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Since unpgrading to Firefox 4; when typing text there are refresh problems causing multiple cursors to appear, and often obliterates part or all od the letters

  • 3 replies
  • 22 have this problem
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  • Last reply by hotstepper

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There is a refresh problem which occurs when typing text regardless of the site or whether it is email or a login form. Sometimes as many as 5 cursors can be seen especially if the backspace key or any key is pressed rapidly. At times these cursors obliterate or obscure the letter making difficult to ascertain is the letter has actually been typed. Additionally when trying to select from a dynamic menu such as a google search the selection cannot be made with the mouse even though the selection appears highlighted nothing ever happens and the only way to get it to work is a combination of mouse and enter key.

It is a problem which does not occur when I try IE or Chrome. My preference just happens to be Firefox

There is a refresh problem which occurs when typing text regardless of the site or whether it is email or a login form. Sometimes as many as 5 cursors can be seen especially if the backspace key or any key is pressed rapidly. At times these cursors obliterate or obscure the letter making difficult to ascertain is the letter has actually been typed. Additionally when trying to select from a dynamic menu such as a google search the selection cannot be made with the mouse even though the selection appears highlighted nothing ever happens and the only way to get it to work is a combination of mouse and enter key. It is a problem which does not occur when I try IE or Chrome. My preference just happens to be Firefox

Chosen solution

Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the add-ons is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

  • Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.

In Firefox 4 Safe mode disables extensions and disables hardware acceleration.

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
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Chosen Solution

Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the add-ons is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

  • Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.

In Firefox 4 Safe mode disables extensions and disables hardware acceleration.

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
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The problem seem to disappear with the extentions disabled, the interesting task now is to find the culprit or culprits. I am not entirely convinced though because many times the problem occurs once FF has been launched for a while, and the memory use creeps up. A problem difficult to replicate in safe mode unless I just leave it active for awhile and use some other browser.

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I think I have the problem solved, after restarting with all off, by a process of elimination I was able to isolate the problem to 2 extensions Java Console 6.0.23 and 6.0.24. I have no idea if they are essential and why there are two versions. Thanks for the clue that helped resolve it.

Modified by hotstepper