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

HELP! Script has stopped/unresponsive plug in/mozilla not responding...........constantly!!

more options

I have tried just about all the suggestions to fix this, to no avail. I get these messages (Script has stopped, most often) constantly...as in several times a day. Happens on different web sites. It is driving me crazy as it freezes the computer every. single. time. and I have to shut down and start over, only to have it happen again. I have thought about doing a uninstall and then reinstall, however, I don't want to lose my bookmarks.

I have read so many trouble shoot topics on this, tried several.......nothing is helping.

thank you

I have tried just about all the suggestions to fix this, to no avail. I get these messages (Script has stopped, most often) constantly...as in several times a day. Happens on different web sites. It is driving me crazy as it freezes the computer every. single. time. and I have to shut down and start over, only to have it happen again. I have thought about doing a uninstall and then reinstall, however, I don't want to lose my bookmarks. I have read so many trouble shoot topics on this, tried several.......nothing is helping. thank you

All Replies (3)

more options

Make sure that ALL of your software is up-to-date. Not just the plugins.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac=Options)
key, and then starting Firefox. A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh).

Is the problem still there?

more options

Ok, All updates done. I did try the safemode thing and it appeared to work a bit better....not sure as I wasn't online long. As soon as I closed out and came back to Mozilla normally, I got two 'script stopped working' in a row......then the whole screen froze up and I couldn't open the task manager or the shutdown options. Ended up just turning computer off...not good.

more options

Since Flash can cause this problem and it is used pervasively through the web, I suggest the following to minimize potential issues with Flash during your troubleshooting:

(1) To avoid unnecessary pain on sites where Flash is not actually essential, try setting Flash to Click-to-Play ("Ask to Activate"). This will delay Flash from starting on a page until you approve it.

To set "Ask to Activate", open the Add-ons page using either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. Look for "Shockwave Flash" and change "Always Activate" to "Ask to Activate".

With this setting, when you visit a site that wants to use Flash, you should see a notification icon in the address bar and usually (but not always) one of the following: a link in a dark gray rectangle in the page or an infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the page.

The plugin notification icon in the address bar typically looks like a small, dark gray Lego block. (If it's red, Flash needs updating.)

The delay in activating Flash can help distinguish between problems caused on initial page load, styling, and script activation vs. loading/running Flash.

If you see a good reason to use Flash, and the site looks trustworthy, you can go ahead and click the notification icon in the address bar to allow Flash. You can trust the site for the time being or permanently.

But some pages use Flash only for tracking or playing ads, so if you don't see an immediate need for Flash, feel free to ignore the notification! It will just sit there in case you want to use it later.

(2) A common cause of unresponsive script errors on Windows Vista and higher is the protected mode feature of the Flash player plugin. That feature has security benefits, but seems to have serious compatibility issues on some systems. You can disable it using the Add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. On the right side, find "Shockwave Flash" and click the More link. Then uncheck the box for "Enable Adobe Flash protected mode" and try that for a day to see whether it helps.