when web browsing, my Mac desktop "hangs" i.e., totally freezes and I have to press the power button to restart, should I "refresh" or do a "fresh reinstall"?
My Mac repeatedly "hangs" when web browsing. It's happening more often than when the problem first started. I have to turn the power off as its the only way to get the Mac to respond at all as it totally freezes where the mouse does not work at all. So....what should I do...a refresh or a fresh install and what is the difference?
Thanks.
All Replies (3)
Either or both may work. Try Firefox's safe mode first of all
The refresh deals with problems due to settings changes and addons in use.
The clean install deals with problems where the core files of Firefox are corrupt.
On the other hand the problems may relate to hardware, drivers or or other software. Are you noting any particular pattern. For instance is this only on sites with video content ?
Thank you. I will try what you suggest. It does not only happen on video sites. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It started a couple months ago, then it stopped for a while now it is happening often. I'm going to try just using the Safari browser and see if it happens while using that. My iMac is just one year and 4 months new. If I reinstall, will I lose my bookmarks? Thanks again.
You should not lose bookmarks on reinstalling. You should take care not to delete your Firefox profile. For belts and braces safety backup your bookmarks first. See