A crash is what happens when Firefox closes or quits unexpectedly. After a crash, you should see the Mozilla Crash Reporter appear. This article will help you fix crashes and show you how to get more help if you're having difficulties.

If Firefox crashes at startup:

1. Check to see if the crash happens in safe mode (see below).
2. Try a clean reinstall (see Firefox keeps crashing at startup).

Otherwise, follow these steps in order.

Update your software

The crash you're experiencing may have already been fixed in a new version!

Update Firefox

Every Firefox release includes a number of fixes for crashes that people have reported. Making sure you have the latest version may fix your crash. See Update Firefox to the latest release for details.

Update your plugins

Check that you have the latest versions of all your plugins.

• Go to our Plugin Check page and follow the links to update any plugins that are out of date.

Update your drivers

Check if your graphics drivers are up-to-date. For more info, see Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL.

If your crash happens while printing, check that your printer driver is up-to-date by going to your printer manufacturer's support website.

Update your Internet Security software

Make sure you have the latest version of your Internet security software (including firewalls, antivirus programs, anti-spyware programs, and more).

Check to see if the crash happens in safe mode

If updating software didn't work or if Firefox crashes on startup, use the steps below to test whether the crash happens in Firefox Safe Mode or not and then follow the instructions in the recommended articles.

1. Click the menu button , click Help, select Troubleshoot Mode… and click Restart in the Restart Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode? dialog.

   Note: You can also start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode by holding down the Shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode
   You may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox).
2. When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, press the button Start in Safe Mode.

After Firefox starts in Safe Mode, test for your problem.

The crash still happens in Safe Mode

If your crash still happens in Safe Mode, it is not being caused by an extension, theme or hardware acceleration. See if the Firefox Hot topics section includes a solution and, if it doesn't, try to get help with your crash ID.

The crash doesn't happen in Safe Mode

If your crash doesn't happen in Safe Mode, it is most likely because of an extension, theme or hardware acceleration.

• Follow the steps in Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems to determine the cause.

Check your hardware

Check your RAM for errors

If Firefox crashes repeatedly, check your RAM for errors using for instance the following tool, Memtest86+Rember.

Get help fixing this crash

Figuring out the cause of a crash can be difficult. If you've tried the steps above and can't get Firefox to stop crashing, the steps below will show you how to collect information about your crash so our volunteers can help you.

1. Get the Report ID of your latest crash report:
   • If you can open Firefox, at least in Safe Mode:
     1. In the Firefox Location bar, type about:crashes and hit EnterReturn. A page listing submitted crash reports will appear.
     2. Right-clickHold down the control key while you click on the latest crash under Report ID and choose Open Link in New Tab. A tab will open to a page on crash-stats.mozilla.com, saying that "Your report is being processed". When it is finished processing, close the report tab.
   • If you can't open Firefox because it crashes at startup even in Safe Mode:
     1. Click the Windows Start button, and select Run…press + R. Type in "%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Crash Reports\submitted" (including the quotation marks) and click OK.(OS X 10.6 or previous) Click the Finder icon in the dock. Your home folder will be selected. In the right side of the window, click the Library folder to open it. Then open the "Application Support" folder, the "Firefox" folder, the "Crash Reports" folder and finally the "submitted" folder.
        (OS X 10.7 or above) Click the Finder icon in the dock. On the menu bar, click the Go menu, hold down the option or alt key and select Library. A window will open containing your Library folder. Then open the "Application Support" folder, the "Firefox" folder, the "Crash Reports" folder and finally the "submitted" folder.Go to ~/.mozilla/firefox/Crash Reports/submitted.
     2. In the resulting folder will be a text file for each crash report you have submitted. Using the View menu, arrange them by date to find out which is the newest file; and double-click on it to open it.
2. Click this link to ask for help with your crash.
   Note: This link is only valid for help with crashes.
3. Create an account.
4. Fill out the Details section of the next page with as much information you have about the crash. Include any of the steps you completed above, like updating Firefox or testing for the crash in safe mode.
5. Copy the long Report ID number you've got above for the latest crash (looks like bp-…) and paste it into the "Details" section.
6. Click the green Automatically add button to submit additional troubleshooting information.
7. Finally, click the Post Question button.
   We know that providing all this information is time consuming but it will make it much easier for our volunteers to help you.

   

Based on information from Firefox crashes (mozillaZine KB)