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firefox freezes windows 8

  • 15 replies
  • 180 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by FroFro

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Since installing windows 8 firefox keeps freezing. I waited to install FF17 but even that freezes the very same way.

  • The only way I have found to solve it is to restart the computer and once in a while it fixes the issue till the next restart when the same happens again.
  • I have used FF for long and never saw this till I installed Windows 8 Pro few days ago.
  • I opened FF in safemode and the exact same happens so I guess this is not an add-on problem.
  • I reseted my FF and same problem is there.
  • After resetting, I opened FF in safemode, and still problem is there.
  • This happens when I open a webpage (most pages but not all), and after a long freeze FF says "Unresponsive script" and depending on the webpage gives a line, for example this when I tried to open www.BBCpersian.com:

Script: http://node1.bbcimg.co.uk/glow/glow/1.7.3/core/core.js:19

Since installing windows 8 firefox keeps freezing. I waited to install FF17 but even that freezes the very same way. *The only way I have found to solve it is to restart the computer and once in a while it fixes the issue till the next restart when the same happens again. *I have used FF for long and never saw this till I installed Windows 8 Pro few days ago. *I opened FF in safemode and the exact same happens so I guess this is not an add-on problem. *I reseted my FF and same problem is there. *After resetting, I opened FF in safemode, and still problem is there. *This happens when I open a webpage (most pages but not all), and after a long freeze FF says "Unresponsive script" and depending on the webpage gives a line, for example this when I tried to open www.BBCpersian.com: Script: http://node1.bbcimg.co.uk/glow/glow/1.7.3/core/core.js:19

All Replies (15)

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Try to disable some settings in the Properties > Compatibility tab of the Firefox desktop shortcut.

  • disable visual themes
  • disable desktop composition
  • disable display scaling on high DPI settings
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In Compatibility tab, I can see the "disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option, where are the other two?

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I checked these and none of them solved the issue: 1. "disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option 2. Run under comparability with Windows 7 3. Run under comparability with Windows Vista

What else can I do?

should I assume that Mozilla knows of this incompatibility issue between FF17 (same with FF16.0.2) and Windows 8 Pro? Is anyone working on this?

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Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.

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So should I assume that Mozilla is aware of this incompatibility between FF17 and Windows 8 Pro?

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My firefox 17.01 with flash player 11.5.502..110 and windows 8 Pro x64 with Bitdefender 2013 hangs all day log. go to amazon and it hangs. task manager no cpu usage. kill process use chrome or oper or ie. but no firefox. i wish i could use my favorite firefox.

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For the record, Firefox worked perfectly for me on Windows 8 initially, but became unusable after I installed my first Windows 8 update. (Which I didn't want but couldn't refuse, but that's a whole nother rant)

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For what it's worth, I have found that if you run Firefox in administrator mode, it does not freeze. Apparently there is a permission problem in Firefox or the flash plugin?

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I finally figured out why mine was freezing! I ran it in Safe Mode (selected Help -> "Restart with Add-ons disabled") and noticed that the freezing did not occur any more. I know the original poster already tried Safe Mode, but this may help others who have not bothered to try Safe Mode.

After re-enabling my add-ons one at a time, I discovered that the GreaseMonkey extension was causing the freezes. I uninstalled GreaseMonkey, and now Firefox no longer freezes. :)

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That is exactly how it should be done. If an add-on or plug-in is causing problems, that is the only good way to pinpoint which it is. Sadly, many are not patient enough to do that.

In my case, flash seems to be the culprit. Since it doesn't seem to affect everyone, I assume my real problem lies somewhere within Windows or Flashplayer rather than Firefox and is probably related to permissions and / or configuration. Google Chrome also seems to misbehave on web pages with a lot of flash content in Windows 8 on my machines.

Running the programs as administrator is not a solution. It is a real security risk. Microsoft wants everyone to use IE, so it is not surprising that using a "foreign" browser, as they might put it, would cause difficulties.

I believe that Mozilla is making progress. I am using Aurora, the Alpha (unstable) version of what will be a future Firefox, and there is still a problem with Flashplayer, but at least it doesn't completely hang like the current Firefox does. It simply won't load the videos correctly most of the time. It does work on occasion, though. A step in the right direction.

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The same thing on mine. But all suggestions had no success. turning off the visual effects not resolved Starting in safe mode also had no effect. Firefox has no add-in (installed firefox less than 20 mins ago). The strange thing is that firefox always freeze on the same sites, so do not believe is something random.

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Most likely the sites in question all run flash content. It's not something that you should do for normal use, but have you tried running firefox as an administrator? It eliminates the freezing for me, but becaus eof the risks involved, it should only be used just for verification and troubleshooting; not for browsing.

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I've tried running as administrator, but Firefox keeps freezing.

And I believe that the problem is not flash, but some javascript, because the sites of Adobe Flash, Youtube and other sites that use Flash function normally.

But what is more strange is that from yesterday to today, Firefox started to function normally, and the pages that were freezing Firefox, are functioning without any modification in the options (the computer have nothing installed, only Windows 8 + Drivers + Firefox + Chrome (because Firefox was crashing)).

I have no explanation for what happened, I just know that now is functioning normally.

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try installing Java. doesn't slow down or freeze at all now.

http://www.java.com/