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Firefox freezes for a short second while scrolling.

  • 4 replies
  • 8 have this problem
  • 238 views
  • Last reply by tatsichan

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Okay. I am going to do my best to explain this and the steps I have tried unsuccessfully to resolve it.

During normal use (Even without any addons at all) after a short time, 5-10 minutes, sometimes quicker my Firefox stutters for a second, my mouse stops during the stutter and then it unfreezes. Once this starts happening, it happens VERY frequently, like every other second, when I am scrolling up and down a page is when it is most noticable, the mouse cursor stops while firefox is "Frozen" and it resumes after a short second.

Things I have tried: I have completely removed firefox from my system, most registry entries, all folders related to it, deleted and I have tried a fresh new install. That seemed to have helped for a second but after a few minutes of browsing the symptoms return.

I have determined it is not addon related, as I have started fresh and didn't install any on my last reset attempt, it was having the same problem with or without addons

I have attempted that sessionstore.js fix, increasing the interval, disabling it completely, that didn't seem to help either.

This does not happen on Chrome, it is only firefox that does it. It doesn't even matter if it is a website, if I scroll up and down on the troubleshoot page in firefox it still stutters while scrolling.

I have tried everything that I know to do, and I can not fix it myself. Please, if you can help I would appreciate it.

Okay. I am going to do my best to explain this and the steps I have tried unsuccessfully to resolve it. During normal use (Even without any addons at all) after a short time, 5-10 minutes, sometimes quicker my Firefox stutters for a second, my mouse stops during the stutter and then it unfreezes. Once this starts happening, it happens VERY frequently, like every other second, when I am scrolling up and down a page is when it is most noticable, the mouse cursor stops while firefox is "Frozen" and it resumes after a short second. Things I have tried: I have completely removed firefox from my system, most registry entries, all folders related to it, deleted and I have tried a fresh new install. That seemed to have helped for a second but after a few minutes of browsing the symptoms return. I have determined it is not addon related, as I have started fresh and didn't install any on my last reset attempt, it was having the same problem with or without addons I have attempted that sessionstore.js fix, increasing the interval, disabling it completely, that didn't seem to help either. This does not happen on Chrome, it is only firefox that does it. It doesn't even matter if it is a website, if I scroll up and down on the troubleshoot page in firefox it still stutters while scrolling. I have tried everything that I know to do, and I can not fix it myself. Please, if you can help I would appreciate it.

Chosen solution

I fixed this problem. The problem was my Ipod being plugged into the computer. Every time the ipod was plugged in, firefox stuttered and lagged as stated. I noticed when I had my ipod unplugged for a while to use another usb device, firefox was fixed, I thought it was the update that week that fixed it. Couple days later I plugged my Ipod back in, problem returned. But, ever since I started charging my ipod elsewhere, the problem has disappeared. So, anyone still having this problem, check to see if you have an ipod, iphone, or another usb storage device plugged in.

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If there is a problem with scrolling on web pages then try to disable smooth scrolling.

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > General: Browsing: "Use smooth scrolling"

Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.

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I am sorry, I forgot to mention that I tried both of those things. It didn't help in the slightest. I also tried scrolling with the bar and it didn't help.

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Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that works.

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Chosen Solution

I fixed this problem. The problem was my Ipod being plugged into the computer. Every time the ipod was plugged in, firefox stuttered and lagged as stated. I noticed when I had my ipod unplugged for a while to use another usb device, firefox was fixed, I thought it was the update that week that fixed it. Couple days later I plugged my Ipod back in, problem returned. But, ever since I started charging my ipod elsewhere, the problem has disappeared. So, anyone still having this problem, check to see if you have an ipod, iphone, or another usb storage device plugged in.