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Firefox not responding, similar to DNS lookup failing?

  • 7 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by CrossFireX

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Fresh install of Windows 7 Pro x64, and using Firefox 64bit version 43.0.4. This issue has been happening for several days.

Firefox will work like a champ for several hours, then stop responding to new lookups. The circles on my tabs keep spinning. It reacts the same way when a DNS Server is offline.

If I open up IE, it goes right to google.com but Firefox is still not doing lookups. I can close tabs, open new ones, open private browsing etc. - it still hangs.

I do a ping test to 4.2.2.2 and have solid connectivity with 16ms. My IP DNS Servers are set manually to Open DNS Servers: 208.67.220.222 and 208.67.222.220. I have tried different DNS Servers but the issue still occurs.

Any ideas?

Fresh install of Windows 7 Pro x64, and using Firefox 64bit version 43.0.4. This issue has been happening for several days. Firefox will work like a champ for several hours, then stop responding to new lookups. The circles on my tabs keep spinning. It reacts the same way when a DNS Server is offline. If I open up IE, it goes right to google.com but Firefox is still not doing lookups. I can close tabs, open new ones, open private browsing etc. - it still hangs. I do a ping test to 4.2.2.2 and have solid connectivity with 16ms. My IP DNS Servers are set manually to Open DNS Servers: 208.67.220.222 and 208.67.222.220. I have tried different DNS Servers but the issue still occurs. Any ideas?

All Replies (7)

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Hello, did you try google also ? 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 ?

thank you

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Yes. The symptoms are like a DNS issue, but I don't think it is a DNS issue. DNS is working, because IE works just fine. If I close FF and re-open it, it works fine. After several minutes of sitting there spinning, the FF tabs will work normally again.

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Try a new firefox profile to check if the issue persist.

thanks again

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Looks like we have the same problem. Firefox works fine for a while, but suddenly I cannot open any pages, all I see is "Waiting for...", this hang lasts for maybe 30 seconds to 1 minute and then it works fine again. This happens a few times a day and I cannot get rid of it and I cannot replicate it either...

Other browsers do not have this problem and there is nothing wrong with my internet connection or DNS (tried several). I do not use Wi-Fi, I have a 1000/100 Mbit/s connection with CAT6 cables and gigabit equipment.

See ping results: Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8: Packets: Sent = 25585, Received = 25585, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 22ms, Average = 12ms

Before I get the tip refresh or new profile, this is what I've tried so far:

  • Refresh Firefox
  • Uninstalled anti-virus
  • New profile
  • Did a back-up of my bookmarks and passwords. Completely removed Firefox and all traces of it like profiles etc. Re-installed Firefox and restored my bookmarks and passwords manually, re-configured my settings and installed all of my addons manually.
  • Same complete re-install as above but this time I did not restore any bookmarks, passwords, didn't install any addons and so on.
  • Re-installed Windows

None of the above worked. I still get the same "Waiting for..." problem and it's driving me nuts!

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Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) to see if that has effect.

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cor-el said

Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) to see if that has effect.

This has only happened every few days, so staying in Safe Mode is not an option. Today it happened again. Usually it resolves itself after a minute or two, but today it has hung for a long time.

Same issues - new tabs won't load pages, they just sit there with the circle spinning. Open private browsing window - same behavior. Stop DNS Client service - same behavior. IE, Outlook and pings to the Internet work fine during this time.

The only add-on I use are Adblock Plus and Flash.

I created a new Firefox profile and have switched to that. I will see if that helps.

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Safe mode doesn't help. I think it's a memory problem. When it happens I exit Firefox and when I try to start it again it says that Firefox is already running. If I exit Firefox, wait 30 seconds maybe and start it again, the "DNS lookup problem" is gone and I can surf normally.

Note that when Firefox runs normally and I exit it and start it immediately again, the "Firefox is already running" doesn't appear.

So I think it's most definitively a memory problem.