Youtube freezes my entire browser when I start to play a video.
For about the last 6 months, whenever I bring up Youtube, or even if a Youtube video starts to play on any other site, it completely freezes the entire browser and I can't do anything except close everything and bring everything up again, this time making sure no Youtube videos pop up anywhere, or the same thing happens. It's unfortunate, because Firefox is by far the best browser, but I've had to use Microsoft Edge for Youtube, which is verrrrrrry slow, but it doesn't freeze like Firefox does. I've tried reinstalling adobe flash player, resinstalling Firefox, and I can't go on to Youtube to change anything because, as I said, as soon as video starts to play (i.e. when Youtube first comes up), it freezes, so I can't access the site at all. I would love to go back to Firefox for Youtube, but I can't figure out how to stop it from freezing everything. Any help is appreciated.
Chosen solution
Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).
If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:
- Click the menu button
, click Help 
and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.
If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:
- On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
(you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.
To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.
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Chosen Solution
Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).
If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:
- Click the menu button , click Help and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.
If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:
- On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
(you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.
To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.
That worked! Thank you very much!
Do you mind sharing more information on what exactly to had to do to fix the issue? Did you disable hardware acceleration? Was there an add-on causing an issue?
The threads posted here are often viewed by other people experiencing similar issues. By providing more information, you are potentially helping other people solve their problem.
Thanks.
I disabled hardware acceleration. Youtube works perfectly now.