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Why is v38.0 so prone to crashing, and why was it apparently rushed out of beta too early?

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Since upgrading from v37.0.2 this morning (using the full installer, not the stub installer), v38.0 has crashed repeatedly -- probably 7-8 times, sometimes in rapid succession. Seems that it might be an unhappy coincidence with yesterday's release of Flash v17.0.0.188, or that some incompatibility in handling Flash activity is producing the application's unexpected terminations.

Since upgrading from v37.0.2 this morning (using the full installer, not the stub installer), v38.0 has crashed repeatedly -- probably 7-8 times, sometimes in rapid succession. Seems that it might be an unhappy coincidence with yesterday's release of Flash v17.0.0.188, or that some incompatibility in handling Flash activity is producing the application's unexpected terminations.

Chosen solution

There was a crash bug discovered after Firefox 38 was released. We have since stopped the rollout of 38 until it is fixed and a 38.0.1 is released later this week.

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Chosen Solution

There was a crash bug discovered after Firefox 38 was released. We have since stopped the rollout of 38 until it is fixed and a 38.0.1 is released later this week.

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Thanks for the response and confirmation on the bugginess of v38.0 -- will eagerly await release of v38.0.1 in a few days.

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One follow-up -- I see that v38.0 does not support the older RequestPolicy extension but seems to allow the newer version to work okay (not sure if that was a component of the crashing symptom, or not), so hopefully the compatibility issue that arose with the older one won't resurface.

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I upgraded to the latest version just now and RequestPolicy is still not compatible to the latest Firefox version. Will you be solving this? I really need RequestPolicy to work. I'm gonna have to downgrade to v37 now. :(

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After I upgraded to v38.0.1, some of the crashing symptom moderated but was still higher than I preferred. I also became quite disenchanted with the UI and overwhelming delays produced by the newer RequestPolicy extension, so I disabled it -- the FF crashing symptom mostly disappeared after that, so there is a significant issue at work between FF and RequestPolicy -- too bad, because I'd come to like how well the older versions of both worked together.

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jhvance said

After I upgraded to v38.0.1, some of the crashing symptom moderated but was still higher than I preferred. I also became quite disenchanted with the UI and overwhelming delays produced by the newer RequestPolicy extension, so I disabled it -- the FF crashing symptom mostly disappeared after that, so there is a significant issue at work between FF and RequestPolicy -- too bad, because I'd come to like how well the older versions of both worked together.

You couldn't have upgraded to v 38.0.1 because the current upgrade is to 38.0.5, unless they're staggering the release of 38.0.1 I've had these crashes since v. 36. It has nothing to do with any extensions or with v 38. I don't even have RequestPolicy installed and never did. Version 36 was the first of many updates in completing the Electrolysis project, converting Firefox into a multi-process browser, which Mozilla said they wouldn't complete until the end of the year. THAT is what's causing this crash problem and Mozilla simply won't fix it. I have screamed and cursed and sent crash report after crash report. It does no good. They're obviously not embarrassed by this enough to fix it in 3 damn versions.

I'm through with Mozilla's PITA "trouble shooting" and refuse to reset or re-install Firefox, or start in Safe Mode, because when it's a Developer issue, those steps are a complete waste of time. Safe Mode, for example, is ridiculous because I'd have to remain in it for hours until the next crash which is just not practical and in my extensive experience, at least with MY always up to date add-ons, they are NEVER the problem.

Modified by CheckMate

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Tyler Downer said

There was a crash bug discovered after Firefox 38 was released. We have since stopped the rollout of 38 until it is fixed and a 38.0.1 is released later this week.

Tyler, this did NOT start with version 38.0, it started with v. 36.0 and I'm now updated to the latest v. 38.0.5 and still crashing every few hours or so. Please see my other related reply. I'm really sick of this with Mozilla's developers just not responding to repeated complaints over several months. I submit my email address so that I can be contacted, but never one single time has anyone ever contacted me for more information and I look at is as a cheap joke that my email address is submitted.

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Checkmate, please stop spreading incorrect information. Firefox 36 was NOT the start of the e10s process, that project is on Firefox 40 (Currently Dev Edition) and will stay there for some time. The users in this thread had a specific crashing signature that was in Firefox 38, and was fixed in Firefox 38.0.1 (38.0.5 just came out yesterday).

I'm sorry you are having a crash, but your best option is to get a crash ID (type about:crashes into your address bar, press enter and copy the ID's that start with bp-) and start a new support forum thread. Thank you!

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CheckMate said

jhvance said
After I upgraded to v38.0.1, some of the crashing symptom moderated but was still higher than I preferred. I also became quite disenchanted with the UI and overwhelming delays produced by the newer RequestPolicy extension, so I disabled it -- the FF crashing symptom mostly disappeared after that, so there is a significant issue at work between FF and RequestPolicy -- too bad, because I'd come to like how well the older versions of both worked together.

You couldn't have upgraded to v 38.0.1 because the current upgrade is to 38.0.5, unless they're staggering the release of 38.0.1 I've had these crashes since v. 36. It has nothing to do with any extensions or with v 38. I don't even have RequestPolicy installed and never did. Version 36 was the first of many updates in completing the Electrolysis project, converting Firefox into a multi-process browser, which Mozilla said they wouldn't complete until the end of the year. THAT is what's causing this crash problem and Mozilla simply won't fix it. I have screamed and cursed and sent crash report after crash report. It does no good. They're obviously not embarrassed by this enough to fix it in 3 damn versions.

I'm through with Mozilla's PITA "trouble shooting" and refuse to reset or re-install Firefox, or start in Safe Mode, because when it's a Developer issue, those steps are a complete waste of time. Safe Mode, for example, is ridiculous because I'd have to remain in it for hours until the next crash which is just not practical and in my extensive experience, at least with MY always up to date add-ons, they are NEVER the problem.

You clearly did NOT bother to look at the date of my post from which you clipped that quote -- it was completely accurate, and I only upgraded to v38.0.5 yesterday evening shortly after it was released. Take the rag out of your a## and make an effort to be a useful contributor for problem resolution, rather than a whiney jerk who thinks your particular app's problems have precedence or priority over anyone else's.

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locking this thread - it's marked as Solved - as the Owner of this thread inelegantly stated, please read the postings in a thread before jumping in with comments