Firefox keeps crashing at startup

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  • Reviewed by: AliceWyman
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A crash is when Firefox closes or quits unexpectedly and the Mozilla Crash Reporter appears. If Firefox keeps crashing when you open it, this article will show you how to get it working again.

Other problems with crashing:

See if you can start in Firefox Safe Mode

As a first step you should see if Firefox starts in Firefox Safe Mode. This special startup mode temporarily turns off hardware acceleration among other settings and disables installed extensions that may prevent Firefox from starting. If you can start in Firefox Safe Mode, see the article Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems for solutions.

Try a clean install

If crashes are preventing you from starting Firefox, even in Firefox Safe Mode, a clean install will often fix the problem.

Will I lose my bookmarks, passwords and add-ons? A clean install will not delete your bookmarks, saved passwords, add-ons or other personal information. This information is stored separately in your profile folder.

Here's how to do a clean install of Firefox:

  1. Uninstall Firefox from your computer.
  2. Delete the Firefox installation folder (located in one of these folders by default):
    • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
  3. download firefox win 32x32 Download a fresh copy of Firefox.
  4. Double-click on the downloaded file and follow the prompts to continue the installation process.

For more information on how to install Firefox, see How to install Firefox on Windows.

  1. Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
  2. mac download 32x32 Download a fresh copy of Firefox.
  3. Open the downloaded file and drag the Firefox icon to the Applications folder when prompted.
  1. Use your distributor's package management system to uninstall Firefox (please refer to their documentation). If that doesn't work, delete the firefox folder from your Home folder.
  2. Install Firefox through your package management system or follow these steps to manually install Firefox:

Uninstall software known to cause crashes

Some programs are known to cause crashes in Firefox and other browsers. Check your computer and remove any malware or software that might be causing problems:

  • Check the release notes to see if there are any known issues for your version of Firefox. Check your computer's instructions on how to uninstall software that's causing problems.
  • Scan your computer for malware. Check the support site of your antivirus program for help with scanning and removing malware. For more information, see Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.

Get help fixing the problem

If you need more help, you can ask a question in the support forum. If possible, please include a crash Report ID when you post your question. See Get help fixing this crash for details.