Latest Firefox issues

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 19959
  • Created:
  • Creator: Michael Verdi
  • Comment: removed previous fx 9 startup crash info and replaced with update to 9.0.1 instructions for win, mac & linux. Added note to see Fx Crashes for more help, moved Fx 9 release notes section to the bottom since the other issues are more important
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: Verdi
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: Verdi
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This article lists the latest issues and their solutions for people who have just updated to the latest version of Firefox.

Firefox crashes on startup

We've released Firefox 9.0.1 which fixes issues that caused 9.0 to crash on startup. It's recommended that everyone update Firefox:

  1. At the top of the Firefox window click the Firefox button, go over to the Help menu and select About Firefox. For Windows XP: Go to the Help menu and select About Firefox.
  2. The About Firefox window will open and Firefox will begin downloading the update.
    Update Win1
  3. When the updates are downloaded and ready to be installed, click Apply Update. Firefox will be restarted and the updates will be installed.
    Update Win2
  1. On the menu bar click the Firefox menu and select About Firefox.
  2. The About Firefox window will open and Firefox will begin downloading the update.
    Update Mac1
  3. When the updates are downloaded and ready to be installed, click Apply Update. Firefox will be restarted and the updates will be installed.
    Update Mac2
  1. At the top of the Firefox window click the Help menu and select About Firefox.
  2. The About Firefox window will open and Firefox will begin downloading the update.
    Update Lin1
  3. When the updates are downloaded and ready to be installed, click Apply Update. Firefox will be restarted and the updates will be installed.
    Update Lin2
Note: If you are still having problems with Firefox crashing after installing the latest version, see Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) for additional help.

Icons missing in the Bookmarks menu

Icons (favicons) for bookmarks in the Bookmarks menu may be missing after updating to Firefox 9. To restore them:

  1. Type about:config in the address bar and press EnterReturn.
    A warning page may appear. Click Accept the Risk and Continue to go to the about:config page.
  2. In the filter section type, image.mem.decodeondraw
  3. Double-click the entry that results to change it's value to "False"
    Fix Favicons
  4. Close the tab

Firefox 9 release notes

Check the known issues section of the release notes for a list of minor problems.

Firefox crashes when I close a tab or hit the back button

Apple released Java SE 6 Update 29 on November 9th which was incompatible with Firefox. We've released a new version of Firefox that fixes this issue. Here's how to install the update:

  1. On the menu bar click the Firefox menu and select About Firefox.
  2. The About Firefox window will open and Firefox will begin checking for updates. Update Mac1
  3. When the updates are downloaded and ready to be installed, click Apply Update. Firefox will be restarted and the updates will be installed.
    Update Mac2

Firefox crashes when I start it

The latest version of Firefox fixes problems that caused it to crash when you start it. Please download and reinstall Firefox to fix it:

Roboform: If you also have the Roboform password management software installed, you will have to download and install the latest version of Roboform (7.6.2 or newer) from http://www.roboform.com/download.

Trusteer Rapport: The Trusteer Rapport software, often used by banks or other financial institutions is also causing a crash for some people. Stopping the program from running will make Firefox stop crashing. Here's how:

  1. Quit Firefox completely (including any Crash Reporter windows).
  2. Click on the Windows Start menu, go to All Programs, Trusteer Rapport and select Stop Rapport

For more see the Trusteer support site.

Note: If these solutions don't work, see Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) for additional help.

Firefox crashes when I start it

This could be due to the Trusteer Rapport software often used by banks or other financial institutions. Stopping the program from running will make Firefox stop crashing. Here's how:

  1. Quit Firefox completely (including any Crash Reporter windows).
  2. Click on the Apple Menu and select System Preferences...
  3. In the System Preferences window, click on Rapport and then select Stop Rapport

For more see the Trusteer support site.

If you don't have Trusteer Rapport installed, you may instead have a problem in your Firefox install. Try deleting and reinstalling Firefox (your bookmarks, history, saved passwords and preferences will NOT be removed):

  1. Uninstall Firefox by opening the Applications folder in the Finder and dragging the Firefox application to the Trash.
  2. Use Safari to download and install a new copy of Firefox from mozilla.org/firefox - see How to download and install Firefox on Mac for more help.
Note: If neither of these solutions work, see Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) for additional help.

Firefox crashes when I start it

If Firefox began crashing on startup after you updated, try uninstalling and reinstalling it (your bookmarks, history, saved passwords and preferences will NOT be removed):

  1. Uninstall Firefox - If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux for details. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory to uninstall Firefox.
  2. Use another browser to download and install a new copy of Firefox from mozilla.org/firefox - see Install Firefox on Linux for more help.
Note: If this solution doesn't work, see Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) for additional help.

My bookmark or page icons are gone

Firefox has a default icon that it displays for websites that haven't set their own. Previously, this default icon looked like a blank document. It has been changed to look like an empty dotted square. This may give the impression that the icon is "missing."
Windows Favicons

If you use (or have previously used) popular favicon picker add-ons, you may have other related problems with having favicons show up. You can disable the relevant add-ons and restart Firefox to see if that restores favicon behavior.

My add-ons are disabled

When Firefox updates, it turns off add-ons that are not compatible with the new version. In addition, with the latest update, we made an attempt to disable add-ons that had been installed automatically by other programs (third party add-ons). Re-enable add-ons that were disabled when updating Firefox explains how to get your add-ons working again.