Although this problem is by no means exclusive to Windows 10, a lot of users report that it first started occurring after they installed a major update like Anniversary update on Windows 10. Although the reasons why your Firefox browser might malfunction are diverse, there are a few common culprits that seem to be responsible for the freezes and crashes of the browser:
Malicious or intrusive files made their way into the installation folder or in the cache memoryIntrusive or untested plug-ins are causing the instability.Too many freeware converters are running at once within Firefox (pdf to word, jpeg to png, word to pdf, etc.)Firefox profile folder doesn’t have the right to create files (read-only permission)
The good news is that regardless of the culprit that is causing the instability, you will resolve the issue before you finish troubleshooting with the methods featured in this article. Below you have a collection of fixes that users in a similar situation have used to resolve the issue. Please follow each potential fix in order until you encounter a method that is successful in solving the problem for your particular situation.
Method 1: Force close restart and update
If you rarely experience instability, a temporary fix will be to force close Firefox and initiate a restart. If the error is caused by an internal bug or by a corrupted internal file forcing the client to update will resolve most of those errors. Once Mozilla Firefox becomes unresponsive, you won’t be able to close it the conventional way (via the close icon). However, you can easily close the program through Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Then, go to the Processes tab, select Firefox and click the End task button. Once you manage to close the unresponsive application, go ahead an restart your operating system. At the next startup, open Firefox again and click the Menu icon in the top-right corner. Then, go to Help and click on About Firefox. Wait until the system checks if you have the latest version. If a new version is available, click on Restart and update Firefox and wait for the process to complete.
At the next startup, keep an eye out for any unresponsive periods. If you’re still getting occasional freezes or crashes, move down to the next troubleshooting strategies below.
Method 2: Check for the required access rights
A common reason why the Firefox browser becomes unresponsive is when the profile folder doesn’t have write permissions. This is quite a common occurence if Firefox uses a profile from a file system that was previously mounted with read-only permissions. Luckily, you can easily change the settings of the profile folder to configure the proper permissions. Here’s how you can do this: If you are still encountering periods where the browser becomes unresponsive, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Clearing the Cache & Cookies
Another popular fix that has enabled a lot of users to get rid of unresponsive periods was clearing the cache. By eliminating cached web page versions and cookies, you successfully eliminate a lot of potential culprits that might be causing the problem. Here’s a quick guide on how to resolve unresponsive periods in Firefox by clearing the cache and Cookies: If you are still getting the occasional Firefox freeze or crash, move over to the next method below.
Method 4: Start Firefox in Safe Mode and disable extensions, themes or hardware acceleration
Firefox extensions and custom themes are other reason why users get unresponsive periods with their browser. If you rely on a lot of Firefox extensions, uninstalling all your extensions only to find out that they are not to blame for your problem is a huge timewaster. However, you can eliminate this risk by starting Firefox in Safe Mode and see whether the unresponsive periods stop. While in Safe Mode, Firefox will run with all the extensions automatically disabled. On top of this, hardware acceleration will be turned off and any custom theme will be replaced with the default one. This will help you determine if the issue is caused by one of the extensions or themes that you’re currently using. Else the problem is located elsewhere. Here’s a quick guide on launching Firefox in Safe mode and take action if one of the extensions is causing the instability: Note: If you don’t encounter any unresponsive periods while you’re in Safe Mode, move directly to the method below. If your problem did not occur in Safe Mode, the issue is probably caused by an extension, theme or hardware acceleration. With this in mind, exit Continue with the next three repair strategies to pinpoint the cause of the issue:
Disabling hardware acceleration
The latest Firefox version will have hardware acceleration enabled by default. This enhances the performance on most systems, but some older rigs might become unstable while this feature is enabled. Luckily, you can easily turn off hardware acceleration and see whether it fixes the issue for good. Here’s a quick guide on how to disable hardware accelerations:
Revert to the Default Theme
Custom themes are fairly common culprits that might cause instability. You can easily figure out if the custom theme that you are using is causing the issue by reverting to the default one. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this:
Disable all extensions
If you eliminated the other possibilities that might cause your Firefox browser to function normally, you might want to turn your attention towards the Add-ons that you have active. To figure out which extension is causing the instability, you’ll need to disable each one systematically. Or better yet, you can disable all extensions at once and then re-enable each one gradually until you identify the culprit. Here’s a quick guide on disabling all extensions: If you find that the problem still occurs even after you followed every repair strategy explained in Method 4, continue with Method 5.
Method 5: Enabling Hardware Acceleration
Some users that were constantly experiencing periods of unresponsiveness in Firefox have managed to resolve the issue by enabling the use of hardware acceleration in the Performance tab. Supposedly, the periods of unresponsiveness happen because certain systems don’t have the resources to process the graphical elements that the user requires without using the help of hardware acceleration. Here’s a quick guide on enabling hardware acceleration from the Options menu of Firefox:
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