I thought it was just my computer, but it turns out that something is broken in the latest version of Google Desktop that can disable its desktop search function for Firefox users. Try to perform a desktop search and instead of results, Firefox displays the error message, “The connection was reset.” The problem started when I “upgraded” to the latest version of Google Desktop. After unsuccessfully fiddling with my settings, I searched Google’s help and found this discussion thread which revealed that I am not alone in experiencing this problem. The thread also reveals a fix for the problem, albeit an unsatisfactory one.

The problem only occurs if you’ve turned off indexing of your Web history in Google Desktop’s preferences. Turn it back on and the search function also turns back on (although the discussion thread suggests that some people still had problems with indexing of their e-mail). This is an unsatisfactory fix because many people don’t want Google indexing their Web-surfing histories. The discussion thread suggested another fix, which is to delete your “GoogleDesktopMozilla.dll” file, but when I tried this, it caused Google Desktop to stop indexing any new files or e-mails. The most-functional workaround, it appears, is to revert to a prior version of Google Desktop, which can be downloaded from the Google Desktop page.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.