This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Firefox crashes almost everytime I try to attach a document. Why?

  • 7 replies
  • 9 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by maccifj

more options

I Just got a new Dell XPS Dimension PC w/Win 8.1. It didn't have Firefox, so I downloaded it (version 29.0.1).

Nearly every time I try to attach a document, e.g., a photo, or other file, Firefox crashes. The crash occurs when I double-click on the directory and/or folder that has the document I want to attach. I have submitted over half a dozen crash reports the last few days.

Instead of double-clicking, I tried simply clicking once on the OPEN button that appears when I ask to attach a document. This reduced the frequency of crashes, but, did not eliminate them.

The crashes have occurred when i was attempting to attach a document to an email in yahoo mail. The crashes have also occurred when I was attempting to add a photo to a news article i was writing for Examiner.co using their publishing tool.

I just switched from Windows XP. Firefox NEVER crashed when i was trying to do this in XP.

I tried to duplicate the problem in Internet Explorer 11, which came with my PC. I have not been able to duplicate the problem with Explorer.

What is going on?

I Just got a new Dell XPS Dimension PC w/Win 8.1. It didn't have Firefox, so I downloaded it (version 29.0.1). Nearly every time I try to attach a document, e.g., a photo, or other file, Firefox crashes. The crash occurs when I double-click on the directory and/or folder that has the document I want to attach. I have submitted over half a dozen crash reports the last few days. Instead of double-clicking, I tried simply clicking once on the OPEN button that appears when I ask to attach a document. This reduced the frequency of crashes, but, did not eliminate them. The crashes have occurred when i was attempting to attach a document to an email in yahoo mail. The crashes have also occurred when I was attempting to add a photo to a news article i was writing for Examiner.co using their publishing tool. I just switched from Windows XP. Firefox NEVER crashed when i was trying to do this in XP. I tried to duplicate the problem in Internet Explorer 11, which came with my PC. I have not been able to duplicate the problem with Explorer. What is going on?

Chosen solution

I haven't been able to pinpoint a reason for the crash though. I'm now trying to reproduce your crash on Yahoo while attaching a document. Other users have reported that updating Java fixed the issue. (reference: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/que.../949408) Please update Java to the current version

You might also want to download CCleaner to wipe out things that are no longer needed and can cause problems. Just use the Windows section, don't delete anything from Firefox while in CClaner as it might screw with your Firefox installation.


EDIT: Please file a bug if the above steps don't work You can file a new bug by following any of your crash reports (example: https://crash-stats.mozilla.com/repor.../203cb33a-9193-4586-b7dd-79d0a2140529) scrolling down to where it says Bugzilla | File this bug in Firefox | Core | Plugins | Tools Select Firefox. a new window will load, you'll have to create a Bugzilla account in order to file a bug. Once you've done that, just fill out the description the best you can. Please try to be as detailed as possible. What you were doing when it crashed, how often it happens, etc as this will help developers.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (7)

more options

It's probably a Firefox related issue. Something about the way Firefox is configured. Can you give me your crash reports?

  1. Enter about:crashes in the Firefox address bar and press Enter. A Submitted Crash Reports list will appear, similar to the one shown below.
  2. Copy the 5 most recent Report IDs that start with bp- and paste them into your response here.
more options

Moses:

bp-203cb33a-9193-4586-b7dd-79d0a2140529 5/28/2014 11:25 PM bp-0feee280-3b7f-4696-9d83-e753a2140529 5/28/2014 11:22 PM bp-f78c7148-099d-45db-b0d1-84ee22140528 5/28/2014 4:24 PM bp-a43a539b-919c-4487-847b-5e1b12140528 5/28/2014 4:15 PM bp-bb8f2776-0de8-4c31-afe2-0226a2140528 5/27/2014 8:30 PM bp-60a6e002-e150-408b-9682-3441f2140527 5/27/2014 3:04 PM bp-804a4db7-d67c-4a21-91e8-c03442140527 5/27/2014 2:28 PM

Thanks for your help. I have windows 8.1 but I noticed that crash report says OS is Windows NT. What am I not understanding here?

more options

I have windows 8.1 but I noticed that crash report says OS is Windows NT. W There isn't anything to understand. That's just the kernel Windows is running on. Windows NT is basically Windows and 6.3.9600 is saying you're running Windows 8.1. That's just technical information. :) Not really important to the end-user. Good for us, though.

Your crash report seems to be a new issue in Firefox 29 and other users have reported (in the bug report comments) that they've crashed while trying to attach as well. This seems to be isolated to Windows 8.1 and it crashes a little more often in Thunderbird than Firefox 29.0.1. Perhaps a bug report should be filed under this signature.

Unfortunately, I can't find a cause for this crash but I'll escalate this thread to the professional HelpDesk staff and hopefully they or other more knowledgeable contributors will assist you further


EDIT: Tagged as escalate (5.29.14, 10:10AM CST)

Modified by Moses

more options

TYVM Moses,

I did a lot more experimenting last night. One thing I did find: when I went to Google in Firefox and tried to do an Image search by uploading a picture into the Google Search box, Firefox NEVER crashed.

How do I file a bug report?

more options

Chosen Solution

I haven't been able to pinpoint a reason for the crash though. I'm now trying to reproduce your crash on Yahoo while attaching a document. Other users have reported that updating Java fixed the issue. (reference: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/que.../949408) Please update Java to the current version

You might also want to download CCleaner to wipe out things that are no longer needed and can cause problems. Just use the Windows section, don't delete anything from Firefox while in CClaner as it might screw with your Firefox installation.


EDIT: Please file a bug if the above steps don't work You can file a new bug by following any of your crash reports (example: https://crash-stats.mozilla.com/repor.../203cb33a-9193-4586-b7dd-79d0a2140529) scrolling down to where it says Bugzilla | File this bug in Firefox | Core | Plugins | Tools Select Firefox. a new window will load, you'll have to create a Bugzilla account in order to file a bug. Once you've done that, just fill out the description the best you can. Please try to be as detailed as possible. What you were doing when it crashed, how often it happens, etc as this will help developers.

Modified by NoahSUMO

more options

Moses, 1. Regarding JAVA. First of all, the link you gave regarding other users fixing it with Java upgrade takes me to a site where the info is no longer present - FYI. 2. Apparently, this brand new PC, which came without Firefox, also came without Java. So, I downloaded the latest Java. Tried to add an attachment to an Email, and it worked - BUT ONLY THE FIRST TIME I TRIED IT. I tried it a second time, it crashed; a third time, it crashed, over and over again. 3. I uninstalled/reinstalled Firefox again, restarted PC - still keeps crashing. 4. I haven't installed CCleaner and tried it yet. 5. Waiting for feedback from Dell tech support before proceeding further. 6. Haven't filed the bug report yet either.

more options

Moses,

Dell suspects a corrupted windows explorer. They asked me to add a new user account for PC and see if it has the same problem. I set up a new account and successfully uploaded files in both Firefox and Chrome. (I was having problems with Chrome too on the old ID - I tried using it and it started crashing after initially being ok.)

I'll re-post if problem starts appearing again. Thx again for all of your help and suggestions.

Modified by maccifj