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version 3.6.8 crashes all the time

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Firefox hangs, the download basket hangs and this is the worst I've seen it

This happened

Every time Firefox opened

== I upgraded to verion 3.6.8

Firefox hangs, the download basket hangs and this is the worst I've seen it == This happened == Every time Firefox opened == I upgraded to verion 3.6.8

Chosen solution

Add-ons are the collective whole of extensions, themes and plugins. It's impossible to uninstall all add-ons from inside Firefox because plugins cannot be uninstalled from inside Firefox. Again, your probably mean extensions. Uninstalling extensions, and, in fact, uninstalling add-ons as a whole is not necessary, since you can easily simulate an environment without add-ons by either disabling them manually (extensions, themes and plugins) from inside Firefox (Tools > Add-ons) or through safe mode. Remember to use safe mode, or be sure to disable all plugins and themes, to check if the problem is with an add-on.

If you want to use an older version of Firefox, 3.5.11 is the one to use, yes. It's supported and fully up to date, so if you don't have any problems with it, it's a good solution, while you don't get around to check your installed add-ons for something that may be causing this problem. But please don't update to future versions of Firefox 3.6 in hopes that it magically fixes this issue. This is not a known issue with Firefox, is very likely created by an add-on (either an extension, a theme or a plugin), so please get around to check those previous to updating. You can also check which bugs are fixed in each release by checking the release notes of the release you want to check, to see if the bug you were experience was fixed (it won't be fixed if it's a problem with an add-on, since it won't be a problem with Firefox). Thank you for your understanding.

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All Replies (20)

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Hello Caldwell.

Hopefully this support article is what you need:

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+crashes

That said, it's possible that you are having a problem with some Firefox add-on that is hindering your Firefox's normal behavior. Have you tried disabling all add-ons (just to check), to see if Firefox goes back to normal?

Whenever you have a problem with Firefox, whatever it is, you should make sure it's not caused by one (or more than one) of your installed add-ons, be it an extension, a theme or a plugin. To do that easily and cleanly, run Firefox in safe mode (don't forget to select Disable all add-ons when you start safe mode). If the problem disappears, you know it's from an add-on. Disable them all in normal mode, and enable them one at a time until you find the source of the problem. See this article for information about troubleshooting extensions and themes and this one for plugins.

If you need support for one of your add-ons, you'll have to contact its author.

If the problem is not disappears when all add-ons are disabled, please tell me, so we can work from there. Please have no fear of following my instructions to the line, as all can be easily undone.

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Same issues for the last two days. I have had to use Opera.

The problem is with Yahoo, I suspect as both Safari and Firefox crash immediately upon entering my yahoo mailbox.

Opera worked as it cannot use Yahoo's "new" (three years old now) and must use its classic and simple "classic" mail.

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Hey people,

I was having similar problems, but for me it was because of the new Adobe Flash Player conflicting with the new Firefox.

I tried this http://forums.adobe.com/thread/668598

And it worked for me!

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If that doesn't work, try this variation:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3000185#3000185

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I have the same problem. I have never had a problem with Firefox before, and use it as my main browser. However recently, after updating to 3.6.8, its been crashing all the time. Up to 20 times an hour. Usually it occurs when I click a link from a Google search, or in Yahoo. Even if I send in a crash report and restart Firefox, it crashes as soon as the same page is brought back up, or the same link is clicked. I have also had it crash when completely idle. Its very frustrating as it is my favorite browser. I've resorted to using Google Chrome for the time being.

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I've been having the same problem as well, It started from 2 revisions ago with FireFox 3.6.6 and it's now VERY bad in 3.6.8.

I've reverted back to 3.6.4 and it been fine for the past couple of days, no crashes no random slow downs no bugs. It seems something they have done in the code is not working with the browser in some way because I tried disabling even a fresh install of 3.6.8 on a different partition and it still crashes randomly.

So weird... Oh well here's the website for the older versions of FF

Website removed by moderator: Please do not link outside official Mozilla Sites -MJB
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Versions bellow 3.6.8 and 3.5.11 have been discontinued and are no longer supported. On top of this, they have known unpatched bugs and security problems. I urge you to update to the latest version of Firefox, for maximum security, stability, performance and usability. You can get it for free, as always, at getfirefox.com.

Also, always link to official download links.

If you don't want to use 3.6.8, use 3.5.11 instead, as both contain the latest security fixes available.

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yep, I've had the same problem, 3.6.8 crashes all the time - something I've never had with firefox before... Unless a fix comes out in the next few days I'll have to go back a version...

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If you want to use an older version of Firefox, please use 3.5.11, as it contains all the latest security fixes. Only 3.5.11 and 3.6.8 are supported at the moment.

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Likewise. FF 3.6.8 on OSX 10.6. Uninstalled all plugins to no effect, then tried a completely clean reinstall, but still happens. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to this; just hangs on random pages, with or without Flash, sometimes several times an hour.

As a web dev I depend on Firefox for several add-ons but I'm being forced over to Safari because of this... :(

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Graham.

"Uninstalled all plugins to no effect" That sentence makes me thing you're confused. There is no way to uninstall plugins from inside Firefox, so you'd have gone to great lengths to uninstall all plugins. What you probably did was uninstall all extensions, which is not good: you're better off just disabling them. In any case, it's possible that you are having a problem with some Firefox add-on that is hindering your Firefox's normal behavior. Have you tried disabling all add-ons (just to check), to see if Firefox goes back to normal?

Whenever you have a problem with Firefox, whatever it is, you should make sure it's not caused by one (or more than one) of your installed add-ons, be it an extension, a theme or a plugin. To do that easily and cleanly, run Firefox in safe mode (don't forget to select Disable all add-ons when you start safe mode). If the problem disappears, you know it's from an add-on. Disable them all in normal mode, and enable them one at a time until you find the source of the problem. See this article for information about troubleshooting extensions and themes and this one for plugins.

If you need support for one of your add-ons, you'll have to contact its author.

If the problem is not disappears when all add-ons are disabled, please tell me, so we can work from there. Please have no fear of following my instructions to the line, as all can be easily undone.

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Hi Morbus,

Sorry about the confusion, I did indeed mean add-ons. Initially I disabled all add-ons, but that didn't have any effect, then I tried uninstalling add-ons, then a clean Firefox install, but no luck there either. I've since downgraded to 3.5.11 and everything's running smoothly again.

3.6.8 was running fine for a while, then all of a sudden started exhibiting this behaviour. I hadn't added any extensions and I don't think any installed add-ons had been updated. Very, very odd. I'll use 3.5 for now and upgrade when the next 3.6 is released, see if that rectifies things. Cheers.

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Chosen Solution

Add-ons are the collective whole of extensions, themes and plugins. It's impossible to uninstall all add-ons from inside Firefox because plugins cannot be uninstalled from inside Firefox. Again, your probably mean extensions. Uninstalling extensions, and, in fact, uninstalling add-ons as a whole is not necessary, since you can easily simulate an environment without add-ons by either disabling them manually (extensions, themes and plugins) from inside Firefox (Tools > Add-ons) or through safe mode. Remember to use safe mode, or be sure to disable all plugins and themes, to check if the problem is with an add-on.

If you want to use an older version of Firefox, 3.5.11 is the one to use, yes. It's supported and fully up to date, so if you don't have any problems with it, it's a good solution, while you don't get around to check your installed add-ons for something that may be causing this problem. But please don't update to future versions of Firefox 3.6 in hopes that it magically fixes this issue. This is not a known issue with Firefox, is very likely created by an add-on (either an extension, a theme or a plugin), so please get around to check those previous to updating. You can also check which bugs are fixed in each release by checking the release notes of the release you want to check, to see if the bug you were experience was fixed (it won't be fixed if it's a problem with an add-on, since it won't be a problem with Firefox). Thank you for your understanding.

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Even with the newest version of Firefox, this programming isn't working properly. Not only does it slow down EVERYTHING on my computer, but when the Adobe Flash Player script runs slowly, I can no longer click on the pop-up box to tell the script to continue. The only way I can click on the pop-up box is if I close Firefox down completely! Then I can click on the pop-up box--but then what good does that do me? ALL MY FIRFOX WINDOWS ARE CLOSED except the pop-up! LOL! The Adobe Flash Player runs properly in conjunction with Internet Explorer; so it is NOT an Adobe problem--it is a Mozilla Firefox problem. This needs to be fixed. If all further versions of Firefox are based on this terrible new programming, then I will be forced to always use a different web browser. The programs I use no longer function properly on Firefox (they used to work!)

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On a machine using Windows XP, i upgraded to 3.6.8. When I clicked a link in a website, it hangs, and I cannot exit. Have to either terminate using cntrl-alt-del or shut down the machine. Reverted to 3.5.11, and everything works fine. I have another machine with Windows 7, no such problem.

Modified by KenJ

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How do I get version 3.5? The latest version is crashing constantly on me too, even in safe mode with everything disabled. And it's been doing this for at least a month. It is going to be fixed?

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Same problem as I reported here: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/747009 - with crash IDs. No answer there yet after several days. :-|

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Copied from https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/747009

OK, I'll do your homework for you. All crashes occur here: caps/src/nsScriptSecurityManager.cpp:2271

Just above that line, a pointer is created and initialized with another one (in the for loop). The new pointer is then dereferenced. But the new pointer is never tested to see if it is NULL. If it is NULL, then the program will crash. So clearly, sometimes it is NULL. This is an elementary programming faux pas; you always check to ensure that pointers are non-NULL before using them.

Now, perhaps you can stop pointing fingers at add-ons and finally fix FF.

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