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Firefox goes black, gets overloaded, freezes, reverts font to jagged

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When I'm viewing content-rich sites for longer than a few minutes, Firefox acts like I've overloaded it. First, Firefox freezes or becomes extremely laggy. Then, the web page (either completely or partially) goes black. Scrolling becomes very difficult. When scrolling, content is only partially visible and the unvisible parts are black. Fonts turn jagged. Why does this happen?

When viewing sites without much content, or mostly text content, this never happens.

When I'm viewing content-rich sites for longer than a few minutes, Firefox acts like I've overloaded it. First, Firefox freezes or becomes extremely laggy. Then, the web page (either completely or partially) goes black. Scrolling becomes very difficult. When scrolling, content is only partially visible and the unvisible parts are black. Fonts turn jagged. Why does this happen? When viewing sites without much content, or mostly text content, this never happens.

Modified by CrashingOverAndOver

All Replies (10)

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hello, could you go to the firefox menu ≡ > help ? > troubleshooting information, copy the contents of that page and paste them here into a reply on the forum? this might give us a clue what is going on...

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philipp said

hello, could you go to the firefox menu ≡ > help ? > troubleshooting information, copy the contents of that page and paste them here into a reply on the forum? this might give us a clue what is going on...

Application Basics


Name: Firefox Version: 46.0.1 Build ID: 20160502172042 Update Channel: release User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:46.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/46.0 Multiprocess Windows: 0/1 (Disabled) Safe Mode: false

Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days


All Crash Reports

Extensions


Name: Adblock Plus Version: 2.7.3 Enabled: true ID: {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}

Name: Element Hiding Helper for Adblock Plus Version: 1.3.8 Enabled: true ID: elemhidehelper@adblockplus.org

Name: Firefox Hello Beta Version: 1.3.2 Enabled: true ID: loop@mozilla.org

Name: FireShot Version: 0.98.85 Enabled: true ID: {0b457cAA-602d-484a-8fe7-c1d894a011ba}

Name: Font Finder Version: 1.2.0 Enabled: true ID: fontfinder@bendodson.com

Name: Multi-process staged rollout Version: 1.0 Enabled: true ID: e10srollout@mozilla.org

Name: Pocket Version: 1.0 Enabled: true ID: firefox@getpocket.com

Name: YouTube Video and Audio Downloader Version: 0.5.1 Enabled: true ID: feca4b87-3be4-43da-a1b1-137c24220968@jetpack

Graphics


Adapter Description: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Adapter Drivers: nvd3dumx,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2umx nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um Adapter RAM: 1024 Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: none ClearType Parameters: Gamma: 2200 Pixel Structure: R ClearType Level: 100 Enhanced Contrast: 50 Device ID: 0x1287 DirectWrite Enabled: false (6.2.9200.17568) Driver Date: 5-19-2016 Driver Version: 10.18.13.6822 GPU #2 Active: false GPU Accelerated Windows: 0/1 Basic (OMTC) Subsys ID: 1127196e Supports Hardware H264 Decoding: No; Hardware video decoding disabled or blacklisted Vendor ID: 0x10de WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0) windowLayerManagerRemote: true AzureCanvasBackend: skia AzureContentBackend: cairo AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0

Important Modified Preferences


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Important Modified Preferences


accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar: 0 browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported: 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false browser.cache.frecency_experiment: 4 browser.download.importedFromSqlite: true browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion: 7 browser.privatebrowsing.autostart: true browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID: 20160502172042 browser.startup.homepage: duckduckgo.com browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID: 20160502172042 browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone: 46.0.1 browser.urlbar.suggest.history: false browser.urlbar.suggest.openpage: false dom.apps.reset-permissions: true dom.mozApps.used: true extensions.lastAppVersion: 46.0.1 font.internaluseonly.changed: false gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.appVersion: 46.0.1 gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.deviceID: 0x1287 gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.driverVersion: 10.18.13.6822 gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.feature-d2d: true gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.feature-d3d11: true gfx.crash-guard.status.d3d11layers: 2 gfx.crash-guard.status.d3d9video: 2 gfx.direct2d.disabled: true gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx: 0 gfx.downloadable_fonts.enabled: false layers.acceleration.disabled: true media.gmp-eme-adobe.abi: x86-msvc-x64 media.gmp-eme-adobe.lastUpdate: 1462897546 media.gmp-eme-adobe.version: 17 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.abi: x86-msvc-x64 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.lastUpdate: 1462897546 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.version: 1.5.3 media.gmp-manager.buildID: 20160502172042 media.gmp-manager.lastCheck: 1464278353 media.hardware-video-decoding.failed: false network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true network.predictor.cleaned-up: true places.database.lastMaintenance: 1463859165 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858 plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: application/pdf plugin.importedState: true print.printer_doPDF_8.print_bgcolor: false print.printer_doPDF_8.print_bgimages: false print.printer_doPDF_8.print_duplex: -437918235 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_edge_bottom: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_edge_left: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_edge_right: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_edge_top: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_evenpages: true print.printer_doPDF_8.print_footercenter: print.printer_doPDF_8.print_footerleft: &PT print.printer_doPDF_8.print_footerright: &D print.printer_doPDF_8.print_headercenter: print.printer_doPDF_8.print_headerleft: &T print.printer_doPDF_8.print_headerright: &U print.printer_doPDF_8.print_in_color: true print.printer_doPDF_8.print_margin_bottom: 0.5 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_margin_left: 0.5 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_margin_right: 0.5 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_margin_top: 0.5 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_oddpages: true print.printer_doPDF_8.print_orientation: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_page_delay: 50 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_paper_data: 1 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_paper_height: -1.00 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_paper_name: print.printer_doPDF_8.print_paper_size_unit: 1 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_paper_width: -1.00 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_resolution: 300 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_reversed: false print.printer_doPDF_8.print_scaling: 1.00 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_shrink_to_fit: true print.printer_doPDF_8.print_to_file: false print.printer_doPDF_8.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_unwriteable_margin_left: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_unwriteable_margin_right: 0 print.printer_doPDF_8.print_unwriteable_margin_top: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_bgcolor: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_bgimages: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_duplex: -437918235 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_edge_bottom: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_edge_left: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_edge_right: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_edge_top: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_evenpages: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_footercenter: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_footerleft: &PT print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_footerright: &D print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_headercenter: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_headerleft: &T print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_headerright: &U print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_in_color: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_margin_bottom: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_margin_left: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_margin_right: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_margin_top: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_oddpages: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_orientation: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_page_delay: 50 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_paper_data: -1 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_paper_height: 279.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_paper_name: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_paper_size_unit: 1 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_paper_width: 124.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_resolution: 600 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_reversed: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_scaling: 1.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_shrink_to_fit: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_to_file: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_unwriteable_margin_bottom: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_unwriteable_margin_left: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_unwriteable_margin_right: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series_(2).print_unwriteable_margin_top: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_bgcolor: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_bgimages: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_duplex: -437918235 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_edge_bottom: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_edge_left: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_edge_right: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_edge_top: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_evenpages: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_footercenter: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_footerleft: &PT print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_footerright: &D print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_headercenter: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_headerleft: &T print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_headerright: &U print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_in_color: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_margin_bottom: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_margin_left: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_margin_right: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_margin_top: 0.5 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_oddpages: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_orientation: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_page_delay: 50 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_paper_data: 1 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_paper_height: -1.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_paper_name: print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_paper_size_unit: 1 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_paper_width: -1.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_resolution: 300 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_reversed: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_scaling: 1.00 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_shrink_to_fit: true print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_to_file: false print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_unwriteable_margin_left: 0 print.printer_HP_Officejet_7300_series.print_u

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thanks, have you disabled hardware acceleration in the firefox menu ≡ > options > advanced > general section on purpose? switching it on may give you some performance benefits.

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philipp said

thanks, have you disabled hardware acceleration in the firefox menu ≡ > options > advanced > general section on purpose? switching it on may give you some performance benefits.

It has always been switched on.

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ok, this is strange because this would suggest otherwise:

gfx.direct2d.disabled: true layers.acceleration.disabled: true

could you go into about:config and toggle those preferences to false?

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philipp said

ok, this is strange because this would suggest otherwise:
gfx.direct2d.disabled: true layers.acceleration.disabled: true

could you go into about:config and toggle those preferences to false?

Sorry, I guess I should be answering your questions on the computer that this has historically been happening on. The computer it's been happening on has always had that box checked. I have that box unchecked on this computer at the moment while I'm diagnosing graphical/textual problems.

Firefox and all its settings on both computers is nearly identical. I have one extra add-on though on the computer this happens on: No-Script.

I had assumed it wouldn't matter because I was assuming the problem would also happen on this computer. But I have not yet tested that theory.

Modified by CrashingOverAndOver

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ok, then i'd be interested in the graphics section of about:support from that one machine where the issue is actually occurring...

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Note that setting gfx.downloadable_fonts.enabled = false can make Firefox display a little box with hex codes in cases where a website is using a special icon font.

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cor-el said

Note that setting gfx.downloadable_fonts.enabled = false can make Firefox display a little box with hex codes in cases where a website is using a special icon font.

Changing this setting to true has solved the problem in my other thread. Thank you.

I do not yet know if the problem discussed in this thread has been fixed; time will tell.