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When I scroll using the Firefox browser at some point all I get is lines. Typing this I have lines. The words show up when I am done. Help!!

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  • Last reply by philipp

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When I use the Firefox browser and I am scrolling sometimes the graphics turn into lines. You cannot see the picture at all. When I scroll down further past the lines the images return. Typing the question also gave me lines. I could not see what I was typing. It seems this started when I downloaded the new Firefox. It does not happen when I use Chrome. I like Firefox better so I am hoping to fix the problem with someone's help.

When I use the Firefox browser and I am scrolling sometimes the graphics turn into lines. You cannot see the picture at all. When I scroll down further past the lines the images return. Typing the question also gave me lines. I could not see what I was typing. It seems this started when I downloaded the new Firefox. It does not happen when I use Chrome. I like Firefox better so I am hoping to fix the problem with someone's help.

Chosen solution

It sounds as though Firefox may have become incompatible with your graphics card/chipset driver software, or the other way around.

Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?


Since hardware acceleration improves the appearance of fonts and animations, you may want to check whether graphics card/chipset driver updates are available for your system. This article suggests safe ways to do that: Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL.

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All Replies (4)

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Chosen Solution

It sounds as though Firefox may have become incompatible with your graphics card/chipset driver software, or the other way around.

Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?


Since hardware acceleration improves the appearance of fonts and animations, you may want to check whether graphics card/chipset driver updates are available for your system. This article suggests safe ways to do that: Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL.

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Hello Jefferson,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. So far things are going well. I just found the time and took your suggestions on how to fix the problem. It worked!!!!!! I hope it stays this way.

Is there any way to fix how slow Firefox is? I have been thinking about buying a new computer anyway. I am running Vista and it is becoming clear to me Vista is so old hat there is not, if any, help out there to update browsers, graphic cards, or much of anything else.

Your help was wonderful. Thank you so much. I am a "neighbor". I live in the Central Valley.

Have a good rest of your Sunday, and thanks again!!!

Yvonne

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Howdy, neighbor. There is an article on slowness in Firefox that you could peruse: Quick fixes if your Firefox slows down. It pinpoints various specific issues. What I would add to that is: where does the delay seem to be coming from? For example, on my oldest system, disk access was dreadfully slow, with the hard drive light on constantly. But for others, the disk light may be off and it's just slow watching the page download or lay out. Each of these could lead to different suggestions.

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hi, could you go to the firefox menu ≡ > help ? > troubleshooting information, copy the contents of that page and paste them here into a reply on the forum? this could help us resolve the issue for other affected users. thank you