Try to disable hardware acceleration, go from Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available" , and check it again.

thank you

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately this slowed the browser somewhat. So it took slightly longer to load the browser, and the page before it froze. I think this issue may turn me into a Chrome user unfortunately. Thanks for trying though.

A possible cause is security software (firewall,anti-virus) that blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.

Remove all rules for Firefox and the plugin-container from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process and the updater process.

See:

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Server+not+found
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Firewalls

See also:

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Firefox+crashes+when+you+open+it
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser_will_not_start_up

Thanks for trying to help resolve this issue guys. A possible anti-virus - firewall issue was the first thing that I tried, second was searching for missing registry entries or files. Your links may help many people, however they seem to be different than my issue. This problem also occurred in safe mode. If version 14 doesn't fix this problem, then I think Mozilla just lost a user that has been with them since the Netscape days. If I sound like a computer geek, I've been working with them since the Apple II.

hello, another thing probably worth a try is using the reset feature that was introduced in firefox 13: Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings - in case the browser hangs right away at startup, try accessing by launching in safemode.

This issue started before Firefox 13, when Firefox 12 was first installed. Resetting Firefox had no effect on this issue. I am unable to submit the programming error to Mozilla directly because the browser doesn't file a crash report, nor even list any error, because of its freezing on the homepage.

As for changing settings, I have tried over 30 different ways to resolve this issue with no success. These include resetting Firefox, running it in safe mode, uninstalling and then re-installing Firefox, updating Firefox both ways, from the browser & from the original program file. I have also checked numerous computer settings for Windows 7, User Account Control, Control Panel, registry entries, searching for missing program or registry files, antivirus / firewall interactions, Windows Update, administrative settings, DOS files & settings, and others.

I should state that there are no plugins installed in my Firefox browser. You can not troubleshoot errors in safe mode when Firefox freezes on the homepage and will not let you access settings or close, task manager is the only way you can close it. I think Firefox has lost my use as a web browser, and I am probably going to have to unfortunately switch to Chrome. I am always open to new ideas. Hopefully I will find a solution. Thanks for trying to help out everybody.

Does it still happen if you boot the computer in Safe mode with network support (press F8 at the boot screen)?

The Firefox browser unfortunately will freeze if you are in safe mode, and also if you click "run as administrator" for the program. As someone that knows how to fix his registry and some programs, this seems to be a different type of issue. I have tried re-downloading the Firefox 13 program 3 times from websites including Cnet's www.download.com, & www.fileHippo.com, and directly from Mozilla's Firefox download site. This doesn't seem to make any difference. Maybe Mozilla needs to look into a true 64-bit version of Firefox, as the 128 bit operating system will be here sooner than most people think.