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Firefox locks up my computer

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Mike_levin

Mike_levin
Mike_levin
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I'm using Apple OS 10.13 with Firefox 68.0.2. At least once or twice a week, when browsing (different, not always the same) sites in Firefox, my computer gets locked up: either, 1) the cursor moves along with the mouse but can't click anything, and the machine can be SSH'd into but %sudo kill -KILL doesn't stop any of the processes (I tried to kill mozilla process and then the loginwindow, as an effort to find a way out of the lock state that's gentler that a hardware reset), or 2) the cursor doesn't move and SSH server doesn't respond. Either way, I have to physically turn the machine off and on to continue. I don't understand how a user-level process can lock up the whole thing, but it didn't used to happen - it started a few weeks ago. What can I do?

I'm using Apple OS 10.13 with Firefox 68.0.2. At least once or twice a week, when browsing (different, not always the same) sites in Firefox, my computer gets locked up: either, 1) the cursor moves along with the mouse but can't click anything, and the machine can be SSH'd into but %sudo kill -KILL doesn't stop any of the processes (I tried to kill mozilla process and then the loginwindow, as an effort to find a way out of the lock state that's gentler that a hardware reset), or 2) the cursor doesn't move and SSH server doesn't respond. Either way, I have to physically turn the machine off and on to continue. I don't understand how a user-level process can lock up the whole thing, but it didn't used to happen - it started a few weeks ago. What can I do?

All Replies (2)

FredMcD
FredMcD
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See if this helps; Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.

Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode This shows how to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia

Mike_levin
Mike_levin Question owner
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Update. Tried an experiment. No Mozilla use, just Safari. Last night, same thing - lock-up! So I know it's not Mozilla-specific. Reddit page, locked up the machine in Safari. So what could this be, javascript, Flash, something like that? I can SSH into the machine when it's locked up; how to debug??