Firefox hangs: Difference between revisions

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(Mentioned lenovo PW manager issue)
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===Adobe Type Manager/Font issues===
===Adobe Type Manager/Font issues===
Having installed a huge number of fonts can also cause this problem. Using Adobe Type Manager can lead to a huge number of installed fonts. Uninstall all fonts - except the standard fonts - and Adobe Type Manager in this case.
Having installed a huge number of fonts can also cause this problem. Using Adobe Type Manager can lead to a huge number of installed fonts. Uninstall all fonts - except the standard fonts - and Adobe Type Manager in this case.
===Lenovo Thinkpad password manager===
Lenovo is shipping a "Password manager" application with its new laptops. This application installs a Firefox extension which can cause the browser to hang for 5 seconds whenever
a new window is opened. Disabling the extension will resolve the issue. Note that this extension is installed by default on new Lenovo laptops, so this is a likely cause of hangs for
Lenovo laptop users.


===Other solutions===
===Other solutions===

Revision as of 06:39, 2 November 2007

Hanging (freezing, not responding) is when a program is running but stops responding to user input. A hang/freeze is different from a crash, which ends the program.

Hang loading first Firefox window

Hyperthreading

Hyperthreading is a feature on some high-end processors. In some cases, motherboard chipsets supporting hyperthreading can cause Firefox to hang at startup. If you’re experiencing hangs, you may want to check your motherboard manufacturer’s website for updates to the BIOS.

Alternatively, you can disable Hyperthreading support for Firefox in Windows 2000 and XP. Right click the Firefox shortcut → Properties → Compatibility → Check "Run this program in compatibility mode" → Select "Windows 98/Windows ME" → OK.

User Agent Switcher

Reinstallation or updating User Agent Switcher extension can cause hangs. Start Firefox in safe mode, uninstall the User Agent Switcher extension, and restart Firefox. You may now install the extension again without it hanging.

Hang opening new Firefox window

The SwitchProxy Tool extension has a bug that causes Firefox to hang for a few seconds upon opening a new window. The solution is to disable SwitchProxy's auto-update feature.

Hang loading certain websites

Firefox may become very slow to respond because of badly coded JavaScript causing infinite loops on certain websites [1]. This problem can usually be cleared by closing the window or tab for that website. You can also temporarily disable JavaScript to view the problem site, but the website may not work without JavaScript. See the Firefox CPU usage article for more information.

Hang downloading files

As the download history grows, Firefox may download files more slowly and even appear to hang during downloading. In the Firefox menu, click "Tools -> Downloads -> Clean Up" to clear the Download History. If this doesn't help or if it also causes a hang, exit Firefox completely and delete the downloads.rdf file in the Firefox profile folder [2]. Selecting a different download folder in your Firefox Options may also help. See this article for more information.

Hang saving images

See above.

Hang using page history

If you set Firefox to remember the visited pages for more than the default 9 days, operations involving history can hang Firefox for short periods of time. Setting the history to 9 days or less and clearing the history (Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> History: "Clear Browsing History Now") will usually resolve the problem [3]. Note that the "Clear Browsing History Now" feature is no longer available in Firefox 2 but can be cleared as part of the "Clear Private Data" function, if "Browsing History" is selected in "Tools -> Options -> Privacy / Private Data -> Settings".

Hang loading websites when using an automatic proxy configuration file

If you're using an auto-config proxy (PAC), Firefox will hang when you attempt to load sites that don't exist and when opening sites on a domain you haven't opened recently. The amount of time it hangs will depend on how many look-ups the PAC does. There is no current solution, however this is a recognised bug, and as such is being tracked here: Bug 235853 - PAC: isResolvable() causes the UI to hang during resolution.

Hang loading sites with Java, Flash, or PDF files

If Firefox hangs attempting to load a site with Java or Flash, or an Adobe PDF file, it's likely a problem with the associated plugin. If Firefox hangs after waking the computer from sleep mode, it may be a known problem with the Flash plugin.

Hang after prolonged or extensive use

For some users, Firefox consumes excessive amounts of memory and may slow down or hang in situations that include being open for long periods of time, after downloading or saving images or other files, or after extensive use with multiple tabs open. See the article, Reducing memory usage - Firefox. Additional suggestions are given here.

Other causes of hanging

Multiple sessionstore.js files

If Firefox is slow to respond or appears to hang, open the Firefox profile folder, check for multiple sessionstore.js files and delete all copies found. [4]

McAfee Anti-virus

McAfee Anti-virus software can stop Firefox from operating correctly. To fix the problem, open the Virusscan Console -> Access protection -> Prevent downloads from the World Wide web -> add "firefox.exe".

Norton Anti-virus

Older versions of NAV may cause Firefox 2 to hang when NAV real-time protection is turned on. Updating to the latest version of NAV may solve the problem. [5]

Outpost Pro Firewall

Outpost Pro Firewall, versions 2.7 and 3.0, can cause Firefox to stop loading Web sites. The "firefox.exe" process may also be left running after closing Firefox, and shutting down the computer may be blocked by an error message that the XPCOM:EventReceiver is still waiting for data.[6],[7] This may be due to blocking the loopback (localhost) connection.[8]

Extensions

Extensions are a common cause of problems. Check the list of problematic extensions to see if it is a known issue and go through the standard diagnostic steps related to extension issues to see if an extension is causing Firefox to hang.

Adobe Type Manager/Font issues

Having installed a huge number of fonts can also cause this problem. Using Adobe Type Manager can lead to a huge number of installed fonts. Uninstall all fonts - except the standard fonts - and Adobe Type Manager in this case.

Lenovo Thinkpad password manager

Lenovo is shipping a "Password manager" application with its new laptops. This application installs a Firefox extension which can cause the browser to hang for 5 seconds whenever a new window is opened. Disabling the extension will resolve the issue. Note that this extension is installed by default on new Lenovo laptops, so this is a likely cause of hangs for Lenovo laptop users.

Other solutions

  • Perform the standard diagnostic to resolve hanging problems not specifically mentioned in this article.
  • Some older versions of video card drivers can cause hangs. Make sure your drivers are up to date.
  • If none of the solutions on this page fixes your problem, you may want to file a bug report. This is a list of unsolved bugs in Firefox that cause hangs. Look through the list, and if your situation doesn't match any of the situations listed, file a new bug report. If you cannot give a set of steps that reproduces the problem, you may want to try to find a regression window to determine which change to Firefox caused the problem. On Windows, you can also use Process Explorer to determine which thread is using the most CPU.

External Links

Crash Firefox to determine where Firefox is hanging