Troubleshooting Guide for Firefox Not Responding

In the middle of work on the internet which is of top priority, do you get the annoying message “Firefox not responding”? It doesn’t obey any of the instructions you give!! No doubt, it gives you a headache and is quite frustrating.

Firefox is among the first five web browsers which can be considered as a formidable opponent to its other counterparts, such as Chrome which is at the forefront of the list of web browsers.

However, Firefox is not far behind Chrome. It is indeed the primarily used web browser or at least the standby web browser of many internet surfers. It is even taking leaps to move forward in the competition by introducing features that cater to the modern-day digital world. Firefox Quantum, which is the new upgrade of Firefox, is a good example of this.

 Yet if you keep getting these annoying notifications and feel like you are sinking in quicksand, be still. There is a way out of it.

What causes Firefox not responding?

Firefox not responding may occur owing to many reasons. This can happen,

• When you are on a website that contains heavy graphics, or you are in the middle of a big download which in turn, Firefox uses a lot of resources on your computer to deliver the duty.
• Certain extensions that you are using in your browser are problematic or if hardware acceleration is running.
• Due to a theme you are using instead of the default Firefox theme.

How to fix Firefox not responding?

Now let’s explore the actions we can take to resolve Firefox not responding.

If Firefox uses more resources than usual, it may impact the performance of the computer and that of the browser since the CPU and RAM run out of capacity to help Firefox do its task. In such a moment, you can try the following resorts.

Update Firefox to its latest version

New updates may contain improvements in performance. So that by updating the browser might be able to fix Firefox not responding.

Restart the browser

If the browser is working for a long time continuously, it may use more resources on your computer. Restarting the browser will give your machine some time to breathe and let Firefox run smoothly. Do not worry about the tabs you were using. You can always restore the tabs that you were working with.

Restart the computer

Yes. This is a typical method to make the computer forget the problem, and Firefox not responding is no exemption for this.

Close unnecessary tabs

Of course, in busy times with a pile of work on your shoulder, opening a tab does feel a lot. So you might keep many tabs open. But this consumes the resources of the computer and may cause a crash. You don’t want to search over and again. Simply bookmark the pages you need.

Decrease the content process limit

Unlike the older versions of Firefox, in new versions called Multiprocess Firefox or E10s, a separate process runs for each tab. Actually, this enhances the performance of the browser, but in compensation, it devours the memory. If your computer is running low on memory, you can decrease the number of content processes below 8, which is the default number.

To fix problems related to faulty extensions, themes or hardware acceleration.

Firefox troubleshoot mode

Opening Firefox in troubleshoot mode will strip out extensions and open Firefox in the default theme. It also ceases hardware acceleration. This will let you diagnose if one of these things causes the problem. Follow the following procedure to open Firefox in troubleshoot mode.

1. Click the menu button ☰
2. Select ‘Troubleshoot mode..’
3. Click ‘Restart’ on the appearing dialogue box
4. Click ‘Open” in the appearing ‘Open Firefox in Troubleshoot mode’ window.
5. Now, you can test for the problem.

You can also open Firefox in troubleshoot mode by holding down the ‘shift key while Firefox is starting.

If the problem is still remaining, then the issue is not with these components. If the problem did not occur during troubleshooting, then you have to do the following things.

Switch the theme to default

 This is how you want to do it.

1. Click the menu button ☰
2. Click ‘Add-ons and Themes’
3. Select ‘Themes.’
4. Find the default theme and click ‘Enable.’
5. Click the menu button again and ‘Exit.’
6. Open the browser again to see the result.

If the problem still remains, then move to the next step.

Disable the extensions

1. Click the menu button ☰
2. Click ‘Add-ons and Themes’
3. Select ‘Extensions.’
4. Disable the extension by clicking the blue toggle 
5. Repeat this for all the enabled extensions
6. Click the menu button again and ‘Exit.’
7. Open the browser again to see the result.

Now all the extensions are disabled. If the problem is solved, then one of the extensions is faulty. Then you have to enable an extension at once and restart the browser to identify the faulty one.

If that is not the reason for the problem, you have to try the next step.

Try turning off hardware acceleration

It is possible for Firefox to crash due to some graphic processors when hardware acceleration is running. By turning it off, the problem might get fixed.

1. Click the menu button ☰
2. Select ‘Settings.’
3. Select ‘General.’
4. Scroll down till you find ‘Performance.’
5. Uncheck ‘Use recommended performance settings
6. Then uncheck ‘Use hardware acceleration when available
7. Click the menu button again and ‘Exit.’
8. Start Firefox again

If Firefox is back on its track, then it is this setting that has caused the problem.

Conclusion

Firefox is even older than Chrome, and it is even getting better despite the fact that Chrome in the lead. Mozilla is introducing new versions that attract users even more. Yet, the crashes are unavoidable. Here in this article, we brought you some important measures you can take in such cases. Don’t let these crashes ruin your mood. Try these things whenever Firefox is not responding. 

More on techtripe.com: All you want to know about Google Chrome safe mode, read here.