The "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem that existed in all versions of Firefox 3.6 persists in Firefox 4.0
Starting on April 14, 2011, I tried installing Firefox 4.0, which I downloaded from the Mozilla site. The first couple of times I tried to install it, it corrupted Firefox file places.sqlite. I know this because the install renamed the file to places.sqlite.corrupt. Luckily, I had recent backups. My previous installed versions were 3.5.18, which I had been using up to this time, and 3.6.16. I tried installing 4.0 with 3.6.16 installed, which I installed only for the sake of installing 4.0, and with no previous version installed and got the same bad results. I finally got a "successful" install on April 16, 2011, with no previous version installed.
Early on I discovered that Firefox 4.0 hangs (Firefox not responding) when left to idle for exactly 5 minutes (I timed it several times after immediately starting Firefox), pegging a constant 50% of the CPU when it hangs. I left it in a hanging state for up to half an hour, but nothing changed. This problem existed for all versions of Firefox 3.6, which is why I didn't install version 3.6.16 until I was ready to install version 4.0. I never kept any version of Firefox 3.6 installed for more than a couple of hours because of this problem. I need to be able to let Firefox stay idle for long periods of time -- certainly for more than 4 minutes and 59 seconds -- without having it hang, and I was able to do that with all versions of Firefox prior to version 3.6. It's incomprehensible that Firefox 4.0 has to always hang if it's inactive for more than 4 minutes and 59 seconds, and it's incomprehensible that this problem has been present and persistent since version 3.6 was introduced. To believe that 4 minutes and 59 seconds is sufficient idle time for a browser is absurd. This was never an issue with any version of Firefox prior to version 3.6, this was never an issue with Netscape, and it's not an issue with IE 8.
There are 2 other problems related to the hanging problem. If the browser and the bookmarks library are both open and the browser is closed normally, the bookmarks library remains open. After being left idle for exactly 5 minutes, the bookmarks library hangs, pegging a constant 50% of the CPU. If Firefox 4.0 is restarted before the 5 minute idle limit, it starts successfully. If an attempt is made to restart it after the 5 minute idle limit, it won't start. If the bookmarks library is left open for less than 5 minutes after the browser is closed, it can be closed successfully. In all versions of Firefox prior to version 3.6, the bookmarks library automatically closed when the browser was closed. The other related problem is that Firefox 4.0 occasionally pegs a constant 50% of the CPU without hanging even while it is being used and even if the only thing open is the home page, which in my case is google.com. Firefox can be used while this is happening, but it is worrisome and shouldn't be happening. Normally, Firefox 4.0 uses no CPU when it is left to idle within the 5 minute idle limit.
Firefox 4.0 has not crashed on its own yet, so I've had no crash reports to send to Mozilla, but because I've had to use the "End Now" button on the Microsoft unresponsive program window numerous times to terminate it when it hangs, numerous Microsoft Windows dump reports have been generated, all of which I've sent to Microsoft.
The last fully working version of Firefox I had was 3.5.18. Unfortunately, I don't have the installer for that version and Mozilla doesn't make it available anymore. Also, it looks like version 4.0 altered the places.sqlite file such that I might not be able to go back to version 3.5.18 even if I could. If I could reinstall version 3.5.18 and get it to work with the altered places.sqlite file, I would, but it is outdated and no longer supported by Mozilla, and I only want to use up-to-date and supported software.
The hanging problem is totally intolerable and unacceptable. If I can't get a version of Firefox 4.0 anytime soon that doesn't hang after being idle for just 5 minutes (why 5 minutes???) or for any limited amount of time, I'll have to install and use Google Chrome as a permanent replacement for Firefox. (If I do have to replace Firefox with Google Chrome, how can I get my Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail links to open in Google Chrome when I click on them?) Based on other user feedback regarding this problem dating back to the very first Firefox 3.6 version, Mozilla has had ample time to resolve it. I have found other problems with Firefox 4.0, but I'm not going to bother telling Mozilla about them because if the hanging problem isn't resolved soon, I'll have to stop using Firefox permanently. I can't and won't tolerate the hanging problem. I have been using Firefox exclusively for many years, but my disappointment with it has been growing since version 3.6 was introduced and my patience has run out.
I would appreciate Mozilla letting me know within a week of this posting if they can't or won't fix the Firefox 4.0 hanging problem. If I don't receive a substantive response to this problem within a week, I'm going to have to abandon Firefox permanently and switch to Google Chrome. I'm also going to leave a negative review of Firefox 4.0 on CNET to warn other potential users of the hanging problem.
I am running Windows XP Media Center Edition 32-bit SP3 on a Dell XPS 400 desktop computer. I have an Intel Pentium D CPU 2.80GHz, 3.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 RAM @ 265MHz, RADEON X300 SE 128MB HyperMemory, and 190GB of free space on my hard drive. I am using COMODO as my firewall and Avira AntiVir as my anti-virus software. I am also using WinPatrol and Secunia PSI. My ISP is AT&T. My download speed averages 2.5 Mbps, and my upload speed averages 0.65 Mbps. All of my software is up to date, thanks to Secunia PSI and CNET TechTracker, and my computer is free from infection.
An gyara daga makemyday
All Replies (9)
Another aspect of the Firefox 4.0 "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem has emerged. I have found that on the common occurrence when Firefox 4.0 occasionally pegs a constant 50% of the CPU while idling within the 5 minute idle limit and I close it normally, it disappears from the Task Bar but continues to run and continues to peg a constant 50% of the CPU. I tried restarting Firefox 4.0 and got the following message: "Firefox is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system." Before Firefox can be restarted, the existing Firefox process must be killed via the Task Manager or Process Explorer (I use the latter), after which a Microsoft Windows dump report is immediately generated. I always allow the dump to be sent to Microsoft.
The three big questions that have gone unanswered by Mozilla are 1) why did the hanging problem start with the very first release of Firefox 3.6, 2) why was the problem allowed to continue on up to and through Firefox 4.0, and 3) why hasn't Mozilla fixed the problem yet? And what is the significance of the 5 minute idle limit? Do Firefox 3.6 through 4.0 try to launch something when the browser and/or the bookmarks library have been idle for exactly 5 minutes? Maybe it's a problem with the number and/or type of plugins and extensions and/or the number of bookmarks. Maybe Firefox 3.6 through 4.0 work just fine if there are few to no plugins, extensions, and bookmarks, but that doesn't realistically accommodate users. Whatever the cause of the problem, Mozilla should have had a handle on it by now.
If anyone from Mozilla Support is reading this post, please let me know if it is possible to roll back Firefox 4.0 to Firefox 3.5.18. If it is possible, how do I do it, and where can I get the installer for Firefox 3.5.18? If I can reinstall it, I'll use it until Secunia Software Inspector informs me that it is insecure and no longer safe to use. At that point (maybe much sooner), I'll switch to Google Chrome exclusively because I don't want to use outdated software that is insecure and because I don't believe that Mozilla intends to fix the hanging problem and is willing to lose users over it. I certainly don't want to use software like Firefox 4.0 that has such an impactful problem. If I do have to abandon Firefox, how can I click on Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail links and get them to open in Google Chrome?
An gyara daga makemyday
The "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem has been driving me crazy and I couldn't tolerate it any longer, so I went ahead and installed Google Chrome on April 23. Before I even attempted to use it, there was a big problem: it wouldn't import any of my Firefox bookmarks and settings, even though it's designed to do so. I tried over and over again, but with no luck. It just didn't do anything. I don't know if this is a Google Chrome issue or a Firefox issue. Now I'm in a real quandary. I have three browsers I can't use: IE 8, which has its own unique set of problems; Firefox 4.0, with its intolerable "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem, among many others; and Google Chrome, which is unable to import any of my thousands of Firefox bookmarks that I need if I'm going to go forward with Google Chrome and abandon Firefox permanently. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Hello musicfan.
I use FF4 under Windows 7 and Ubuntu, and on both platforms I get the "places.sqlite.corrupt" problem. I discovered that "places.sqlite.corrupt" is not, in fact "corrupt" at all (whatever that might mean).
It happens about every third time I fire up FF. I will go to my bookmarks, which are all there (having been restored from the json backup), but, of course, history and favicons are lost.
I just quit FF, delete places.sqlite, rename places.sqlite.corrupt to places.sqlite, fire up FF again, and all is well. So the problem is NOT the corrupting of the file - it's FF thinking that it's corrupt for some reason. It works fine on the next try.
It won't happen for a couple of restarts, and then it comes up again. A big pain in the rear to do this little renaming dance, but at least I have kept all of my history and all the favicons.
I hope this helps a bit, and also serves as a clue to the mozilla folks...
This post has morphed into the following post:
I just discovered that because of the "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem with Firefox 4.0, I can't watch any videos, streaming or otherwise, that run for 5 minutes or more!!! When the video hits the 5 minute mark, Firefox 4.0 hangs, having been left idle for exactly 5 minutes, even though the video was running! As soon as Firefox 4.0 hangs, it starts pegging a constant 50% of the CPU, and the video picture freezes along with the entire session, but the audio continues to work. Apparently, the 5 minute idle limit still holds even when a video is playing or streaming.
Firefox 4.whatever is much much worse than v.3.6.6 was. I have uninstalled v. 4 and reinstalled v. 3 until such time as the W3C adopts the HTML5 standard and Mozilla gets v. 4 to load a simple html page in less than 60 seconds. I just don't have the time to screw around with their problem child at this point.
I am running this on a P4/XP-SP3 machine with 2GB of RAM and an Nvidia GForce video card.
An gyara daga kikashi
I found that Firefox 3.6.x was much worse than Firefox 4.0 but that both are much worse than Firefox 3.5.x. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with Firefox 4.0 for now because rolling back to Firefox 3.5.x, which I would like to be able to do, is not feasible if I want to retain my thousands of bookmarks because Firefox 3.5.x uses an older version of SQLite that isn't compatible with the version used in Firefox 4.0.
In the meantime, I'm finding more problems with Firefox 4.0, but all the problems I've found with it pale in comparison to the "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem. It's bad enough that Web pages often don't render properly in Firefox 4.0 -- I know this because of the way they used to render in Firefox 3.5.18 and the way they currently render in IE -- and that it crashes sporadically, especially when I close it. Even if Web pages render properly the first time around, they render slowly -- just as slow, if not slower, than Firefox 3.5.18 -- and they regularly don't render properly when I do a session restore. Some Web pages are unable to render properly at all in Firefox 4.0. Compare how scrolling looks for Google Images pages in Firefox 4.0 versus IE. Scrolling Google Images pages in Firefox 4.0 doesn't work cleanly like it does in IE. And why is it that when I change my Google preferences, the Google Preferences page ALWAYS works differently -- definitely not better -- in Firefox 4.0 than it does in IE and the way it did in Firefox 3.5.18? I'm also getting a lot of scripting errors in Firefox 4.0. All in all, Firefox 4.0 is a mess. Maybe that's why Mozilla is coming out with Firefox 5 so quickly, but I doubt that the "hanging/freezing/not responding" problem and the Web page rendering problems, as well as other problems I've found, will be fixed with the new release.
I had the same problem here, tried every solution I found on the net, tried older and newer beta versions of Firefox, but nothing helped. Firefox froze up so often that it was pretty much rendered useless. I also tried out Chrome, Opera and IE, but it's just not Firefox... I missed the bookmark sidebar and my addons. Yesterday I installed Pale Moon Imported my Firefox profile with all my bookmarks, addons and setting, and it runs even better then the original Firefox releases! No more hang-ups for me!
Apparently, the problem appears occasionally when there are too much items in the browsing history.
So, clear your browsing & download history, and the problem should disappear. It worked for me :)
An gyara daga davcs