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Is it possible to turn off Firefox errors?

  • 22 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 184 views
  • Last reply by annoyedff

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Is there a way to disable the "a website is making your browser run slow" message, and any other messages that Firefox finds "worthy" to pop up?

"But why do you want to disable this?" It keeps popping up and actually causing my browser to slow down. None of the sites I'm on are even doing anything (no AJAX, no refreshing, etc. Static content). This happens on a BLANK page/no URL. If I close it, it just slides back down.

Is there any way to turn these messages off permanently? It's becoming a terrible user experience with Firefox popping up all sorts of things randomly. And whoever thought it was a smart idea to remove functional menus and require silly URL's to access configuration parameters really missed the mark on that.

Is there a way to disable the "a website is making your browser run slow" message, and any other messages that Firefox finds "worthy" to pop up? "But why do you want to disable this?" It keeps popping up and actually causing my browser to slow down. None of the sites I'm on are even doing anything (no AJAX, no refreshing, etc. Static content). This happens on a BLANK page/no URL. If I close it, it just slides back down. Is there any way to turn these messages off permanently? It's becoming a terrible user experience with Firefox popping up all sorts of things randomly. And whoever thought it was a smart idea to remove functional menus and require silly URL's to access configuration parameters really missed the mark on that.

Chosen solution

@ annoyedff :

So much for appreciation and gratitude ......


Your question was :

" Is it possible to turn off Firefox errors? "

The answer is :

NO.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (20)

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The slow script warning shouldn't appear unless there is a long-running script in the page. If you see it on a "blank" page, that's suspicious.

Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox. (On Mac, hold down the option/alt key instead of the Shift key.)

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • (menu bar) Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any difference?


This old article relates to an earlier style of warning, but the underlying causes may be similar: Warning Unresponsive script - What it means and how to fix it.

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Can I just get an answer on if there's a way to disable these warnings? That's literally all I want to know.

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annoyedff said

Can I just get an answer on if there's a way to disable these warnings? That's literally all I want to know.

So the two possibilities if a script is making the tab unresponsive would be:

  • Kill the script automatically without asking if you want to let it run further; I don't know if a way to do this.
  • Let the tab stay hung without notifying you; I don't know of a way to do this.

Anyway, such messages should be extremely rare, so there is something wrong with your Firefox. Probably a malware infection, possibly from a bad extension.

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This is happening on a brand new build. Regardless of what the cause is, I would like to know if these messages can be disabled.

Can the next response please be one of the following: 1. Yes (with instructions on how to disable them) 2. No

I don't want or need your troubleshooting. I'm simply asking if it can be disable and if so, how.

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Sorry, I already told you I don't know.

Here's some further unsolicited advice: for a new build of a modern OS, try Firefox 61: https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/

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You didn't say it, you just avoided the question all together.

Anyway, I'll look for another solution unless someone else knows if this can be done or not.

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You really should be using a modern browser, Firefox 61.0.2 or later.

I'm not sure there is a way to turn those error messages off, but updating will help.

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If you would block/hide these error alerts then you won't know that something is wrong and Firefox would likely perform sluggish.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
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Clearly none of you can just answer the question. Again, I don't want or need your troubleshooting help. I asked a question, a fairly simple and straight forward one. I didn't ask "Why is this happening/!/11/!/1/1/!?!! Halp"

My reasoning for wanting to shut them off is really nobody's concern. I asked if they can be turned off. I didn't ask for your opinions on updating browsers or troubleshooting, or anything else that derails from actually answering the question.

This is literally a "would you like fries with that?" kind of question. It's literally a yes or no, and if yes, how, and if no, I'll mark this as resolved and move onto a different browser. Why is it so difficult to get a straight forward answer? Why do you all feel so compelled to troubleshoot, when all I want is to know if they can be turned off or not? Why do you insist on assuming I'm not using the latest and "greatest" FF browser? Because I'm posting from an older version? This issue doesn't involve this workstation.

My system config and setup has literally ZERO relevance to getting the answer. My setup will not change the real answer if they can be turned off or not.

So, can these messages be turned off? Seriously, it's not a hard question to comprehend.

Modified by annoyedff

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annoyedff said

So, can these messages be turned off? Seriously, it's not a hard question to comprehend.

What does "turned off" mean to you?

As far as I know, there's no way to configure Firefox to avoid asking you the "do you want to kill the script" question. That is why I replied the way I did:

jscher2000 said

So the two possibilities if a script is making the tab unresponsive would be:
  • Kill the script automatically without asking if you want to let it run further; I don't know if a way to do this.
  • Let the tab stay hung without notifying you; I don't know of a way to do this.
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annoyedff said

So, can these messages be turned off? Seriously, it's not a hard question to comprehend.

What does "turned off" mean to you?

As far as I know, there's no way to configure Firefox to avoid asking you the "do you want to kill the script" question. That is why I replied the way I did:

jscher2000 said

So the two possibilities if a script is making the tab unresponsive would be:
  • Kill the script automatically without asking if you want to let it run further; I don't know if a way to do this.
  • Let the tab stay hung without notifying you; I don't know of a way to do this.
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Turn off means exactly that. Do not display unless this option is turned on.

Saying "you don't believe so" answers my question. I get you guys are trying to be helpful with the extra advice, or whatever, but it's not. It's rather frustrating when you can't get a clear concise answer without all the fluff. I can do my own troubleshooting, and would have asked for alternative solutions if I were in need.

I only mention the above because I've seen this happen on multiple questions posted in the support forum, often leading to a frustrated OP and nothing gets resolved. If this question had been answered quickly the other dozen or so times, I wouldn't have had to make this thread.

Just food for thought. I'll be logging out now and looking for a new browser solution. I don't find it necessary to force a user into seeing "firefox recommendation errors" and not giving them the option to disable those messages. Not every user needs to see them to know when there's an issue or what the issue is ;)

Modified by annoyedff

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The problem with your question about disabling messages is like the following:

Can I get the fire department to stop calling to ask me what I want to do about my house on fire?

That a yes or no question, but neither yes nor no will put out the fire.

Support volunteers wanted to help you put out the fire. You prefer to move to a new house browser.

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jscher2000 said

The problem with your question about disabling messages is like the following: Can I get the fire department to stop calling to ask me what I want to do about my house on fire?

It's nothing like that, Mr. Fear-monger.

If anything, it would be akin to me disabling my smoke detectors because the battery needs to be replaced. However, that would be MY decision, not yours or the fire department.

Anyway, clearly you have zero interest in answering the question and would rather argue your silly point. The problem with people like you is you think you're smarter than the person asking the question and feel compelled to give some long answer and then refuse to answer the real question when you're told troubleshooting and other steps aren't wanted, just an answer to the question.

Clearly comprehension is difficult for you.

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Chosen Solution

@ annoyedff :

So much for appreciation and gratitude ......


Your question was :

" Is it possible to turn off Firefox errors? "

The answer is :

NO.

Modified by McCoy

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annoyedff said

jscher2000 said
The problem with your question about disabling messages is like the following: Can I get the fire department to stop calling to ask me what I want to do about my house on fire?

It's nothing like that, Mr. Fear-monger.

If anything, it would be akin to me disabling my smoke detectors because the battery needs to be replaced.

The message we are discussing indicates that Firefox has paused execution of an unresponsive script and needs your instructions on what to do about the problem. That is not at all like a smoke detector battery.

annoyedff said

Anyway, clearly you have zero interest in answering the question and would rather argue your silly point. The problem with people like you is you think you're smarter than the person asking the question and feel compelled to give some long answer and then refuse to answer the real question when you're told troubleshooting and other steps aren't wanted, just an answer to the question. Clearly comprehension is difficult for you.

In my mind, the first step to changing how Firefox behaves is to understand how it works. If you consider that a "silly point" then we have fundamentally different ways of thinking about software.

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McCoy said

@ annoyedff : So much for appreciation and gratitude ......

Your question was :

" Is it possible to turn off Firefox errors? "

The answer is :

NO.

Thank you! Getting to that answer should not have been this difficult.

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As for the "appreciation and gratitude" snide remark - what was there to be appreciative of? Not getting the answer I asked for? Talk about entitlement *rolls eyes*

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annoyedff said

As for the "appreciation and gratitude" snide remark - what was there to be appreciative of?

Whether you believe it or not : everybody who posted in this thread, went above and beyond the call of duty, with your best interest at heart. It would have been so much easier for them to just give you the answer that I gave you ('No') - but they wanted to give you some extra information that would be very useful to you (maybe one day you'll find out how useful). Nobody was trying to upset or annoy you, believe me.

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But I asked specifically for just a yes or no answer. I said I didn't want the troubleshooting (and even stated that more than once). Going above and beyond is all well and good if someone was in actual need of help. I am not. I wanted a specific answer and I made that clear.

Why is it so hard to actually answer the question, then ask (or provide, if you feel so compelled) if they need assistance in troubleshooting the issue? I know how to troubleshoot Firefox's issues. I've been a tech for 2 decades now. Most software allows options on how to report and/or record errors (I dislike anything that pops up unless it's absolutely critical - a slow script isn't critical, suffice to say, and as a user, that should absolutely be my choice). If I can't choose how errors or warnings or whatever messages (or find a workaround), I change software.

If you're a Windows user, let me ask you a question: When Windows crashes and blue screens, did you change the options to not reboot? How would you feel if (I'm assuming you're a tech), couldn't disable the automatic reboot so you could see the error message (or presumably couldn't figure it out). You go to the MS forums and ask "Hey, can I prevent the reboot so I can see the error message?" and they instead just tell you to reboot into safe mode and do a bunch of other steps instead. Wouldn't that irritate you?

Sure, that's "functional" and useful. But suppose you aren't a tech and the default was to just halt and display the error. Wouldn't it annoy you that you couldn't just have it reboot?

I already know why the error pops up - it's because for whatever reason, Firefox doesn't like it when the workstation goes into a sleep state. When it comes back, everything works as normal, but Firefox just keeps displaying that error message until I relaunch it (fwiw, the browser is still functional, it just takes an inch off my viewing area and it slides right down when you X it out). It only happens with Firefox, and only happens after waking up from a sleep state (while I'm not in favor of sleep mode, it's pushed down through GPO).

While I dislike IE and Edge, I'll just use that since it doesn't have this problem. Maybe if Firefox comes with a way to handle how error messages or "warnings" and not have them display (especially after I X it out, ugh), I'll switch back.

Modified by annoyedff

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