For several days now, there has been an issue where actions in the Firefox browser cause the entire laptop to freeze. Nothing works anymore. Neither task switching nor shortcuts to access the terminal. No keyboard inputs are accepted and the mouse cursor no longer moves. DE is Gnome. The latest patches in the Stable Channel are installed.
It seems likely that this is due to Firefox, as it always occurs when a link is clicked in Firefox or when working with the DEV Console. I have not had any problems with other applications so far. Unfortunately, I do not understand why this causes the entire computer to freeze.
The command line switch -safe-mode starts Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode, which disables extensions, themes, hardware acceleration, the JIT and some other features for this session.
This mode can also be enabled by pressing on the hamburger menu while Firefox is open, clicking Help, selecting Troubleshoot Mode and confirming this on the modal dialog that appears. Please note this will require a browser restart.
This mode was previously named Safe Mode until Firefox 88.
Firefox refresh
Some issues experienced by users in Firefox may be caused by profile issues, such as corruption.
If you have ruled out other causes, it may be worth trying a new Firefox profile for testing purposes to see if this will resolve your issue. More information on how to create a new profile and switch between profiles can be found on the Firefox support page: Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles | Firefox Help
If this resolves your issue, you should switch back to your original profile and consider refreshing your Firefox.
Refreshing your profile will retain all browsing and download history, bookmarks, web form auto-fill data, cookies, personal dictionary and passwords, and will transfer them to a brand new profile without extensions, themes, extension data and preferences, among other data. A backup of your old profile will also be retained.
To refresh your profile, navigate to about:support, press Refresh Firefox and confirm this on the modal dialog that appears. about:support can also be accessed by pressing the Hamburger menu, selecting Help and then clicking More troubleshooting information.
As a new or infrequent forum user, please take some time to familiarise yourself with Forum requirements, and the many ways to use the forum to your benefit.
To that end, links are provided (below) - Please use them.
Be prepared to provide outputs from various commands when asked. It’s equally important to provide as much actionable information as possible in your first post, rather than simply indicating there is a problem.
Waiting for someone to blindly ask questions is also counter-productive – typically, nobody has a at their disposal – Instead, please help others to make informed suggestions, based on information you provide.
Update Announcements
The Update Announcements contain important information and a Known Issues and Solutions section that should generally be checked before posting a request for support.
System Information
While information from *-fetch type apps might be fine for someone wishing to buy your computer, for Support purposes it’s better to ask your system directly;
Output of the inxi command (with appropriate parameters, and formatted according to forum guidelines) will generate information useful for those wishing to help:
