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Firefox crashes when downloading attachments

  • 4 replies
  • 10 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by bripley81

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For the past several months I have been having an issue with Firefox 3.6.8 and previous version(s) where it crashes when downloading a file. I download many PDFs from the web and our doc control system, so it usually happens on PDFs, but I have had it crash on an Excel 2003 file as well. I download 10 to 20 documents a day and it doesn't crash every day, so it is really random and I can't pin down the exact circumstances nor reliably reproduce it, but it happens a couple times a week. I typically don't close Firefox, so it will be open for up to several days (until it crashes) and I will put my laptop into standby with Firefox open. I will post more information when I can better capture the crash.

For the past several months I have been having an issue with Firefox 3.6.8 and previous version(s) where it crashes when downloading a file. I download many PDFs from the web and our doc control system, so it usually happens on PDFs, but I have had it crash on an Excel 2003 file as well. I download 10 to 20 documents a day and it doesn't crash every day, so it is really random and I can't pin down the exact circumstances nor reliably reproduce it, but it happens a couple times a week. I typically don't close Firefox, so it will be open for up to several days (until it crashes) and I will put my laptop into standby with Firefox open. I will post more information when I can better capture the crash.

Modified by bripley81

All Replies (4)

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Please try every sollution listed in Firefox crashes when downloaded files are checked by virus scan.

Also, next time you report a crash PLEASE list the Crash ID/Report ID, it's very very important because a crash ID can pinpoint the problem and might save the trouble of trying the various solutions presented in the article. You can see how to retrieve the Report ID in Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly).

Thanks for asking.

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I had given up on submitting the crash IDs, it sometimes took a while and wouldn't always work. But, just after submitting this question, it crashed again on the same link! I submitted the crash and edited the post to include the crash ID: 3fa998e2-ec3a-4f8d-8eaa-9d5ab2100813. I re-opened Firefox and tried the link again and the 3rd time it worked, along with two other similar links to PDFs on the same page. I had also just found the page you listed above and am trying those fixes. Thanks!

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I tried all the fixes in https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+crashes+when+trying+to+download+a+file?s=crashes+when+downloading&as=s but I still get crashes either during or immediately after downloading. Almost all of the below crashes were caused by downloading, most, if not all by PDFs. I am using Acrobat 7 right now because I have the Acrobat Standard and prefer that over the newer version that is only a reader. I am going to try changing to the latest reader instead and see if that fixes this.

bp-f245b045-deab-4e23-85d2-e75932100914 9/14/2010 12:24 PM

bp-94d8dcdf-8333-4e24-b316-acb382100913 9/13/2010 12:35 PM

bp-8f23d41e-6335-47b1-89af-f5ff82100910 9/10/2010 3:40 PM

bp-55e10326-a814-44f6-8b17-6aef32100907 9/7/2010 4:06 PM

bp-34edf052-4dd6-4dce-83d5-fe9572100827 8/27/2010 1:55 PM

bp-1256cdaa-6690-452c-a645-230682100818 8/18/2010 1:25 PM

bp-140d1110-077a-4f9f-98f5-687302100816 8/16/2010 10:31 AM

bp-3fa998e2-ec3a-4f8d-8eaa-9d5ab2100813 8/13/2010 3:27 PM

Modified by bripley81

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Changing to the latest Acrobat Reader and allowing it to run within the Firefox window seems to have stopped, or may be just minimized the number of crashes on downloading PDFs. But I am still getting plenty of crashes when downloading Microsoft Word documents. Anyone have any further ideas?