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Firefox freezes and then greys out

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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After a short period of normal use Firefox freezes and when I try to click onto a new page the picture greys out partially. On the top of my screen it says that Firefox is not responding. My only course of action is close the program down. When I do that a small window opens Saying Firefox is not responding and gives the option of closing the program or waiting for it to respond. I have tried removing Flash 11.3 and installing 10.3 - no change. Tried removing and reinstalling Firefox - no change. Disabling all plugins - no Change. Tried restoring PC to an earlier point - No change

After a short period of normal use Firefox freezes and when I try to click onto a new page the picture greys out partially. On the top of my screen it says that Firefox is not responding. My only course of action is close the program down. When I do that a small window opens Saying Firefox is not responding and gives the option of closing the program or waiting for it to respond. I have tried removing Flash 11.3 and installing 10.3 - no change. Tried removing and reinstalling Firefox - no change. Disabling all plugins - no Change. Tried restoring PC to an earlier point - No change

Chosen solution

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.


Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

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

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Chosen Solution

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.


Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

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

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Thank you so much for your help. Problem is now solved. Mike

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Note that a "Reset" creates a new profile and tries to import some settings from the old profile leaving the old profile intact, including the cache folder (about:cache) that can take up to 1 GB.

It is always best to first try some basic steps if web pages aren't working properly.


Clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

  • Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).