How long is Firefox running before there is a problem?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

Yes i tried safe mode a few times and the problem didn't occur. But the intervals between freezes are different. Sometimes after half an hour, sometimes hours, so I'm not sure if safe mode solved it or not. Meanwhile I ran a refresh so now I only have uBlock Original running. So far so good, but I want to know what causes the freezes. Can you interpret what the memory-report.json.txt shows?

I uploaded the memory-report: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuGZ-ZzCR2AThmWSNHP1q9i6FpCw

I called for more help

Great!

It's way past bed time here, so I have to go to sleep and will check in again in about 8 hours.

Thanks a lot.

'Morning everyone. Hope help comes today.

Thanks

I am no expert but glancing at the memory report that Firefox process is not using much memory at all and I doubt it is a problem. (Later we may also need to look at Firefox and its new multi process mode if problems continue, or reoccur.)

Hopefully someone else will step in and try to provide further help but in the meantime lets take a step back and consider the fact that problems go away in Firefox's safe mode. That often indicates the problem is because of extensions that you use. The Firefox refresh then removes extensions.

Possibly one of the extensions was causing the problem. Possibly it was a combination of extensions used together. Note in particular script and adblockers can cause problems they may conflict with one another or they may fight with websites that are trying to push ads and those websites may try to block features and operation if you block their ads.

I suggest the way forward is to add one additional extension at a time and thoroughly test out Firefox's operation before adding the next one.

Yes, thank you. I'm aware of that.

I refreshed FF and am now putting back extensions one at a time. (Without hw acceleration) First was uBlock Origin > no problem till last night. Second is Https Everywhere > no problems till last night. Third is NoSquint Plus > no problems till last night.

Deleted extensions: Autosort Bookmarks Dolus Don't track me Google Duplicate in Tab Context Menu Private Tab Visited

Today back on Safe Mode, bc I'm working on the pc and can't risk freezing. This evening I will go back to normal mode and see what happens.

Thanks for looking further into the matter!

Not something that we shout about but you may set up multiple Firefox profiles. If your machine has sufficient resources you may even run multiple instances of Firefox simultaneously, not that you should try that if you are getting problems with freezes.

But it may help with your troubleshooting. It may also help if you have separate profiles for separate purposes e.g. work. Of course a simpler and maybe better solution may just be setting up separate Windows 7 OS accounts for the different uses or users.

• Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles

If using multiple profiles use the suggested default location, and it is prudent to not then delete or rename any of the profiles you create. (Too easy to make mistakes and lose vital data)

It is a lot simpler to troubleshoot issues in separate profiles and easier to undo changes than it is using the simple refresh method.

Thanks for the suggestion. Don't know if that's practical, but I will look into it when I find the time. (Also working most weekends...)

Nevertheless, I'm still curious about the root cause of my problem.

15:18 Local time: I have to go out. I will be back in about 2 hours from now. Thanks

17:19 I'm back. Running FF in normal mode now. Thanks

00:50 No problems so far.

John99 said

I am no expert but glancing at the memory report that Firefox process is not using much memory at all and I doubt it is a problem. (Later we may also need to look at Firefox and its new multi process mode if problems continue, or reoccur.) Hopefully someone else will step in and try to provide further help but in the meantime lets take a step back and consider the fact that problems go away in Firefox's safe mode. That often indicates the problem is because of extensions that you use. The Firefox refresh then removes extensions. Possibly one of the extensions was causing the problem. Possibly it was a combination of extensions used together. Note in particular script and adblockers can cause problems they may conflict with one another or they may fight with websites that are trying to push ads and those websites may try to block features and operation if you block their ads. I suggest the way forward is to add one additional extension at a time and thoroughly test out Firefox's operation before adding the next one.

I have the same problem. Being a dev myself, I run FF on my dev machine with absolutely minimal bloatware (FF+adblocker, not even Flash is on). I noticed FF freezes when I open a new tab via (+), just before the stupid tab animation plays. The FF freeze (not responding) triggers a crash in Windows Explorer as soon as the user tries to interact with any window on screen, followed by complete OS freeze requiring hard reboot.

FredMcD said

How long is Firefox running before there is a problem? Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

I have the same problem. A - sometimes as fast as a day. Not many tabs (<10), no add-ons except Adblocker. FF in safe mode without AdBlocker is useless since you cannot listen to uTube with the ads off. BTW, I posted a complete description of the problem and the environment. In my case, the crash is triggered by (+) new tab. Win7 pro 64 bit.

Let’s do a full clean re-install; Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86)

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Do Not remove the profiles folder.

Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox program folders by adding .old to them. Do not rename the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode This shows how to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia

X-REF

I note the full details and post is

• Firefox freezes on Win7 Pro x64 followed by reboot-requiring Windows crash /questions/1160417

 AmityGames said

FredMcD said

How long is Firefox running before there is a problem? Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

I have the same problem. A - sometimes as fast as a day. Not many tabs (<10), no add-ons except Adblocker. FF in safe mode without AdBlocker is useless since you cannot listen to uTube with the ads off. BTW, I posted a complete description of the problem and the environment. In my case, the crash is triggered by (+) new tab. Win7 pro 64 bit.

Try to disable multi-process windows in Firefox to see if that has effect.

You can disable multi-process windows in Firefox by setting these prefs to false on the about:config page.

• browser.tabs.remote.autostart = false
• browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false

You can open the about:config page: via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config

• http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/22/multi-process-firefox/

cor-el said

Try to disable multi-process windows in Firefox to see if that has effect. You can disable multi-process windows in Firefox by setting these prefs to false on the about:config page.

• browser.tabs.remote.autostart = false
• browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false

You can open the about:config page: via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config

• http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/22/multi-process-firefox/

Hello Cor-el. Thank you for the reply. I've run additional tests, and this is what the evidence shows:

1) The crash/Win freeze is specific to FF53 2) It is caused exactly by creating a new tab with the (+) button 3) It does not correlate with any add-ons

Is this something the dev team plans to fix?

I think FF is suffering from code bloat, with too many "cute" features that are really not necessary for what a browser does. When you have code bloat, making updates creates more bugs than it cures. Just ask the developers at MSFT about it...

Did you try to disable multi-process to test whether there is any effect?

cor-el said

Did you try to disable multi-process to test whether there is any effect?

Hi - no, at this point it's easier to condition myself to not click on (+) the crash does not happen when new tabs are created from within existing tabs.

I just have too much work ... my gut feel tells me it might be rooted in something superficial like the animation of the tabs when (+) is clicked - because of the window format mistakes when the new tab comes up.

cor-el said

Did you try to disable multi-process to test whether there is any effect?

.. remember that on my side reproducing the crash means waiting for a RAID rebuild....

Do you have the about:newtab page set as the new tab page?

Does this also happen if you middle-click the home toolbar button or open an about:blank page via Alt + Enter?