Sorry to hear about this problem. Each new release is tested for several weeks, but there always are hardware and software differences that introduce unexpected new bugs...

Can you start Firefox in its Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox. More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any less crashy?

poetrybird said

Since the update sent to me for firefox browser it freezes my computer. when I onen the browser at first it zooms to a real close up of the corner of the screen and then just freezes my computer. have uninstalled and reinstalles 4 or 5 times now. rebooted at least 10 times before and after each uninstall and reinstall. I'm very angry about this. I recommend you browser to everyone and now I feel like a fool because it's sooo fucked up and bad now.

My computer is running in safe mode. that doesn't make a difference either way.

I do NOT want to download firefox on my computer again to try it anyway. not until someone ELSE knows what I'm talking about and can fix it on their own computer. I went through hell all day yesterday with this problem.

Yes, I didn't mean Windows Safe Mode, but Firefox's Safe Mode. Maybe someone else will recognize your description of the problem. If you don't need Firefox right away, no harm in waiting to see.

Were you getting the Mozilla Crash Reporter dialog, or the Windows crash dialog, or going straight to a blue screen/black screen? If you were getting the Mozilla dialog and you didn't remove your personal data when you uninstalled Firefox, then you might still be able to access any stored crash reports. You can submit that data to Mozilla and share it with forum volunteers to see whether it points to the solution. Please check the last section of the support article "Firefox Crashes" for steps to get those crash IDs, and then post some of the recent ones here.

It doesn't CRASH as in it disappears from the screen. it FREEZES as in nothing can be done. no closing a window no clicking on a link, nothing it has to be forced to shut down the computer. I just want to go back to the previous version. Why the update anyway?

There is a link to get an older installer in our article: Install an older version of Firefox. Mozilla has already published the security vulnerabilities in that version, so it would be preferable to update again as soon as possible.

You may want to investigate whether there are any updates available for your graphics card/chipset driver software, as Firefox 38 may have turned on some capabilities it did not use before. And please do the Firefox Safe Mode test when you get a chance.

None of this is helpful. none. how am I supposed to DO ANYTHING? In safe mode??? the whold thing FREEZES! all these links to follow that I have to do in IE. It has all sorts of "helpful" suggestions for me to do WHILE using firefox as my browser.....can't be done, because, hello,....it freezes. every link I follow tells me what to do with the browser downloaded. I follow a link that is supposed to lead me to a way to download an older version, except that's not where it leads. what a screw up this mess is.

Hi poetrybird, you do not need to be running Firefox in normal mode to switch to Safe Mode. Just hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox as described in https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1062427#answer-729428.

In the "older version" article, the link is in the middle of a sentence after a warning.

Oh, actually, it's the sentence before the warning.

FIREFOX DOES NOT RESPOND AT ALL. IT IS IN A FROZEN STATE. YOU CAN DO NOTHING WITH IT. SAFE MODE. NOT SAFE MODE. IT IS FROZEN.

jscher2000 said

Hi poetrybird, you do not need to be running Firefox in normal mode to switch to Safe Mode. Just hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox as described in https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1062427#answer-729428. In the "older version" article, the link is in the middle of a sentence after a warning. THAT MAKES NO SENSE. IF IT'S NOT RUNNING IN NORMAL MODE HOW CAN IT BE SWITCHED TO ANYTHING? Oh, actually, it's the sentence before the warning.

Hi poetrybird, if Firefox is frozen, before you could start it in Safe Mode or install an old version, you would need to restart Windows or kill Firefox using the Windows 7 Task Manager. Here's how to use the Task Manager:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to call up the Task Manager
• On the Applications tab, look for Firefox, select it, and click End Task. This may take some time since Windows may try to communicate with Firefox for a while.
• If End Task doesn't work, or Firefox is not listed on the Applications tab, switch to the Processes tab. Select firefox.exe and click End Process. Then OK the warning prompt.

Can you get that far?