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Topic: Bye, Mozilla |
Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 29 Nov 2008 3:14 pm |
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I've had Mozilla Firefox for quite a while. Got used to it and loved it. However.....the new version is no good for me. About every third bootup I get a blue screen. Can't work like that. The error usually is in temp files and when I delete the Mozilla temp files it's OK for a couple of boots.
I've deleted Mozilla. I've loaded both Google Chrome and Opera. Don't know which I like best as yet. Any ideas?
By the way. I've gone thru McAffee and Spybot to delete bad stuff but that didn't help. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Bill Ford
From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
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Posted 1 Dec 2008 3:20 pm
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As it was the other time, I upgraded FF, had nothing but trouble since.Tryin Google Chrome, so far, so good.
Bill
_________________
Bill Ford S12 CLR, S12 Lamar keyless, Misc amps&toys Sharp Covers
Steeling for Jesus now!!! |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 1 Dec 2008 8:07 pm
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I have had Firefox for several years now and have nothing but good to report. No issues like others have reported so I tend to agree with Wiz about add-ons being the culprit. It seems to me also that FF is most stable with XP. Could be issues with FF/ Vista? Dunno.
Explorer is the one I had problems with. Never again. |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 1 Dec 2008 9:18 pm
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| The thing is, the only thing I did differently is get the update for firefox, and not by my choice. I reloaded it again and I'll have problems again. Next time I get a blue screen I'll post the source of the problem. Perhaps someone can tell me more from that. |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 2 Dec 2008 8:40 pm
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| Ken what operating system are you running? |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 2 Dec 2008 9:21 pm
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Running XP home, Dell Dim 8300 and Windows. It's strange because the blue screen doesn't come up all the time. Again, next time it does I'll post what the problem is that's listed.
_________________
heavily medicated for your safety |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 3:57 am
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I have the new FF3 running OK on my Vista 32 and 64 bit machines. I don't have any add-ons so maybe that is why.
I found a new browser that I've been trying out. "Maxthon2" http://www.maxthon.com/ Give that a checkout. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 10:09 am
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I can tell you folks who are experiencing crashes when using Firefox, that something else is causing it, not the browser itself. This is a symptom.
It is possible to launch Firefox in what they call Safe Mode, which means it is devoid of all extensions, themes and add-ons. This is a good method to use to determine if the browser itself is faulty.
Go to Start > All Programs > Mozilla Firefox > (link) "Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode)" and click that link. Firefox will launch without any add-ons. Test it at all of the websites you typically visit, especially ones that are causing the browser to crash.
Odds are that nothing bad will happen when using this mode. But, should the crashes continue as you use the browser in Safe Mode, proceed to the Firefox landing page and download the most current version for your OS, saving it to your desktop. Next, go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and uninstall Mozilla Firefox. Reboot. When you re-enter Windows and everything has finished loading install Firefox using the setup file you saved to your desktop.
Once you are able to confirm that the bare bones browser is not defective, or have replaced it with a fresh installation, it is time to check all add-ons and themes to see if they have updates available. Go to Tools > Add-ons and then check for updates to all add-ons and themes, in the pop-up management box.
With all add-ons updated you should disable them all, except for the first one in the list. Operate the browser normally. If it doesn't crash re-enable the next one, then the next, and so on. Eventually, you should come to the one that is upsetting the cart!
Defective, or compromised plug-ins can cause any browser to crash. Plug-ins include Flash Player, Java Virtual Machine, Quicktime, various downloaders, security toolbars, the Google Toolbar, or hostile scripts running on pages you visit.
A clean installation of Firefox, using up to date add-ons and plug-ins that are not compromised will not simply crash on its own. Scan your computer for malware if these crashes continue. You can use Trend Micro's HouseCall online scanner if you don't have up to date on-board anti virus and anti spyware protection.
SpamBots can cause system instability also, as they go about their dirty work of downloading binaries and sending spam from your computer. To detect the presence of Bots I recommend installing RUBotted, which is a free application from Trend Micro. It's only function is to watch for Bot like behavior and alert you if any is detected. Users of Trend Micro Internet Security (PC-cillin) 2009 already have this protection.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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John Cipriano
From:
San Francisco
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Posted 5 Dec 2008 2:53 am
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Ken, like others I find it hard to believe there's a link between your blue screens and Firefox. Blue screens are symptoms of a problem that is happening at the kernel level, which is lower than Firefox is allowed to run at.
In my experience they are a sign of driver issues, hardware issues, or viruses.
That said, FF is a bit of a resource hog and if you are having problems with either RAM or your hard drive it may bring the problem to the surface. If you're absolutely sure that the blue screens are happening only when you load Firefox, then I'd check your RAM and your hard drive.
In any case, back up your important data now. Then you can always reformat, or if it's hardware-related, replace the hardware. Do some virus scanning like what Wiz linked, can't hurt even though you said you have McAfee.
It just may happen that switching browsers might help things, but as Wiz said, you're looking at a symptom and FF itself can't be the cause. |
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Bill Ford
From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 5:41 am
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Been using Maxthon for a few days now, no problems.Think I may just throw everything else away. Just my nickleworth.
Upgraded Firefox, and lost all my favorites..such a pain.
Bill
_________________
Bill Ford S12 CLR, S12 Lamar keyless, Misc amps&toys Sharp Covers
Steeling for Jesus now!!! |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 10:23 am
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| Bill Ford wrote: |
Been using Maxthon for a few days now, no problems.Think I may just throw everything else away. Just my nickleworth.
Upgraded Firefox, and lost all my favorites..such a pain.
Bill |
Those favorites are still there, somewhere in your %AppData% directories.
Here's what we know about Maxthon:
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Maxthon (pronounced [ˈmækstən] and formerly known as MyIE2) is a China-based freeware (more specifically donateware) web browser for Windows. From its early MyIE2 roots, Maxthon has developed a growing user base, especially in China, and in 2006 it received commercial backing for Maxthon 2.0. It uses the Trident layout engine, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but it can use the Gecko engine used in Mozilla Firefox as well.
Maxthon is reported to be the second most popular browser in China, and it has been downloaded more than 150 million times worldwide.
Maxthon started life as MyIE, originally created by Changyou, a Chinese programmer, who wanted to customize his Internet Explorer browser. |
More details can be found here, in the Wikipedia.
Maxthon homepage.
A word of caution to Maxthon users. Many proactive Webmasters block access to their websites to anybody using Maxthon as their browser. This is due to harvesting and spamming originating in China and Russia, via this browser.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 7:17 pm
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Well, as things usually go, I complained about this blue screen and now it's not happening anymore. I reloaded FF, and no problem. Go figure.
_________________
heavily medicated for your safety |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 8 Dec 2008 7:37 pm
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OK. Here is the info on the latest crash. Does anyone know what it means?
_________________
heavily medicated for your safety |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2008 7:46 pm
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Post the contents of the Temp file named Sysdata.xml, if it is not too big,or email it to me, and maybe I can identify a problem. If you post the file please sanitize out any personally identifiable information.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 5:25 pm
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Wiz. I did a search for Sysdata.xml so I could find it easy and send to you. The search came up empty. It said there was no such file. How do I find it?
_________________
heavily medicated for your safety |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 5:43 pm
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Ken;
I found the filename from the image you posted. It was in your Documents and Settings > (personal Identity) > Local Settings > Temp directory. Because those files are used temporarily, they are often deleted upon rebooting, so it may be gone, gone, gone.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Jeff Hyman
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2008 8:35 pm
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| I'll take FF over IE any day. I've had no problems (for a non windoze guy) from FF. |
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