Constant Firefox Trouble Reports When Browser Isn't Even Running
I have searched the "Knowledge Base" to no avail--no solutions, just others with the same problem. Every day a handful of fresh Trouble Reports pop up on my desktop, even though Firefox is not even running (as verified through the Windows Task Manager). It got so bad, I uninstalled/reinstalled and the problem persists. Otherwise, the browser works fine. My expertise lies outside trying to decipher arcane strings of data buried deep in the bowels of my computer, and frankly I should not have to start hiking up a steep learning curve just to get this to stop. I should add, I have been a fiercely loyal Firefox user since its inception.
I'm not super happy about sharing internal data with the rest of the universe, but have done so anyway in hopes we can get the madness to stop!
Isisombulu esikhethiweyo
That report shows this signature:
shutdownhang | TlsGetValue
A shutdownhang is recorded when Firefox does not complete shutdown within a prescribed time, which I think is 60 seconds. But normally you wouldn't see multiple shutdownhang crashes because you would submit or dismiss the reporter before re-opening Firefox.
On the "Crash Annotations" tab of your crash report, it says:
BackgroundTaskName: backgroundupdate
That is an important clue. This could be a problem with Firefox starting up to check for updates (Windows Scheduled Task).
Could you turn off background updating on the Settings page and see whether that helps with this problem:
Open the Settings page using either:
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Settings (previously "Options")
- type or paste about:preferences into the address bar and press Enter to load it
In the very tiny search box at the top of the page, type update and Firefox should filter to the relevant section.
Uncheck the box for "When Firefox is not running".
Optionally, you can switch to "Check for updates but let you choose to install them" if you prefer being alerted so you can "snooze" the update for half a day.
Any difference?
Funda le mpendulo kwimeko leyo 👍 1All Replies (7)
Have you been running Firefox earlier on the day when this happens ?
Use one of these to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox Title bar, especially if you have multiple windows open to prevent losing tabs in unnoticed windows.
- "3-bar" menu button -> Exit (Power button)
- Windows: File -> Exit
- Mac: Firefox -> Quit Firefox
- Linux: File -> Quit
Sorry for the delay in replying. OS is Windows 10, no instances of Firefox running, no multiple tabs, no open windows, etc. Will try Menu -> Exit rather than using the X to close and will see what happens. It may be hard to break the habit, and it seems a bit cumbersome to have to handle things this way. This morning there were only three Trouble Reports; the other day there were 12!
If you go to the about:crashes page and click through to look at some of the submitted reports -- which are numbered in a way that we have no idea which ones they are -- is there a pattern to the crash signatures? If you want to share links to the reports, you can paste the URLs of a few recent reports back here in this thread.
We are in terra incognita for me! I have just been closing the Crash Reports (rather than sending them), but I did find one I must have sent earlier this month: https://crash-stats.mozilla.org/report/index/3be18e15-9e4d-48f5-af78-5e2ee0230112 If there is no ready solution for the Parade o' Trouble Tickets, I think I will try a complete uninstall/reinstall (again), and barring that, will *gasp!* move on to another browser that doesn't paper my desktop with reports while it isn't even running!
Thanks!
Isisombululo esiKhethiweyo
That report shows this signature:
shutdownhang | TlsGetValue
A shutdownhang is recorded when Firefox does not complete shutdown within a prescribed time, which I think is 60 seconds. But normally you wouldn't see multiple shutdownhang crashes because you would submit or dismiss the reporter before re-opening Firefox.
On the "Crash Annotations" tab of your crash report, it says:
BackgroundTaskName: backgroundupdate
That is an important clue. This could be a problem with Firefox starting up to check for updates (Windows Scheduled Task).
Could you turn off background updating on the Settings page and see whether that helps with this problem:
Open the Settings page using either:
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Settings (previously "Options")
- type or paste about:preferences into the address bar and press Enter to load it
In the very tiny search box at the top of the page, type update and Firefox should filter to the relevant section.
Uncheck the box for "When Firefox is not running".
Optionally, you can switch to "Check for updates but let you choose to install them" if you prefer being alerted so you can "snooze" the update for half a day.
Any difference?
Sorry for the long delay replying. I unchecked the box for "When Firefox is not running" per instructions and will see what happens. I don't know if this is related or not, but when I click on an email link in Thunderbird, the system struggles to launch Firefox, and if the browser opens at all, the page isn't properly displayed. For things to work, I have to copy the link, then open Firefox and paste the link. Again, this may have nothing to do with the Parade o' Crash Reports, but....
Well...it looks like jscher2000 hit the proverbial nail on the also proverbial head! I unchecked the "When Firefox is not running" box and haven't had a wackadoodle Crash Report in several days!
Bravo!
Thanks!