Firefox just completely stopped working....is Lion the cause?

[FurryFoxMacuser]

Well, I was just on the internet on firefox on my mac running Lion 10.7.2 and I noticed it was taking longer and longer to load even the simplest page like Facebook. Then I closed out of the browser and then tried to go back into it and it said something to the effect of trying to restore my last session. Then I have the option of either restoring the last session or start a new session. Whenever I click on either of the selections firefox freezes up and I have to force quit the app. Is this a problem with Lion or just a bug I have with firefox? Or worse is it a virus? The rest of my mac seems ok that's why I don't think that it's a virus. But idk. So has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.

-Dan

 

[Senex]

Well, I was just on the internet on firefox on my mac running Lion 10.7.2 and I noticed it was taking longer and longer to load even the simplest page like Facebook. Then I closed out of the browser and then tried to go back into it and it said something to the effect of trying to restore my last session. Then I have the option of either restoring the last session or start a new session. Whenever I click on either of the selections firefox freezes up and I have to force quit the app. Is this a problem with Lion or just a bug I have with firefox? Or worse is it a virus? The rest of my mac seems ok that's why I don't think that it's a virus. But idk. So has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.

-Dan

What version of Firefox?

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Have you tried deleting all the support file and starting FF fresh?

 

[FurryFoxMacuser]

@Senex, it's the newest version of firefox out there. I think that it's firefox 7, but I'm not sure. @Michaelgtrusa, I've tried but it still just keeps freezing up. idk what to do at this point. Just stuck with using safari for now I guess.

 

[MacDawg]

Well, it isn't a virus, that much is certain since none exist

And Firefox works fine on my Lion MBA, so not Lion either
(FWIW there would be chaos if FF was not working on all Lion machines)

I would say your FF install is corrupt in some way
Preferences, cookies, something

I would delete and reinstall from scratch

 

[waynep]

Firefox is up to version 8.0.1 on my MBP. I am running Lion and it works fine. I would suggest uninstalling FF and reinstalling fresh up to date version.

 

[blackburn]

The latest version is 9.0.1. I bet your firefox profile is corrupted. Try deleting it or moving it if you have bookmarks.

 

[SplicedBanjo]

There is also a public beta of Firefox 10 available. Firefox 7 is definitely NOT up to date, and updating should be your first line of troubleshooting.

 

[GGJstudios]

Or worse is it a virus?

It can't be a virus, since none exist. Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

Is this a problem with Lion or just a bug I have with firefox?

It's most likely not a problem with Lion or Firefox in general. It's a problem with your particular installation. I agree with others that you should try uninstalling/reinstalling Firefox.

 

[nippyjun]

It could be an addon causing it. Start firefox in safe mode and see if it works. If it does. Disable all addons and add back one by one to see which is the culprit.

 

[FurryFoxMacuser]

idk what happened to my mac but for some reason it won't even run the newest firefox. I've uninstalled it from my mac and put the newest on on there. It just keeps freezing up. It's not like its doing this with safari too, it's only doing it with firefox. I've never had this problem with any of the other macs I've ever owned. Idk where to go from here. Apple probably won't even look at it since they don't support firefox. Do I put Snow Leopard on the machine? I mean I know it's just a browser, but I really don't like using safari or google chrome. But for now safari will have to do.

 

[GGJstudios]

idk what happened to my mac but for some reason it won't even run the newest firefox. I've uninstalled it from my mac and put the newest on on there. It just keeps freezing up. It's not like its doing this with safari too, it's only doing it with firefox. I've never had this problem with any of the other macs I've ever owned. Idk where to go from here. Apple probably won't even look at it since they don't support firefox. Do I put Snow Leopard on the machine? I mean I know it's just a browser, but I really don't like using safari or google chrome. But for now safari will have to do.

Launch Activity Monitor and change "My Processes" at the top to "All Processes", then click on the CPU column heading once or twice, so the arrow points downward (highest values on top). Then look to see what may be consuming system resources.

 

[GermanyChris]

idk what happened to my mac but for some reason it won't even run the newest firefox. I've uninstalled it from my mac and put the newest on on there. It just keeps freezing up. It's not like its doing this with safari too, it's only doing it with firefox. I've never had this problem with any of the other macs I've ever owned. Idk where to go from here. Apple probably won't even look at it since they don't support firefox. Do I put Snow Leopard on the machine? I mean I know it's just a browser, but I really don't like using safari or google chrome. But for now safari will have to do.

If you're looking for an excuse to go back to Snow Leopard here's your chance, but my wife is currently having issues with FF 9 on 10.6.8.