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Firefox 18 on Mountain Lion frequently hangs with spinning ball for > 1 min while a page is loading, or while opening a new tab. No tabs useable

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  • Last reply by user633449

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Firefox 18 on Mountain Lion. Frequently hangs for minutes with spinning ball, usually while a page is loading (status bar says "loading..." "waiting..."), but sometimes just while on the same page. Other tabs and windows are not useable, even though only one tab is waiting. I usually have 2-4 windows open with several tabs each. Behavior is no different in safe mode. This is making the browser unusable.

In the past this happened and I've reinstalled or created a new clean profile, but it always recurs.

Firefox 18 on Mountain Lion. Frequently hangs for minutes with spinning ball, usually while a page is loading (status bar says "loading..." "waiting..."), but sometimes just while on the same page. Other tabs and windows are not useable, even though only one tab is waiting. I usually have 2-4 windows open with several tabs each. Behavior is no different in safe mode. This is making the browser unusable. In the past this happened and I've reinstalled or created a new clean profile, but it always recurs.

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The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.


Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

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