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When I go to Firefox and go to check on the Plugins for updates, Firefox freezes. I have reset Firefox. I have uninstalled and reinstalled. Still have problem.

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I've been running Firefox for a long time. I am running the program on Windows 7. This has happened EVERY TIME over the last four months when I check for plugin updates. I am currently running this on Firefox 21 and also had the same problem on Firefox beta. There are also times where, when I click on a link and a new tab opens, I get the same freeze. Ready to bail.

I've been running Firefox for a long time. I am running the program on Windows 7. This has happened EVERY TIME over the last four months when I check for plugin updates. I am currently running this on Firefox 21 and also had the same problem on Firefox beta. There are also times where, when I click on a link and a new tab opens, I get the same freeze. Ready to bail.

All Replies (12)

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Check that your graphics drivers are updated!
Try with hardware acceleration off.

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I check regularly on the graphics card driver, and it is up-to-date.

I turned the acceleration off and it went just a little bit further before it froze. Still could not check the plug-ins.

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

To Enable SafeMode

  • You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.
  • Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"

If it works in Safe Mode and in normal mode with all extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) disabled then try to find which extension is causing it by enabling one extension at a time until the problem reappears.

Close and restart Firefox after each change via "Firefox > Exit" (Windows: Firefox/File > Exit; Mac: "Firefox > Quit Firefox"; Linux: "Firefox/File > Quit")

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I followed the steps to start Firefox in safe mode without any extensions running. I checked through Tools>addons to make sure they were disabled. They were. I tried to check to see if my plugins are up-to-date and it froze again, like normal.

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Added a new profile. Started Firefox under that profile. The first thing I did was attempt to check the plug-ins. It froze.

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One thing is all else fails, go to Mozilla and download the current Firefox. Not upgrade, a full download. This might help.

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This is what I have done in the regards of the Firefox software. I was running the latest versions of the beta Firefox, and having the problems I mentioned. I then uninstalled the beta and then installed the current full Firefox available. Still contained the same problems.

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After reading this about the plug in problems I think I may have to leave firefox. Sounds like some engineer has created a mess.

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As a general rule I like Firefox the best. Between the plugin problem and Taleo not functioning correctly I'm being driven further and further away.

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Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

Please report back to see if this helped you!

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I did this before. I did try this again now, and I still have the same problem.