Ask the Doctor: Firefox Blues
Print
I have been using Firefox for a good while now, but I started having a problem with it a couple months ago. While using it, all of a sudden a box appears that says Firefox is shutting down. Sometimes, Firefox will run for a long time, but then other times it shuts down right away. When it shuts down, a box with the heading “firefox.exe” comes up; the text in the box reads, “Firefox.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
I’ve even broken down and tried IE, but it does the same thing with the same error message. I’ve also tried Opera, and it seems to work OK. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox and have even gone back to a previous version but that didn’t help.
—Larry
Your problem doesn’t seem to be related to Firefox itself, given that it’s affecting both Firefox and Internet Explorer. The Doctor suspects that something has gone haywire with your Windows installation. But before you wipe and reinstall, make sure you don’t have a hardware issue, such as a bad stick of RAM. Launch Windows Memory Diagnostic (http://tinyurl.com/vbqmq) to see if faulty memory is the root of your evil.
If that still doesn’t fix your Firefox woes and you’re running the most up-to-date version of the browser (and have installed all recent updates to your operating system), try running through Mozilla’s extensive list of crash solutions: http://tinyurl.com/569xtb.
 |
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes. |
More like this
BloodyLunatic
January 28, 2009 at 9:06pm
TechNote DetailsLast Update: 10-14-2008
ID: tn_19166
OS: Windows
Database: All
Browser: All http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_19166&sliceId=1 look this the subinacl was the solution for me after a lot of errors messages from explorer ,firefox...
kc7wbq
January 28, 2009 at 9:39am
On a related note, I found Firefox 3.0.5 unstable.
My work computer and a home computer, both running Widows XP, had issues with 3.0.5 crashing at random time on random web pages. I tried a lot of things including shutting off all my plug-in and reinstalling Windows on my home machine, but nothing worked until I backed off to verion 3.0.4. I've only had Firefox crash once since then.
3.0.5 runs fine on my Vista 64 machine.
BloodyLunatic
January 27, 2009 at 3:59pm
Hi,y got the same prob last day the prob is Adobe flash player 10,a patch can be find ,if you use Vista chek the error reports and solutions,it work for me it must work for you too....PS:sorry for my bad english my primary langage is french.
kris79
January 28, 2009 at 11:55am
I've had the same problem. I run Vista 64 premium. Has anyone else confirmed that it's the Adove flash player 10 patch? My error reports did not find any solution to this problem... BTW, mein Fuhrer, if a patch for Firefox and other programs are not playing nice together - then it is a Firefox et. al. problem... Thanks
Keith E. Whisman
January 27, 2009 at 3:37pm
Why is everyone so afraid to recommend usning Windows System Restore? Believe it or not an I don't care if you don't believe me that using System Restore has fixed lots of problems for me over the years. It's not a myracle worker but it's worth a try. I mean if your install is nuked sometimes it can be reversed with System Restore. Try It. If it doesn't work you can come back and say that didn't work. If it does work then there you are.
gamesfrager
January 27, 2009 at 3:25pm
@ editor of the article...
"Your problem doesn’t seem to be related to Firefox itself"
then change the title name of this article ! at first it shows as if FireFox is getting buggy! and that is not true, even you mentioned it is not true.
While this might be nothing to some it's impact shouldn't be taken lightly.
gibsurfer84
January 27, 2009 at 3:56pm
Or for the less passionate of us, it could just be the title of the dude that wrote the e-mail to MaxPC.
I Jedi
January 27, 2009 at 4:09pm
I don't think there is a need to be a Nazi about a heading and all. Of course, the heading can be a bit misleading, I can understand. However, the article itself does tie into the heading, too, so I'm not quite getting why it's such a big deal as to make your keyboard stress under the weight of your fingers crunching down on the individual keys over an article's heading? If given the choice, what would you have made the article's titled to? I can't really think of any good replacement for the article. Perhaps you may have liked it more with Firefox/IE 8 Blues?
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
Where have all the memorable videogame enemies gone?
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Analysts: 9-Inch Kindle Fire This Summer http://t.co/QDYApwCZ1 hour 18 min ago
- maximumpc: Micron: DRAM Prices Likely as Low as They're Going to Get http://t.co/fFUWuFOm4 hours 15 min ago
- maximumpc: Yar, Mateys! All Of Pirate Bay Made Available As A Single 90MB Zip File http://t.co/j5LHlXEZ5 hours 29 min ago
