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Firefox freezes when trying to clear browing history

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When trying to clear browsing history Firefox stops responding. This started after most recent update to Firefox. Tried in safe mode with same result. Initiating process with the Forget browser history shortcut or ctrl+shift+delete has same effect. Task manager is the only way I'm able to close Firefox after attempting to clear the browser cache.

When trying to clear browsing history Firefox stops responding. This started after most recent update to Firefox. Tried in safe mode with same result. Initiating process with the Forget browser history shortcut or ctrl+shift+delete has same effect. Task manager is the only way I'm able to close Firefox after attempting to clear the browser cache.

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Chosen Solution

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If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database (bookmarks and history) in the Firefox profile folder.

  • use "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page
    in case errors are reported close and restart Firefox and retry

See also:

If "Verify Integrity" on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page cannot repair places.sqlite then remove all places.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from a recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

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Thank You! All is good again :)