Sounds like you are getting an exit crash. This can be a bit difficult to diagnose, but I'm confident we can get you up and running quickly :)

First, update to Firefox 13. It has lots of speed and performance updates, plus some memory improvements that might help this crash.

If that doesn't work, it seems like you have A LOT of extensions. I wonder if you are actually using them all? If you aren't, you can disable or remove some/all of them. Disable or remove Add-ons can help you with that.

If you are still getting the crash, I'd be interested in seeing the crash ID. Please type about:crashes into your address bar, press Enter, and copy and paste your most recent 2-3 crash ID's (they start with bp-) into this forum.

A few other things you can try in the meantime are: Run all Windows Updates, install all needed service packs, etc.

Update your graphics driver (Firefox uses your graphics card for some rendering, and an out of date graphics card driver can cause problems. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-upgrade-my-graphics-drivers.

Update all your plugins (Flash, Java, etc.): http://www.mozilla.org/plugincheck/.

Download and Install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, run a full Scan. http://www.malwarebytes.org/. This helps check that there are no viruses on your computer causing issues. You can uninstall this program after you clean off any infections.

Of course, like any user, I say: "But I didn't change anything!" (g)

I'll see about that upgrade (I'm surprised; I thought that FF automagically did upgrades for me).

Thank you.

when you enter about:crashes into the location bar, are there crash reports listed - if so, could you post the latest few of them?

There are certainly crashes listed - hundreds of them - but surely these are not all MY computer?

Assuming that yes, in fact, they are, I opened one. What should I post from that mass of data? Is there a way to attach the entire report to this forum?

thank you.

ok, in this case please just copy the ids of the last 5 of them - maybe we already see a pattern out of those...

Just the Crash id (which in the page you opened is the bp-random number). We can pull the crash data from there.

Yes all those crashes on are on your computer, but unless you've cleared your crash log in the past, they are all crashes ever since you first installed firefox.

Amazing. Thank you!

bp-fcaf7253-2805-4584-a2f2-eb3b821206106/10/20127:15 PM
bp-2fa90f85-417c-41c7-aad9-0852721206106/10/20127:14 PM
bp-514d594e-566b-465e-ad62-bf7a721206106/10/20126:04 PM
bp-9989708f-58fd-468a-9136-84b0221206106/10/20124:52 PM
bp-8155cc4a-2819-41f4-93f1-6df9521206106/10/20124:50 PM

Done. thank you!

bp-fcaf7253-2805-4584-a2f2-eb3b821206106/10/20127:15 PM bp-2fa90f85-417c-41c7-aad9-0852721206106/10/20127:14 PM bp-514d594e-566b-465e-ad62-bf7a721206106/10/20126:04 PM bp-9989708f-58fd-468a-9136-84b0221206106/10/20124:52 PM bp-8155cc4a-2819-41f4-93f1-6df9521206106/10/20124:50 PM

(shown in the next response,also)

could you try to reset firefox (this will restore firefox like it's freshly installed but will keep your bookmarks & passwords) and see if this crashes on shutdown disappear?

Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings

I'd love to, but:

Note: This article doesn't apply to your version of Firefox. It requires the latest Firefox release version which can be downloaded from mozilla.org/firefox.

I'm on R12; notes for R13 imply that it doesn't work on 64 bit Win7. Still do it?

Firefox 13 works perfectly fine for windows 7 (not sure where you see that it doesn't). Upgrade to Firefox 13, and then reset.

A lot of the linked crash reports mention a plugin, so maybe check for issues caused by plugins.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+plugins

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.

See "Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile":

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Basic+Troubleshooting#w_8-make-a-new-profile

There may be extensions and plugins installed by default in a new profile, so check that in "Tools > Add-ons > Extensions & Plugins" in case there are still problems.

If the new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.

See:

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

Good point. If I can forecast that, say, every two hours or less I'm "guaranteed" a crash, then switching ids and slowly moving plug-ins over, over a course of a few days, might pinpoint a problem child.

That quote that I listed came from the FF13 page. (Of course, there may be more than one -- I just did a search for "Firefox 13" and selected one that said it came from Mozilla.

But I will do the upgrade. thanks for the information.

I upgraded the FF13, which slowed but didn't stop the problem. However, I started getting warnings about Flash failing. I disabled two Flash plugins, and also Silverlight. I've been running for about an hour without a problem. I'll update again in a bit.

Update: I've been running for about three hours now without a crash. I have DivX Plus Web Player 2.2.0.52, DivX VOD Helper Plug-in 1.1.06, and Shocwave for Director 11.5.609 disabled, and I'm running Firefox 13.

It's almost certainly Flash that's doing it. I'll be on a page with Flash, it fails, and FF shuts down. But its not happening too often now.

One interesting side note: if I clear the list of crashes, and then immediately go back and look -- many of them are still there!

See also:

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/keep-flash-up-to-date-and-troubleshoot-problems
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/flash-crashes-or-does-not-load-firefox-13

• http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1018071?tstart=0