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Firefox crashes

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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I've been suffering crashes on startup for the last few days. I was on the beta channel when it began, but moved to the release channel where it's unfortunately continued.

The crashes are obnoxiously persistent-- Firefox will launch properly if I load a new profile, but the moment I switch to my regular one (safe mode or regular use mode) the client will begin to crash at launch for any profile until I reboot.

I've updated Windows, ran memtest86 and used a bootable virus scanner to check for other issues with my computer, but everything came up clean. I also uninstalled Flash, and when I got in through Safe Mode I disabled Greasemonkey and the Youtube Center add-on-- I'd installed the userscript version of the add-on at about the same time these issues began to crop up, but I'm pretty sure I hadn't disabled the other first. Again, no dice.

When I get the Windows crash dialog instead of the Firefox crash reporter, it's typically a crash in ntdll.dll, or a stackhash error.

Last few crash IDs are: Crash ID: bp-62b0dd2b-6a44-49a2-ab33-46b4b2160130 Crash ID: bp-0b2dbeb4-d88e-4b09-aa32-2ead72160130 Crash ID: bp-b9aeb680-29c5-4cd4-9dc9-309de2160130 Crash ID: bp-0e7da9c6-c059-47d9-9426-cf8d82160129 Crash ID: bp-f6b497ba-a093-4eb0-a66a-ed04f2160129

I've been suffering crashes on startup for the last few days. I was on the beta channel when it began, but moved to the release channel where it's unfortunately continued. The crashes are obnoxiously persistent-- Firefox will launch properly if I load a new profile, but the moment I switch to my regular one (safe mode or regular use mode) the client will begin to crash at launch for any profile until I reboot. I've updated Windows, ran memtest86 and used a bootable virus scanner to check for other issues with my computer, but everything came up clean. I also uninstalled Flash, and when I got in through Safe Mode I disabled Greasemonkey and the Youtube Center add-on-- I'd installed the userscript version of the add-on at about the same time these issues began to crop up, but I'm pretty sure I hadn't disabled the other first. Again, no dice. When I get the Windows crash dialog instead of the Firefox crash reporter, it's typically a crash in ntdll.dll, or a stackhash error. Last few crash IDs are: Crash ID: bp-62b0dd2b-6a44-49a2-ab33-46b4b2160130 Crash ID: bp-0b2dbeb4-d88e-4b09-aa32-2ead72160130 Crash ID: bp-b9aeb680-29c5-4cd4-9dc9-309de2160130 Crash ID: bp-0e7da9c6-c059-47d9-9426-cf8d82160129 Crash ID: bp-f6b497ba-a093-4eb0-a66a-ed04f2160129

Chosen solution

Hi Bieeanda, sorry to hear about the crashes and thank you for the reports. So Firefox 44 beta was working up until the release of Firefox 45 beta?

The first two reports seem to occur on system with NVIDIA graphics, but from what I have read, the cause is not yet known. You can read the status of bug discussion in the tracking system here:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1243765

The third report seems to be similar. (The fourth and fifth are crashes in Flash, which may or may not be related.)

Some users have worked around this issue by using the 64-bit version of Firefox, but note that some binary components are not compatible (especially most plugins). If you want to try it:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 44.0 64-bit from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(B) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(C) Rename the program folder as follows:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Fx32bit

(D) Run the installer you downloaded in step (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Is 64-bit Firefox more stable?

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that Fx32bit folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

  • \Fx32bit\Plugins
  • \Fx32bit\browser\plugins
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All Replies (5)

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Chosen Solution

Hi Bieeanda, sorry to hear about the crashes and thank you for the reports. So Firefox 44 beta was working up until the release of Firefox 45 beta?

The first two reports seem to occur on system with NVIDIA graphics, but from what I have read, the cause is not yet known. You can read the status of bug discussion in the tracking system here:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1243765

The third report seems to be similar. (The fourth and fifth are crashes in Flash, which may or may not be related.)

Some users have worked around this issue by using the 64-bit version of Firefox, but note that some binary components are not compatible (especially most plugins). If you want to try it:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 44.0 64-bit from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(B) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(C) Rename the program folder as follows:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Fx32bit

(D) Run the installer you downloaded in step (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Is 64-bit Firefox more stable?

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that Fx32bit folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

  • \Fx32bit\Plugins
  • \Fx32bit\browser\plugins
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Thank you so much! Things seem to be working properly again, using the 64-bit version rather than the 32-bit. I've started and restarted the client several times, and it seems to be playing nicely again.

To answer your question: I had no trouble with 44 when it was on the beta channel. As soon as I updated to 45b1, I began to crash, and after a short while the crashes happened quickly enough that the crash reporter wouldn't even start-- I'd just get the Windows 7 crash notification.

I didn't think to mention it, but the bug report you linked reflected a problem I had just before the crashes began: The browsable area would be blank, and the browser would simply report 'Finding <x URI>...' or 'Connecting...' with no changes until the client crashed when I tried to close it. I'd had bad line noise issues over the last couple of months, which resulted in cosmetically similar behavior, so it didn't occur to me that they could be related.

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Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.

Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also:

S

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I ran the suggested scanners. Fortunately, the only things found were a handful of cookies, but peace of mind was definitely worth the effort. Thank you. :)

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You can check for issues caused by plugins and set plugins to "Ask to Activate" on the "3-bar Menu button/Tools > Add-ons > Plugins" page.

  • plugins are not affected by Firefox Safe Mode