Firefox had a problem and crashed in Windows 10/11

Publish date: 2024-07-15
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Firefox is one of the best browsers for Windows. However, that doesn’t mean the software runs perfectly.

Firefox occasionally crashes and closes unexpectedly. When the software crashes, a Mozilla Crash Reporter window opens stating, that Firefox had a problem and crashed. Then you’ll need to press the Restart Firefox button on that window to reopen the browser.

Various things can trigger a Firefox crash. A Firefox crash can be due to an outdated plug-in, faulty add-on, malware, hardware acceleration, outdated software, and more besides. These are a few potential fixes for a Firefox browser that’s crashing with regularity.

How to fix Firefox had a problem and crashed error

1. Consider an alternative browser

These days, users have plenty of choices when it comes to web browsers. You don’t really need to stick with one if it gives you headaches.

Switching browsers is very easy because all major ones have the ability to import and export bookmarks and settings.

What do you like about Firefox? Dark-mode? Perhaps ad-blocker? Extensions? Video pop-up?

Whatever it is, the Opera browser has them all. Plus, you get some extra goodies as well such as:

What’s not to love? So, if Firefox keeps crashing, now might be a good time to give Opera a chance.

Opera

Import your bookmarks from Firefox and enjoy a crash-free browsing experience with Opera.

2. Clear Firefox’s Cache, Cookies, and Page History

You should also clear Firefox’s cache, cookie, and page history every month. The accumulation of cache, cookie, and page history files piling up will at least slow down the browser; and can also cause it to hang or freeze. For example, the page history can interfere with Firefox’s startup.

As such, Firefox will run more smoothly if you clear its cache, cookies, and page history with some regularity.

This is how you can do that with the freeware CCleaner, easy and efficiently.

  • Open CCleaner and then click Custom Clean on the left of its window.
  • Click Applications and then select Firefox’s Internet Cache, Internet History, and Cookies checkboxes.
  • Press the Analyze button to run a preliminary scan that will show you how many files CCleaner will erase.
  • Click the Run Cleaner button and press OK to clear the cache, page history, and cookies.
  • Why use CCleaner? Because it can also be used for various other programs as well. With one simple scan, it can clean up your PC of old files and perform some registry cleanup.

    Furthermore, CCleaner offers a pretty clever tool called Intelligent Scan, which allows you to quickly and easily add websites that you frequently log in to within Options > Cookies > Cookies to Keep. You may use this feature whenever you want and tweak it as you like.

    This means your computer will be running faster and with fewer chances of encountering errors.

    3. Scan for malware

    Malware crashes most types of software. Firefox will probably crash more often if there’s malware on the desktop or laptop.

    As such, scanning for and purging malware with anti-virus software can also fix Firefox browsers that are crashing.

    Expert Tip: Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.
    Click here to download and start repairing.

    If your security software hasn’t discovered malware, consider using a different malware detection tool, to get the most accurate results after the scan.

    Because each application identifies different viruses, you can attempt scanning with a suitable anti-malware solution program.

    Before doing a scan, ensure that your vulnerability detection tools are up to date with the most recent version of their databases.

    Sometimes a reboot of your computer might be necessary. Once your system is clean, go back to Firefox. It should stop crashing.

    4. Update Firefox

  • Press the Open menu button at the top right of the browser.
  • Click the Open Help Menu (question mark) button, and select About Firefox to open the window below.Restart to update Firefox
  • The About Mozilla Firefox window checks for and downloads updates. Press the Restart Firefox to Update button when the updates are ready.
  • Mozilla usually irons out a few bugs in every Firefox version. As such, make sure you’re running the latest Firefox release.

    5. Check for Windows Updates

    You should also update Windows to ensure that the software runs more smoothly. Windows updates provide security updates and can also fix software bugs. This is how you can check for updates in Windows 10.

  • Press the Cortana button on the taskbar, and then you can enter Windows Update in the search box.
  • Select Check for Updates to open the window shown directly below.
  • Press the Check for updates button.
  • Windows will tell you if updates are available. Windows will then automatically download and install available updates.
  • 6. Update the Flash Plug-in

  • First, open this page to check if Firefox’s Flash plug-in is outdated. The page will tell you if you need to update the plug-in.
  • You can update the Flash plug-in at this website page. First, deselect the optional offer checkboxes on that page if you don’t need the extra software.
  • Press Install now to save the latest Flash installer to Windows.
  • Close Firefox and open the folder that includes the Flash installer. Then you can open the installer to update Flash.
  • Flash is the only plug-in Firefox really supports these days. Browser developers have abandoned plug-ins precisely because of their vulnerabilities, and an antiquated Flash plug-in can also freeze or crash Firefox in some way. As such, updating Flash, if it needs updating, will also ensure Firefox runs more smoothly.

    7. Run Firefox in Safe Mode

  • Press the Open menu button at the top right of Firefox’s window.
  • Click the Open Help Menu question mark button, and select the Restart with Add-ons Disabled option from the menu.
  • A Restart with Add-ons Disabled window will then open. Press the Restart button to confirm.
  • A Firefox Safe Mode dialog window opens, which includes a Start in Safe Mode button. Press that button to launch the browser in Safe Mode.
  • Firefox includes a Safe Mode that you can troubleshoot the browser with. That’s a troubleshooting tool that switches add-ons and hardware acceleration off and restores the browser’s default theme.

    If Firefox doesn’t crash in Safe Mode, it must be an add-on, theme, or hardware acceleration crashing the browser.

    Read more about this topic

    8. Switch off Firefox Add-ons

    To switch Firefox’s add-ons off, click Open menu > Add-ons to open the tab below.

  • Toggle the Add-ons button to disable it.
  • Then toggle again to reactivate the extensions. Restart Firefox after switching each add-on back on.
  • When you discover the faulty add-on that’s crashing the browser, press its three-dotted button, and click on the Remove button on the Add-ons Manager tab.
  • If Firefox doesn’t crash in Safe Mode, then an add-on is probably crashing the browser. You could just continue browsing in Safe Mode with all the add-ons off. However, you can also switch the add-ons off manually.

    Switch all the extensions off, and then enable each of them again one at a time to discover the add-on that’s crashing the browser.

    9. Switch off Hardware Acceleration

    Firefox’s hardware acceleration makes the most of your desktop’s or laptop’s graphics card to render objects on web pages.

    However, hardware acceleration doesn’t always work so well with some graphics cards and drivers and can also crash Firefox. So switching hardware acceleration off can be an effective fix for Firefox crashes.

  • Click the Open menu button and select Preferences to open the tab below.Disable Hardware acceleration in Firefox
  • Scroll down until you find the Performance section.
  • Untick the Use recommended performance settings.
  • A new option will show called Use hardware acceleration when available. Deselect that setting to switch hardware acceleration off.
  • Then restart the Firefox browser.
  • 10. Update the Graphics Card Driver

  • Press the Win key + X hotkey to open the Win X menu.
  • Select Device Manager from that menu.
  • Click Display adapters in Device Manager, and then you can right-click the graphics card listed there to open the context menu.
  • Select the Update Driver Software option to open the window shown directly below.
  • Select the Search automatically for updated driver software option to scan for driver updates.
  • Windows will automatically install available graphics card driver updates.
  • Restart the OS if Windows does install a driver update.
  • Updating an outmoded graphics card driver can also fix Firefox hardware acceleration crashes. You can update drivers with third-party software, Windows tools, or by downloading them from manufacturer websites yourself.

    11. Reset the Browser

  • Press the Open menu and Open Help Menu buttons in Firefox.
  • Then you can select Troubleshooting Information to open the page tab directly below.Firefox troubleshooting page for reset or safe mode
  • Press the Refresh Firefox button.
  • Click Refresh Firefox in the window that opens to confirm the selected option.
  • Firefox then closes and reverts to its default configuration. Thereafter, a window opens that includes a Finish button, which you can press to reopen the browser.
  • Resetting Firefox is another good way to fix crashes. Refreshing the browser restores it to its default settings and removes extensions and themes that can crash Firefox. However, you will retain your bookmarks and cookies after resetting the browser.

    Those fixes will ensure Firefox crashes less often at least. If you fill out the Mozilla Crash Reporter, you can also get some feedback for fixing the crash from the Mozilla stuff.

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