[HOW TO] Fix Firefox (97.0.1) crashing/freezing Zorin OS

Tutorials & Guides
1

Ran into a strange issue where uploading files through Firefox would cause the whole system to freeze.

Firefox - 97.0.1 (64-bit)
Zorin - 16 / 64-bit / X11

Fix - in Firefox - Settings - Privacy & Security - Cookies and Site Data
Clear "Cookies and Site Data" & "Cached Web Content"

This is annoying as you'll have to log into websites again but this is the only fix I found that worked. There wasn't a lot of information on this issue so hopefully, this might save people time in the future.

2

What happens if you try another browser, such as Falkon? You also mention upload problems - not Box is it? I had been using Box for when I created the unofficial manual for Zorin 12. Then they changed their modus operandi and downloaders had to sign up for a Box account before they could download the manual. I contacted them and they told me:

  1. They don't support GNU/Linux, and
  2. They don't support Firefox!
    Strange as I had used and created the manual using exactly these.
    I moved to pCloud for a bit (states it is Swiss when all their storage is in the US)
    I now only use e.Cloud because I moved to an un-Googled smartphone that also gave me an @e.email address and 1 Gb of e.Cloud storage, which is all I need with all the external hard drives I have!
4

Hi, I tried other browsers and they worked fine, seems to be isolated to Firefox at this time. Thank you for your reply.

5

Hi, I installed the browser from the software store on Zorin.
Hardware specs:
Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz × 8
16 GB RAM
1TB HD with 300GB Windows / The rest for Zorin. Windows was installed first.

image
I do seem to have a swap file.

7

I've installed the apt version and done a bunch of testing, seems stable and haven't had any issues. Thank you for your help. :slight_smile:

1 Like
9

Hi Harvey, for some reason I can't seem to find how to mark the solution? Sorry. But it was your apt install suggestion. :slight_smile:

10

The Helpdesk forums contain the ability to mark solutions. Tutorials and Chat and Feedback all do not offer the Solution option as there is no need for it.
Likely, 337harvey forgot that this was in Tutorials.
Which I also do... too often...

3 Likes
11

I'm curious as to how Firefox is configured. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling it? I'm also curious in the amount of RAM you have and the sort of processor you have. Gnome has the ability to handle a big quantity of RAM. It's possible that expanding the swap file size will help, but without understanding more about your system, I couldn't say.

14

I had an issue with the installed Firefox as well...

I installed Firefox from Mozilla and so far haven't had any issues. Just make sure you remove the one currently installed first.

The instructions are on Mozilla's website and very easy to follow, and I used my old profile so I didn't have to reinstall any extensions.

1 Like