Firefox hangs on startup
I just got a new PC laptop - Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E430 with Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel Core i5. I removed the Symantec antivirus demo (that I had never started) and installed the free version of AVG, and installed Firefox. (I also have Chrome installed.) Instead of syncing Firefox I just replaced some of the new Profile files with files from my previous computer's Firefox Profile (history, bookmarks, auto-complete etc) as prescribed in a support file here. I've added the following extensions/add-ons: Adblock Plus, Vertical Tabs, Cool previews, Download Status Bar. I also have the Adobe Flash Player 11 plug-in.
Everything works fine *until* I shut down and restart the computer. Then, when trying to open my Firefox window, there's a long delay (5+ minutes) before the window finally opens with that "(Not responding)" indicator in the window title. After a while it looks like I can use the window... but it constantly freezes and shows the "(Not responding)" indicator. Then I get a "Warning: Unresponsive script" window (Script: chrome://browser/content/tabbrowser.xml:2170 that won't go away.
Trying to close the window pops up the "Not responding" box, with the detailed information copied below.
I'm writing this from the Chrome browser - which I'm seriously considering moving to after using only Firefox for years. I've never had a problem like this. Any help would be appreciated!
Description:
A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: AppHangB1 Application Name: firefox.exe Application Version: 22.0.0.4917 Application Timestamp: 51c06b1b Hang Signature: 11a5 Hang Type: 0 OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3 Locale ID: 1033 Additional Hang Signature 1: 11a510ebe95ebbfd6c41476027cc979a Additional Hang Signature 2: caec Additional Hang Signature 3: caece83d80e2d498f78828ca26cb3e7c Additional Hang Signature 4: 11a5 Additional Hang Signature 5: 11a510ebe95ebbfd6c41476027cc979a Additional Hang Signature 6: caec Additional Hang Signature 7: caece83d80e2d498f78828ca26cb3e7c
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All Replies (20)
Thanks amitshree but I think I have tried just about all of those. Firefox still hangs after I do the shift+click to "Reset firefox". It still hangs in safe mode, and moves almost as slowly in Windows safe mode. In the task manager, I can see the Firefox process uses 100,000k or less (right now it shows that hung window at around 55,000k), which to me is actually pretty low (the plug-in container processes use much less than that). I'm using the newest Flash plug-in I think.
The really weird thing: After clicking the Firefox icon (pinned) on the taskbar, the icon turns into a window (on the taskbar) for a few seconds... then the icon loses the window-box look again... and finally the icon changes and an actual window opens... that stays blank and has the "Not Responding" tag in the window title.
Modified by briankk87
just for testing purposes: can you try if the slowdowns are continuing if you disable the shockwave flash plugin in firefox > addons > plugins?
Hi philipp, it seems like I can't make any changes in Firefox. The "script not responding" pop-up box keeps popping up after the browser window finally opens and when I try to click anywhere else in the window, the window contents ghost out.
then you could try uninstalling the adobe flash plugin from the windows control panel (there might be two versions - the activeX version of flash is for IE only and won't affect firefox)...
Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.
Hi cor-el. I tried starting in Windows Safe mode with networking support. The Firefox window would take a few minutes to first open up. After that It would finally load links (I had just one tab open) and actually played a youtube video (without sound)... but only after freezing for 90+ seconds at each click. The task manager said it was not responding.
Really appreciate the quick comments so far!
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
See "Creating a profile":
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues
If the new profile works then you can transfer some files from an existing profile to the new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.
The thing is, I can't simply change a profile or anything like that because I have no access to Firefox settings because the Firefox window is unresponsive. I'm going to try and uninstall/reinstall Firefox for about the 20th time time (I've used both the standard uninstall and Revo Uninstaller), try a new profile with those extensions, and see what happens...
Would this be an issue of drivers that need updating? What would be the applicable drivers to check here?
Does it matter if this is downloaded to the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder? It had defaulted to the x86 folder, but then all Firefox icons/shortcuts had the blue and yellow shield on them, so the last time I reinstalled, I put it in the Program Files folder, and now I don't see that blue and yellow shield on the icons.
Modified by briankk87
So.... now it turns out that even a freshly installed version of Firefox - after restarting the computer - will hang when I try to open a browser window. Help please?
Make sure firefox is Closed.
- Hit Windows Icon Button + R, a new window should now show saying Run.
- Copy and Paste %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and open a folder named xxxxxxxx.defualt (x's are random values)
- Make a new text document (by rightclicking), name it user.js
- Now open user.js with the Notepad and copy and paste whats in bold user_pref("gfx.direct2d.disabled", true); into the file, save it as user.js
- Open Firefox and does it load good now? Please respond back!
Modified by kobe
Thanks Waka_Flocka_Flame but that did not help :(
I used EnumProcess - which seemed to be suggested elsewhere for a similar problem - and it says this. (I had removed Symantec from my computer I thought!)
-Windows Firewall is on -9 Service(s) from AVG (AVG) detected -1 processes from Symantec Corporation detected
Modified by briankk87
Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.
You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
- MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware
- TDSSKiller - AntiRootkit Utility
- Hitman Pro
- ESET Online Scanner
Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.
Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!
If you just reinstall Firefox it will try to use the existing Profile.
You stand a good chance of being able to create a new profile as the profile a manager runs early in the process so it is worth a try.
There are other ways of creating and using profiles if necessary including a standalone profile manager or just doing it all manually. Alternatively a simple quick and dirty method worth a try is to find and rename profiles.ini that will force Firefox to create a new default profile when you restart it.
brian,
As far as getting rid of Norton completely, see this article.
http://www.pchell.com/virus/uninstallnorton.shtml
I ran quick scans with Microsoft Safety Scanner and MalwareBytes... those like every scan that I've done has found absolutely zero issues.
Sorry, I am not just reinstalling Firefox. I'm uninstalling it completely (ticking the box to delete user settings or whatever) and then making sure the Program File folder is deleted.
Is it weird that there's still a Symantec process detected in EnumProcess even after I've completely uninstalled that?
Cool - I got rid of VIP Access (which is the program for something from Symantec) so thanks for that. Also checked that all Program File (and x86) folders for Symanetec/Norton/VIP Access are deleted.
No solution yet though to the hanging/unresponsive issue.
Modified by briankk87
I have tried every proposed remedy here and none work. It still hangs for minutes at a time, only occasionally loads stuff online (but only after hanging for a few minutes), just froze my entire computer for the first time, and it still sometimes shows that unresponsive script pop-up.
My computer definitely doesn't have any malware or anything like that given the many scans I've done in the last 12 hours.
What does that unresponsive script pop-up mean? (I am using Chrome at the moment)
Help please?
Modified by briankk87
What does that unresponsive script pop-up mean? (I am using Chrome at the moment)
Warning Unresponsive script - What it means and how to fix it
Sorry but no matter if I stop or continue the script, the Firefox window continues to hang, and that unresponsive script box only pops up after many minutes of the Firefox window hanging.
Why does the script mention Chrome? Could there be a conflict between the two browsers?