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 flickers and cannot be used

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

more options

My Firefox constantly flickers to the point it cannot be used. It will freeze, say "Not responding" at the top and in the task bar, it will move to the end of the line of open programs. I have tried safe mode and troubleshooting via disabling add ons to no effect, it keeps happening.

I do have Windows 10, but this issue started a couple of days ago. I've had 10 since launch day.

My system details are:

Application Basics


Name: Firefox Version: 40.0.3 Build ID: 20150826023504 Update Channel: release User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64; rv:40.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/40.0 Multiprocess Windows: 0/1 (default: false)

Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days


All Crash Reports (including 1 pending crash in the given time range)

Extensions


Name: Adblock Plus Version: 2.6.10 Enabled: true ID: {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}

Name: Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon Version: 0.9.2.1-signed Enabled: true ID: adblockpopups@jessehakanen.net

Name: Share Button for Pinterest Version: 40.0 Enabled: true ID: {677a8f98-fd64-40b0-a883-b8c95d0cbf17}

Name: Updated Ad Blocker for Firefox 11+ Version: 0.7.7.1-signed Enabled: true ID: {4DC70064-89E2-4a55-8FC6-E8CDEAE3618C}

Name: Yahoo Mail Hide Ad Panel Version: 2.48 Enabled: true ID: {c37bac34-849a-4d28-be41-549b2c76c64e}

Name: YouTube Unblocker Version: 0.6.17 Enabled: true ID: youtubeunblocker@unblocker.yt

Name: Avast Online Security Version: 10.2.0.187 Enabled: false ID: wrc@avast.com

Graphics


Adapter Description: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 Adapter Description (GPU #2): NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M Adapter Drivers: igdumdim64 igd10iumd64 igd10iumd64 igd12umd64 igdumdim32 igd10iumd32 igd10iumd32 igd12umd32 Adapter Drivers (GPU #2): nvd3dumx,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2umx nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um Adapter RAM: Unknown Adapter RAM (GPU #2): 2048 Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: none Device ID: 0x0416 Device ID (GPU #2): 0x0fe3 DirectWrite Enabled: false (10.0.10240.16430) Driver Date: 7-17-2015 Driver Date (GPU #2): 8-25-2015 Driver Version: 10.18.15.4256 Driver Version (GPU #2): 10.18.13.5582 GPU #2 Active: false GPU Accelerated Windows: 0/1 Basic (OMTC) Subsys ID: 00000000 Subsys ID (GPU #2): 00000000 Supports Hardware H264 Decoding: false Vendor ID: 0x8086 Vendor ID (GPU #2): 0x10de WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0) windowLayerManagerRemote: true AzureCanvasBackend: skia AzureContentBackend: cairo AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0

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.download.manager.alertOnEXEOpen: false browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion: 7 browser.search.useDBForOrder: true browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID: 20150826023504 browser.startup.homepage: https://www.google.com/?trackid=sp-006 browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID: 20150826023504 browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone: 40.0.3 browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab: false browser.tabs.warnOnClose: false dom.apps.reset-permissions: true dom.ipc.plugins.enabled.nptnt2.dll: false dom.max_script_run_time: 0 dom.mozApps.used: true extensions.lastAppVersion: 40.0.3 gfx.direct2d.disabled: true gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx: 0 keyword.URL: https://www.google.com/search/?trackid=sp-006 layers.acceleration.disabled: true media.gmp-eme-adobe.lastUpdate: 1442576258 media.gmp-eme-adobe.version: 13 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.lastUpdate: 1431749865 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.version: 1.4 media.gmp-manager.buildID: 20150826023504 media.gmp-manager.lastCheck: 1442576248 media.webrtc.debug.aec_log_dir: C:\Users\Emily\AppData\Local\Temp/ media.webrtc.debug.log_file: C:\Users\Emily\AppData\Local\Temp/WebRTC.log network.auth.allow-subresource-auth: 2 network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true network.predictor.cleaned-up: true places.database.lastMaintenance: 1441979435 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858 plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: application/pdf plugin.importedState: true plugin.state.flash: 0 plugin.state.np_wtapp: 0 plugin.state.nppdf: 2 plugin.state.npunity3d: 0 privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs: true security.default_personal_cert: Select Automatically security.OCSP.enabled: 0 storage.vacuum.last.index: 1 storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite: 1440751929

Important Locked Preferences


JavaScript


Incremental GC: true

Accessibility


Activated: true Prevent Accessibility: 0

Library Versions


NSPR Expected minimum version: 4.10.8 Version in use: 4.10.8

NSS Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC

NSSSMIME Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC

NSSSSL Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC

NSSUTIL Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Version in use: 3.19.2

Experimental Features


My Firefox constantly flickers to the point it cannot be used. It will freeze, say "Not responding" at the top and in the task bar, it will move to the end of the line of open programs. I have tried safe mode and troubleshooting via disabling add ons to no effect, it keeps happening. I do have Windows 10, but this issue started a couple of days ago. I've had 10 since launch day. My system details are: Application Basics ------------------ Name: Firefox Version: 40.0.3 Build ID: 20150826023504 Update Channel: release User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64; rv:40.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/40.0 Multiprocess Windows: 0/1 (default: false) Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days --------------------------------- All Crash Reports (including 1 pending crash in the given time range) Extensions ---------- Name: Adblock Plus Version: 2.6.10 Enabled: true ID: {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d} Name: Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon Version: 0.9.2.1-signed Enabled: true ID: adblockpopups@jessehakanen.net Name: Share Button for Pinterest Version: 40.0 Enabled: true ID: {677a8f98-fd64-40b0-a883-b8c95d0cbf17} Name: Updated Ad Blocker for Firefox 11+ Version: 0.7.7.1-signed Enabled: true ID: {4DC70064-89E2-4a55-8FC6-E8CDEAE3618C} Name: Yahoo Mail Hide Ad Panel Version: 2.48 Enabled: true ID: {c37bac34-849a-4d28-be41-549b2c76c64e} Name: YouTube Unblocker Version: 0.6.17 Enabled: true ID: youtubeunblocker@unblocker.yt Name: Avast Online Security Version: 10.2.0.187 Enabled: false ID: wrc@avast.com Graphics -------- Adapter Description: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 Adapter Description (GPU #2): NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M Adapter Drivers: igdumdim64 igd10iumd64 igd10iumd64 igd12umd64 igdumdim32 igd10iumd32 igd10iumd32 igd12umd32 Adapter Drivers (GPU #2): nvd3dumx,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2umx nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um Adapter RAM: Unknown Adapter RAM (GPU #2): 2048 Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: none Device ID: 0x0416 Device ID (GPU #2): 0x0fe3 DirectWrite Enabled: false (10.0.10240.16430) Driver Date: 7-17-2015 Driver Date (GPU #2): 8-25-2015 Driver Version: 10.18.15.4256 Driver Version (GPU #2): 10.18.13.5582 GPU #2 Active: false GPU Accelerated Windows: 0/1 Basic (OMTC) Subsys ID: 00000000 Subsys ID (GPU #2): 00000000 Supports Hardware H264 Decoding: false Vendor ID: 0x8086 Vendor ID (GPU #2): 0x10de WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0) windowLayerManagerRemote: true AzureCanvasBackend: skia AzureContentBackend: cairo AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0 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.download.manager.alertOnEXEOpen: false browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion: 7 browser.search.useDBForOrder: true browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID: 20150826023504 browser.startup.homepage: https://www.google.com/?trackid=sp-006 browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID: 20150826023504 browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone: 40.0.3 browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab: false browser.tabs.warnOnClose: false dom.apps.reset-permissions: true dom.ipc.plugins.enabled.nptnt2.dll: false dom.max_script_run_time: 0 dom.mozApps.used: true extensions.lastAppVersion: 40.0.3 gfx.direct2d.disabled: true gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx: 0 keyword.URL: https://www.google.com/search/?trackid=sp-006 layers.acceleration.disabled: true media.gmp-eme-adobe.lastUpdate: 1442576258 media.gmp-eme-adobe.version: 13 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.lastUpdate: 1431749865 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.version: 1.4 media.gmp-manager.buildID: 20150826023504 media.gmp-manager.lastCheck: 1442576248 media.webrtc.debug.aec_log_dir: C:\Users\Emily\AppData\Local\Temp/ media.webrtc.debug.log_file: C:\Users\Emily\AppData\Local\Temp/WebRTC.log network.auth.allow-subresource-auth: 2 network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true network.predictor.cleaned-up: true places.database.lastMaintenance: 1441979435 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858 plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: application/pdf plugin.importedState: true plugin.state.flash: 0 plugin.state.np_wtapp: 0 plugin.state.nppdf: 2 plugin.state.npunity3d: 0 privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs: true security.default_personal_cert: Select Automatically security.OCSP.enabled: 0 storage.vacuum.last.index: 1 storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite: 1440751929 Important Locked Preferences ---------------------------- JavaScript ---------- Incremental GC: true Accessibility ------------- Activated: true Prevent Accessibility: 0 Library Versions ---------------- NSPR Expected minimum version: 4.10.8 Version in use: 4.10.8 NSS Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC NSSSMIME Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC NSSSSL Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Basic ECC Version in use: 3.19.2 Basic ECC NSSUTIL Expected minimum version: 3.19.2 Version in use: 3.19.2 Experimental Features ---------------------

All Replies (3)

more options

You can try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"

You need to close and restart Firefox after toggling this setting.

You can check if there is an update for your graphics display driver and check for hardware acceleration related issues.

more options

Hi. I've tried disabling the hardware acceleration and my graphics card is up to date. I also just tried disabling WebGL but that didn't fix it either :(

more options

Boot the computer in Windows Safe Mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) to see if that helps.


Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

  • (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
  • (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.

If you keep having problems then create a new profile.



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: