Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

• You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
• Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.

Thank you.

I have this issue as well.. and have confirmed that its not from inside FF, but XP becomes UNSTABLE and most apps will LOCK XP UP HARD with FF merely being installed!

Firefox was installed with NO plugins

basic/default settings were used, except "keep no history" and "tell sites not to track" were checked.. was also tried with these unchecked as well (full default settings) with no change or effect..

also note that firefox does NOT even need to be opened/started.. just having it INSTALLED causes this issue! The XP sessions are 'brand-new' FRESH installs on both machines.. and the effect was the same; there are no error messages or anything- just XP "locking up" and becoming unstable..

its my guess that ANY app that writes to the HDD and/or system registry will LOCK UP HARD.. and, in return, XP will not respond to ANY commands.. the QUICKEST way to determine this test is to load the Microsoft Registry checker/cleaner utility and then having it "fix errors"..

the only way out of this situation is to MANUALLY UNPLUG THE MACHINE

(I have tried this on an HP/ASUS and a gigabyte motherboard; the HP will shut down on holding the power button while the gigabyte machine has to be unplugged from the power source.)

I have tried disabling the "Mozilla maintenence" service, but that didn't have any effect...

I have tried "safe mode" as well with no change or effect.

the only remedy is to completely UNINSTALL FIREFOX from the system and then rebooting..

after COMPLETELY removing FF and then rebooting, XP restores to "proper" stable operation.

too bad, too... I really *LIKED* Firefox but, now, I can't USE it.. guess I'll have to use CHROME instead! :(

Yes that's a good idea but it could take four hours for the "freeze" to manifest itself. There was ONE video converter plugin that I disabled but the OS still locked-up!

Thanks.. good info!! FF is a MUST whne run with Ad Blocker. That is what makes in #1 IMHO. I absolutely can't stand all the Flash rubbish that appears, and IE8 is rutty Aweful!! Could I go back iand install v19? Please?

I happen to think Win8 desktop is a GUI advert in itself. MS makes it easy, no facilitates advertising. The locking-up of FF 20 could be due to it ad blocking capability (which is a MUST) and MS has taken steps to disrupt its competition in the past. Can I download and install v19?

There were some MS Updates to Xp Pro in the past month, and those may or may not have affected FF. The question is.. will FF v19 lock-up in Xp? or just v20 has this problem? IOW is it v20 or MS updates that destabilized FF?

Hello, did you check it in safe mode as feer56, suggest above ?

you can try to Creating a new Firefox profile, and see if works.

Transferring data to a new profile - Firefox

thank you

I'm not sure if you're asking me or the other guy.. <smirk>

I have tried "safe mode", yes.

I'm running the latest SP3 install.. (but no recent hotfixes applied).

it doesn't matter which profile or whatnot, just having it installed (and never even opened) will cause the lock ups..

As mentioned, the machine will eventually become very unstable, however, running the reg checker/cleaner will yield locking up immediately ( that's why I mentioned it as a good test)

lock up occurs, even on the admin/root account.

UPDATE:

I have checked with the roommate who is running XP HOME and he UPGRADED *to* v20 and hasn't noticed any stalls, lockups or whatnot.. I, on the other hand, I have installed fresh/new XP PRO (XP is chosen because of specific apps that aren't available for win7 and the hardware is too old) and I experienced the issues immediately.

just giving you all heads up!

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
   • Windows:
     • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
   • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
   • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
   1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
   2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

Please report back to see if this helped you!

yes, I have done all of this...

even reinstalled XP 'fresh' as well...

simply put, when Firefox v20+ is installed, XP becomes unreliable and running apps leads to "locking up" issues.

confirmed on 2 separate machines, and clean reinstall of XP..

After months of enduring repeated freezeups (especially when having more than one window open at a time) and "Not Responding" messages, I took a look at my EXTENSIONS and began to disable each one in turn to see if it made a difference. In my case two LAVASOFT/ADAWARE extensions were causing all the trouble. I disabled them. And now Firefox is fast and freezeup-free. 1. Click Add-ons 2. Click Extensions 3. Disable an extension 4. Check to see if problem has disappeared 5. If not, repeat 1, 2 & 3. Simple!

Hello,

Thanks for posting into another thread about your issue but if we are to assist you in a better way, please Open A New Question as posting in another thread even though it is same or nearly same to your issue is against our forum rules and guidelines found here

Thank you!

Thanks for all the replies.

FF20 is still uninstalled, but is running fine on another Win7 PC here. The plug-in that's a MUST HAVE is Adblock https://addons.mozilla.org/En-us/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/ otherwise webpages become billboards with a load of rubbish.

Without proof, I feel there's an issue (even philosophically) with ads, and Adobe is "in tight" with their extensions. After Monday when there will be time to do more tests.. I'll reinstall FF20 and try to identify a faulty plugin. Though it started with v20 and possible some Adobe or Windows updates. What about Java? That has seen a lot of updates recently?

It's either a plugin (like adblock), a new flash player, or FF itself. Putting adverts IN YOUR FACE is a big issue with the corporations.. and logically so is blocking them.

Let me ask again... is FF v19 install available?

PLEASE Mozilla.... FF needs to be able to run with Adblock. It's our only salvation!!  :)

If your issue is caused by an add-on, you must contact the developer so they can release a fix for the issue. We do not control what works or what doesn't work, it's up to the developers to make the add-ons work with the browser. Version 19 is available however we will not provide support for it here since version 20 is the latest and most secure. Version 21 is set to release in a day or two.

Where can I find a download link for v19? (which I believe was stable) Am at the mozilla.org site now and looking for a "release history" page. How will/can I know when v21 comes out?

I'm a little confused by the term "extensions" and no FF install to look at. The only Ext/Add-on I'm really concerned with is Ad blocker. Or are your takling about the many Adobe Flash, Shock, PDF Reader, Google Earth, Java and others which ICR (I cannot recall.) Seems every week an UPDATE to a plugin is released. Update update update. And I'm not too sure about all this "security" rational. When's it going to end?

Unfortunately, as long as there are criminals trying to break software, updates will never end. This is why it's critical you keep your OS, browser, anti-virus, plugins, etc. up to date.

Have you tried disabling HWA? Turning off hardware acceleration

Interestingly MS had a Nvidia driver update for my PC in March 2013. I installed it via the MS Update [online] service but have since backed that out, though I cannot tell you in what order, if Nvidia driver or FF were uninstalled first. I also backed out a two optional .NET updates.

IE8 really Sux. It freezes/delays loading of nearly every webpage in a most annoying way.. and presents a TON of rubbish content.