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FF 21 constantly crashes Win XP SP3

  • 14 cavab
  • 11 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by mmiki

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For over a year now (since version 13 - I think) I have had to stop using FF because it crashes upon start-up. Ever once in a while, I uninstall it and install the latest version (currently have 21) and what happens is when I start it up for the first time, I am able to use it. But once I close the program and start it up again, it just crashes upon start-up every time. So, I cannot use FireFox on my system at all.

Even though in the past hour I have tried opening FF 21 over 20 times, there are no crash report logs to be found in my application data folder for FF.

Please help me troubleshoot and fix this issue.

For over a year now (since version 13 - I think) I have had to stop using FF because it crashes upon start-up. Ever once in a while, I uninstall it and install the latest version (currently have 21) and what happens is when I start it up for the first time, I am able to use it. But once I close the program and start it up again, it just crashes upon start-up every time. So, I cannot use FireFox on my system at all. Even though in the past hour I have tried opening FF 21 over 20 times, there are no crash report logs to be found in my application data folder for FF. Please help me troubleshoot and fix this issue.

All Replies (14)

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We're sorry to hear that your Firefox seems to be crashing when you open it. Please perform the following steps to give us a crash report ID that helps us find out more about the cause of the crash.

  1. Press the following shortcut to get a Run window: [Windows] + [R]. This should bring up a window that contains a text field.
  2. In that text field, enter %APPDATA% and press Enter. An explorer window should open.
  3. From that explorer window, double-click on the Mozilla folder, then double-click on Firefox and then on Crash reports. Double-click on submitted.
  4. Now, you should see a list of files that contain reports. Go to View > Arrange Icons by > Modified to get the most recent files at the top of the window.
  5. Open the most recent 5 files with a text editor and copy the IDs.
  6. Paste each ID with bp- into the reply window on the forums.

Thanks in advance!

You can find more information and troubleshooting steps in the Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) article.

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Thank you for your willingness to help, however, as stated in my original post...

"Even though in the past hour I have tried opening FF 21 over 20 times, there are no crash report logs to be found in my application data folder for FF."

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If you can't open Firefox then see:


You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:

  • On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
  • On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
  • Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox if you can start in Firefox Safe Mode

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Thanks for the help, cor-el.

I could not open FF 21 in Safe Mode.

I now have some crash IDs...

Crash ID: bp-2aff04c8-a1f9-4841-9255-5e71f2130518

Crash ID: bp-6ef30945-ac49-4731-85d3-c9b3a2130518

Crash ID: bp-64ce4399-96eb-4a7b-9964-4077a2130518

Crash ID: bp-99ba7bf5-61eb-4d5d-af04-530152130518

Crash ID: bp-d41a7e11-880c-4355-b82c-b086c2130518


And here is a crash report...

AdapterDeviceID: 0x95c5 AdapterVendorID: 0x1002 AvailablePageFile: 905662464 AvailablePhysicalMemory: 552194048 AvailableVirtualMemory: 2015924224 BuildID: 20130511120803 CrashTime: 1368873840 EMCheckCompatibility: true FramePoisonBase: 00000000f0de0000 FramePoisonSize: 65536 InstallTime: 1368844873 Notes: AdapterVendorID: 0x1002, AdapterDeviceID: 0x95c5, AdapterSubsysID: 00000000, AdapterDriverVersion: 8.493.0.0

ProductID: {ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384} ProductName: Firefox ReleaseChannel: release SecondsSinceLastCrash: 422 StartupTime: 1368873840 SystemMemoryUsePercentage: 82 Theme: classic/1.0 Throttleable: 1 TotalVirtualMemory: 2147352576 URL: Vendor: Mozilla Version: 21.0 Winsock_LSP: MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP] : 2 : 1 :

MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP] : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD Tcpip [RAW/IP] : 2 : 3 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
RSVP UDP Service Provider : 6 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\rsvpsp.dll 
RSVP TCP Service Provider : 6 : 1 : %SystemRoot%\system32\rsvpsp.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{981ED714-0FDE-4A72-9E05-5D5348AE1745}] SEQPACKET 4 : 2 : 5 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{981ED714-0FDE-4A72-9E05-5D5348AE1745}] DATAGRAM 4 : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A7124B63-EF6F-4ED3-9E42-B7879F21155E}] SEQPACKET 3 : 2 : 5 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A7124B63-EF6F-4ED3-9E42-B7879F21155E}] DATAGRAM 3 : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{7F2A6403-7314-497B-A070-FD7C5D16EC66}] SEQPACKET 0 : 2 : 5 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{7F2A6403-7314-497B-A070-FD7C5D16EC66}] DATAGRAM 0 : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{64DC389E-8DC9-4E47-B8DF-8567014426A6}] SEQPACKET 1 : 2 : 5 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{64DC389E-8DC9-4E47-B8DF-8567014426A6}] DATAGRAM 1 : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{E73E3251-C720-4328-B27E-7A348946056D}] SEQPACKET 2 : 2 : 5 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll 
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{E73E3251-C720-4328-B27E-7A348946056D}] DATAGRAM 2 : 2 : 2 : %SystemRoot%\system32\mswsock.dll
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We are currently experiencing issues so I cannot pull those crash reports up. I'll get back to you later.

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Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.


Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

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I just cleaned up my computer a couple days ago with help from an expert at Geeks2Go. I use MSE on my system. We scanned and cleaned my computer with all the programs you listed plus Combofix, HJT, Eset, OldTimer, ADW Cleaner, CCleaner and RougueKiller. If my problem is caused by malware, then it is malware that has been written years ago and no one has ever figured out how to detect and clean it. That would be highly unlikely.

Like I said, this problem I am having has been happenning for over a year (maybe more) and spans several versions of FF.

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Boot the computer in Windows Safe Mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.


Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will lose all personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

  • (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
  • (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.


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05/25/2013 09:16 AM bp-b609685e-d0e6-430e-97c1-a87752130525.txt 05/25/2013 10:38 AM bp-a900d259-ecdd-4e2c-94c0-d17c42130525.txt 05/25/2013 02:07 PM bp-fc10bcf1-cddc-4822-bd79-604d52130525.txt

Firefox 21 -- runs fine at work but from home with Cisco VPN client 4.6.02.0011. (IE is even worse!)

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05/25/2013 09:16 AM bp-b609685e-d0e6-430e-97c1-a87752130525.txt 05/25/2013 10:38 AM bp-a900d259-ecdd-4e2c-94c0-d17c42130525.txt 05/25/2013 02:07 PM bp-fc10bcf1-cddc-4822-bd79-604d52130525.txt

Firefox 21 -- runs fine at work but from home with Cisco VPN client 4.6.02.0011. (IE is even worse!)

Win XP Pro Version 2002 SP 2 4Gb memory Latitude D630

(sorry for duplicate posting --- just wanted to give more info)

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wb8luw: In order to assist you better, please Ask A New Question. Thank you

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Hi wb8luw

You can check for problems with current Flash plugin versions and try these:

  • disable a possible RealPlayer Browser Record Plugin extension for Firefox and update the RealPlayer if installed
  • disable protected mode in the Flash plugin (Flash 11.3+ on Windows Vista and later)
  • disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin
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wb8luw, please keep this thread dedicated to my situation alone. Hijacking of support threads makes it very difficult to provide help to people. Please start your own thread for your own situation. Thank you.

I will get back shortly with more details of my problem and any progress I have made. I have been very busy lately.

Modified by toolsavvy

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Hi there. I had the same problem, same pain. The resolution was that I updated the driver of my NVIDIA Geforce video card. Original driver was dated 2011, but new is around may 2013. Since the update FF works perfectly. Actually I use FF22. Good luck!