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Firefox frequently hangs on Windows 8.1

  • 2 replies
  • 59 have this problem
  • 56 views
  • Last reply by murky

murky
murky

Firefox has been hanging at seemingly random times ever since I got my Windows 8.1 laptop, which has an i7, 8GB RAM, and Intel HD 4600 graphics.

The hanging itself lasts anywhere from ten seconds to a couple minutes, and it usually freezes all other open programs as well. It can happen at any time, regardless of memory usage - when I open a new tab, when I type into the search bar, when I click a bookmark, etc.

This does not occur on my Linux Mint partition, nor on my Windows 7 computer. Given that fact and my laptop specs, I doubt it's a hardware issue. My best guess is that one of my plugins/extensions is causing it, which I believe have been populated in the troubleshooting information.

Thanks in advance.

Firefox has been hanging at seemingly random times ever since I got my Windows 8.1 laptop, which has an i7, 8GB RAM, and Intel HD 4600 graphics. The hanging itself lasts anywhere from ten seconds to a couple minutes, and it usually freezes all other open programs as well. It can happen at any time, regardless of memory usage - when I open a new tab, when I type into the search bar, when I click a bookmark, etc. This does not occur on my Linux Mint partition, nor on my Windows 7 computer. Given that fact and my laptop specs, I doubt it's a hardware issue. My best guess is that one of my plugins/extensions is causing it, which I believe have been populated in the troubleshooting information. Thanks in advance.

Modified by murky

Chosen solution

Hello,

Can you try disabling hardware acceleration?

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options.
  2. In the Firefox Options (or Preferences) window, click the Advanced tab, then select General.
  3. In the settings list, you should find the Use hardware acceleration when available checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
  4. Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.
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All Replies (2)

CoryMH
CoryMH

Chosen Solution

Hello,

Can you try disabling hardware acceleration?

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options.
  2. In the Firefox Options (or Preferences) window, click the Advanced tab, then select General.
  3. In the settings list, you should find the Use hardware acceleration when available checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
  4. Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.
murky
murky Question owner

I disabled hardware acceleration as soon as you suggested it yesterday, and so far, I haven't had any crashes or hangs. This might just be a streak of luck, but I think it's probably made some kind of improvement. For now, this is solved, but if the problem persists, I'll have to make an update. 

Thanks for your help.