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Firefox quits unexpectedly--happens frequenly

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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Firefox crashes repeatedly. This has been happening for over a year. Usually beforehand the following message pops up: Error while installing Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0) (I usually choose ok when this pops up so the pop up will go away) Then I have to restore the session. I have an older MacBook Pro (mid 2009) I prefer Firefox to Chrome, but this is so annoying, and I'm always worried that my whole computer will crash at some point...

Firefox crashes repeatedly. This has been happening for over a year. Usually beforehand the following message pops up: Error while installing Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0) (I usually choose ok when this pops up so the pop up will go away) Then I have to restore the session. I have an older MacBook Pro (mid 2009) I prefer Firefox to Chrome, but this is so annoying, and I'm always worried that my whole computer will crash at some point...

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crazyazgal said

Usually beforehand the following message pops up: Error while installing Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)

Is that the whole error message? What is being installed?


Let’s do a full clean re-install;

Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;

Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.

If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.


Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}

Firefox ESR; Extended Support Release {web link}

Beta, Developer, Nightly versions https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/

Install Older Version Of Firefox {web link} Be sure to read everything here.


Save the file. Then Close Firefox.

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders

Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac

Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux

If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.

Do Not remove any profile folders.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.

How to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; {web link} Free Online Encyclopedia

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Note that Firefox 78.15.0 is the last version for your Mac OS X platform (update channel: mozilla-mac-eol-esr1), so you will no longer receive updates.

You can create a new profile as a quick test to see if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.