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why do I have 3 different plug-ins that indicate unknown and research? They are: MetaStream3; Microsoft DRM; and Windows Presentation Foundation.

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Having lots of problems with Mozilla. Crashes constantly----"not responding" message. Requires ending program and restarting. Attempted to troubleshoot by checking plug-ins as one message indicates that there are problems with the "exe" plug-in. Found 3 plug-ins with status unknown with action of "research". Plug-ins listed in my question.

Thank you.

Having lots of problems with Mozilla. Crashes constantly----"not responding" message. Requires ending program and restarting. Attempted to troubleshoot by checking plug-ins as one message indicates that there are problems with the "exe" plug-in. Found 3 plug-ins with status unknown with action of "research". Plug-ins listed in my question. Thank you.

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Firefox discovers plugins on your system because they list themselves in the Windows registry. You can set those plugins to "Never Activate" if you want to disable them to see whether that helps.

When Firefox crashes, it usually records information about what was happening at that moment and displays the Mozilla Crash Reporter. You can submit that data to Mozilla and share it with forum volunteers to see whether it points to the solution. Please check the support article "Firefox Crashes" (especially the last section) for steps to get those crash report IDs, and then post some of the recent ones here.

If Firefox not stable enough to use the about:crashes page, could you try Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to bypass interference by extensions (and some custom settings). More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

When Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key when launching 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

(Not all add-ons are disabled: Flash and other plugins still run)

When Firefox starts up, a small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset).