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browser keeps crashing

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hello, all, this is the first time i've ever had an issue with firefox. i updated to 77.0.1 yesterday, and this afternoon i woke my computer from sleep to discover a warning about possible ransomware. it told me there were 6 cache files possibly compromised, and i chose to restore them from previous copies when asked. then i got the spinning pinwheel, and had to force close firefox. when i tried to open it, it kept saying 'The application “Firefox” can’t be opened.' deleted app, downloaded, reinstalled, same thing. ran profile manager from terminal window, created new profile, it opened and seemed ok. closed it, would not reopen, same error. deleted app, reinstalled, no good. ran profile manager from terminal window, selected newly created profile, opened it ok. closed it again, wouldn't reopen.

i'm on a 2016 macbook pro, osx mojave 10.14.6, set to auto-update apple security patches; also using bitdefender and malwarebytes, auto-updating and running in background at all times. did a manual system scan; no malware.

i am wondering if anyone else is having this problem. i've been using firefox for many years, glitch free. now i get the new update, and it's being weird. one of the first recommendations for crashing issues is to reinstall the OS. i'm not going to do that, that seems seldom to solve the problem, and i have a complex installation. far less hassle to switch to a different browser. if anyone has any ideas that do not involve scrubbing my laptop, please let me know.

hello, all, this is the first time i've ever had an issue with firefox. i updated to 77.0.1 yesterday, and this afternoon i woke my computer from sleep to discover a warning about possible ransomware. it told me there were 6 cache files possibly compromised, and i chose to restore them from previous copies when asked. then i got the spinning pinwheel, and had to force close firefox. when i tried to open it, it kept saying 'The application “Firefox” can’t be opened.' deleted app, downloaded, reinstalled, same thing. ran profile manager from terminal window, created new profile, it opened and seemed ok. closed it, would not reopen, same error. deleted app, reinstalled, no good. ran profile manager from terminal window, selected newly created profile, opened it ok. closed it again, wouldn't reopen. i'm on a 2016 macbook pro, osx mojave 10.14.6, set to auto-update apple security patches; also using bitdefender and malwarebytes, auto-updating and running in background at all times. did a manual system scan; no malware. i am wondering if anyone else is having this problem. i've been using firefox for many years, glitch free. now i get the new update, and it's being weird. one of the first recommendations for crashing issues is to reinstall the OS. i'm not going to do that, that seems seldom to solve the problem, and i have a complex installation. far less hassle to switch to a different browser. if anyone has any ideas that do not involve scrubbing my laptop, please let me know.

All Replies (7)

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hello titanium.rainbow,

please visit the link easily resolve your problem :

[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-keeps-crashing-startup#:~:te...]

I hope resolve your problem then reply me.

thank you

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hi Arman, i already did that before posting.

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Hi titanium.rainbow,

In windows, i was having same issue and fixed by following steps. I don't have any idea about mac but i hope it will surely help you.

  • First, I have opened Run Utility.
  • Then I typed firefox.exe -purgecaches.
  • then, hit enter.

Thank You.

Modified by Shashank Shekhar

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1)
You may have ad/mal-ware. Further information can be found in this article; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware?cache=no

Run most or all of the listed malware scanners. Each works differently. If one program misses something, another may pick it up.

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2)
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

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Hi all, i'm running a mac, thank you.

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Uninstall software known to cause crashes Some programs are known to cause crashes in Firefox and other browsers. Check your computer and remove any malware or software that might be causing problems: Check the release notes to see if there are any known issues for your version of Firefox.