◇ Browser Errors
Firefox not responding — How to fix on Windows
Firefox 'not responding' on Windows traces to: a corrupted profile, an add-on stuck in an infinite loop, or hardware acceleration fighting with a GPU driver.
- Time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Applies to
- Windows 11, Windows 10
- Updated
- May 25, 2026
Symptoms
- ▸Firefox freezes for 5-30 seconds at random
- ▸Tabs go white and don't load
- ▸CPU usage spikes from a Firefox process
Likely causes
- ▸Corrupted places.sqlite (history database)
- ▸Add-on with a memory leak
- ▸Hardware acceleration on an unstable GPU driver
- ▸Antivirus scanning Firefox cache
How to fix it — step by step
- 01
Refresh Firefox
about:support→ click Refresh Firefox. Keeps bookmarks, passwords, history; removes add-ons and theme tweaks. - 02
Disable hardware acceleration
Settings → General → Performance → uncheck Use recommended performance settings → uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available. Restart. - 03
Start in Troubleshoot Mode
Help menu → Troubleshoot Mode. Disables all add-ons. If freezing stops, an add-on is the cause.
- 04
Add Firefox folder to antivirus exclusions
Add
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\and%LOCALAPPDATA%\Mozilla\as exclusions in Defender / your AV.