continuing crashes since version 9 - no pattern
The last stable version of Firefox that I used was version 8. Since Version 9, I have experienced almost daily crashes. Today I had 5 within less than an hour.
The crashes are intermittent and I have been unable to determine any pattern. They have occurred in versions 9-13, through multiple updates of extensions and plug-ins, through multiple updates of Windows 7, x64. I have not, during this period, added any new extensions or plugins.
The only reasons I continue to use Firefox are 1) my dependence on the extensions to do my work and 2) the fact that my computer is very fast, the crashes are fast and do NOT crash Windows itself so that I can reload and go back to work within 15-30 seconds.
I'm including the crash ids for the most reason 5 crashes.
All Replies (14)
Hi,
Please check if this happens in Safe Mode. Safe mode disables the installed Extensions, and themes (Appearance) in Tools (Alt + T) > Add-ons. Hardware acceleration is also temporarily disabled - the manual setting is Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Use hardware acceleration when available. All these settings/options/add-ons can also be individually or collectively disabled/enabled/changed in Firefox normal mode to check if an extension, theme, option or hardware acceleration is causing issues. Disabling/enabling hardware acceleration, and some types of add-ons in normal mode may require a Firefox restart.
Troubleshooting Extensions and Themes
You can also try to Disable suspicious Extensions and Plugins like SpeedBit for a few browsing sessions to pin down the problem.
That looks like a problem with the SPEEDbit Video Accelerator (Accelerator.dll, sblsp.dll)
Modified by cor-el
Yes, I noticed the "speedbit" and it does seem to appear in a lot of the hundreds of crash reports. But what does it mean?
That means that you have SPEEDbit installed and that you have to disable or uninstall that extension.
I don't have anything called "Speedbit Video Accelerator" installed as an extension or in the list of Windows Programs. Since the .dll exists, it's obviously been installed but presumably by some other program. Any ideas?
I have, BTW, tried turning off Hardware acceleration in the Advanced Options. That didn't help. I also have fooled around with the scroll setting. Also no effect.
When the problem started in Version 9, I disabled all the plugins except those automatically installed by Firefox (actually, I created a clean, default profile). I also disabled as many extensions & plugins in my working profile w/o giving up those I need to work.
The problem is intermittent. I can work for a couple hours w/o a crash or have several in the space of an hour. The web is my workplace, not my playpen. I depend on Firefox's extensions to help me do my work so asking me to work for hours without them is the equivalent of telling me to type without my hands and, because the crashes are intermittent, it still wouldn't prove anything.
Chrome is faster and does not crash. But I hate it for a lot of reasons and it lacks extensions I need.
I want to get my Firefox back to the stability it had in Version 8 and earlier.
Did you look in this location?
- E:\Program Files (x86)\SpeedBit Video Accelerator\SBLSP.dll
Try:
Yes, found time tonight. There was an install log. It appears to have been installed by Real Player. I'm almost positive that I've disabled theReal Player plugins before to see if they were part of the problem, but I'll do it again tomorrow, see what happens and ost the results.
Firefox crashed on loading (all Real Player Plugins had been disabled). On second load, lasted about 10 mins before crashing. Still shows Speed Bit in the Winsock LSP section and accelerator dll in the Crashing Thread section.
According to Task Master, I don't have Real Player in memory although I do have Real Networks Scheduler (272K or memory).
Is there any way of finding out if Mozilla knows about a problem with Speed Bit? Maybe that is not the problem?
OK, if the problem is Speed Bit, it's a big problem. I downloaded Process Explorer. All of the following use accelerator.dll.
Firefox (w/out Real Player plugins enabled) Google Quick Search Netsession_win.exe (Akamai) serviceManager.exe (Intel) Updater (Ask Updater) Phrase Express Spotify Thunderbird
I load Thunderbird only occasionally and have disabled Phrase Express before to see if it made a difference. It didn't. I didn't realize Spotify was loading something (I run the app only occasionally on weekends). I don't know where the Akamai & Ask Updater processes come from. I suppose I could kill those processes and see what happens, but I'm not about to touch the Intel process and, since Firefox uses the accelerator dll in any case I'm not sure what killing everything else would accomplish and, quite frankly, I don't want to go killing a bunch of processes without knowing the consequences.
p.s. Pleast note that I am not a software developer. I don't program. I am running blind here. I can see things in Task Manager, Process Explorer, and the crash reports but I have no technical skills for interpreting them.
Don't see how the LSP fix would relate. Yes, I can see that mswsock.dll is listed along with the SpeedBit - but if I were having a problem with the TCP/IP stack, wouldn't I be experiencing a whole bunch of other internet connectivity problems which I am not experiencing?
I am reluctant to run the batch file because I've had problems with AT&T's U-Verse service in the past (requiring modem resets & fixes at the external poles) and am not willing to try, without good reason, anything that might disrupt several months worth of hard won reliable internet service.
Also, I note that mswsock.dll is used by even more apps than accelerator.dll, including explorer so if there were a problem with it, I would expect to be having other problems.
My only problem is that Firefox crashes. Repeatedly. For reasons I can't identify. (Last night I worked for two hours without a single crash; this am, it crashed right after I turned on the computer, logged in and launched it. And I have had 3 crashes since.)
Is the E:\Program Files (x86)\SpeedBit Video Accelerator folder still present on your computer?
Don't delete it because that can cause problems with needed files and break your network connection.
I seem to have gotten the problem under control, but don't know how.
1. I contacted the Download Accelerator support staff. They suggested I download and install DAP 10. I did. It made several web sites unusable (that content encoding error thing). Since I had set a restore point before installing it, after uninstalling it, I restored the system to where it had been before installing DAP 10.
2. I updated 4 extensions (ColorfulTabs, FlashGot, Tab Mix Plus and YSlow).
3. I replaced my Persona with a new one. (I tend to change the personas intermittently. Never use any of the flashing ones.)
4. I updated Adobe Air (which Zinio needs).
5. I monitor the memory usage. When it gets up around 1GB, I clear the memory & disk cache and unload Firefox.
As I said, I have no idea which, if any, of these changes has gotten the problem down to manageable proportions. But I've had only one crash between 7/26 and 8/7. Now, however, I am afraid to make any changes at all to the system for fear that I will reintroduce whatever was causing the problem.