hello john, i think it would be better to establish the root cause of those crashes first & only downgrade in case it is not solvable otherwise. a big part of the crashes after the update to firefox 18 actually seems to be triggered by "incompatible" malware, in this case it would certainly not be a good idea to move back to firefox 17 and keep the underlying issue untreated...

can you actually get firefox to start without crashing? if so, please enter about:crashes into the location bar - in there copy the ids of the last few crash reports and paste them here into your reply.

in case firefox is already crashing when you're opening it please use the following procedure to obtain the relevant crash ids:

1. Press the following shortcut to get a Run window: [Windows] + [R]. This should bring up a window that contains a text field.
2. In that text field, enter %APPDATA% and press Enter. An explorer window should open.
3. From that explorer window, double-click on the Mozilla folder, then double-click on Firefox and then on Crash reports. Double-click on submitted.
4. Now, you should see a list of files that contain reports. Go to View > Arrange Icons by > Modified to get the most recent files at the top of the window.
5. Open the most recent 5 files with a text editor and copy the IDs.
6. Paste each ID into the reply window on the forums.

Mozilla doesn't want users to revert to an older version, so they don't make it easy to locate the older versions. As madperson mentioned, the correct way to proceed is to establish the root cause of your crashes, and fix that problem.

Hi, thanks for the prompt response.

Crash reports are listed below, as requested..

I have to tell you that I've followed the threads of others reporting this problem, and they scan with multiple tools, and don't find anything wrong, except latest version of FF and latest updates to XP don't seem to get along. Like them I'd rather use an earlier FF than remove latest security updates from XP. Having said that, I use Norton Internet Security myself, and can scan with other tools (as long as they are free or cheap - I get too many conflicting opinions on what is good and what isn't). I do have the free version of Malwarebytes. Any recommendations?

I'm also thinking that in future I will wait for a few months after a FF update and let others find the problems!  :)

Hope you can divine something useful from the entrails listed below...

Thanks, John

bp-5b00293c-450d-45a2-9eca-46bd5213011320 13-01-13 5:40 PM
bp-b3f17ca2-dc8b-4a51-9f6b-6ff4b213011320 13-01-13 5:39 PM
bp-1c1e2487-2893-4f6d-ac4b-16429213011320 13-01-13 5:23 PM
bp-5b22d3dc-fd95-4681-ba85-95467213011320 13-01-13 5:14 PM
bp-72369b82-ff42-4004-b509-e63ac213011320 13-01-13 5:11 PM
bp-180d437d-bcf3-4483-b595-ddb6f213011320 13-01-13 2:18 AM
bp-b5b52656-9576-4d7b-964b-a454a213011120 13-01-11 7:00 PM
bp-1200140f-ca1e-4a37-b91e-4b805213011120 13-01-11 5:53 PM
bp-f6769367-4c0d-4db1-85a4-ac066213011120 13-01-11 1:14 PM

That are crashes in Norton software ([@ coffplgn.dll@0x3714 ]), possibly Norton Confidential and you will have to disable the involved Norton extension (component) for Firefox.

• https://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/5b00293c-450d-45a2-9eca-46bd52130113

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

• Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode

Thanks for this suggestion. I restarted in safe mode and the problem was resolved. But... I have the default theme, I turned off hardware acceleration, and I disabled all extensions. I have also deleted my saved sessions. The problem still happens if I'm not in safe mode. I notice there is no suggestion in the Help dialogues to turn off the plug-ins... are they not considered a possible source of problems?

Any suggestions as to what I do now?

John

Thanks cor-el, although at first FF didn't crash, eventually it did start crashing again, so I did a binary turn off and on of the extensions and found that it was the Norton Toolbar 2012.5.10.1 that was causing the problem. Is there anyone I can report this to in order to expedite a fix in FF or Norton?

hello, please contact tyler either per mail or PM - he is working with norton to address the issue but would need some input by affected users.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/708917?last=50266#post-50263

Also try the Firefox 18.0.1 update if you have not yet.

Thanks, James, but I already have 18.0.1. I'll get by without the Norton Toolbar for now.

John

Hello madperson, This is my crash report. Malware Bytes found 4 items, which it cleaned and I still have the crashing problem.

Report ID                                Date Submitted

bp-01024d9c-d92c-466a-b53a-525bd2130215  2/15/2013  08:17
bp-0b593a88-dd19-4970-b678-994e22130215  2/14/2013  22:57
bp-cbe12ed5-90c8-46f8-b4e0-180b22130215  2/14/2013  22:52
bp-d1cd16ad-fc45-4716-8261-b51522130215  2/14/2013  22:47
bp-15e76921-fad3-4448-80b6-08f5a2130215  2/14/2013  22:32
bp-91e6b55c-e4ea-43d9-838d-8573b2130215  2/14/2013  22:24
bp-052fdc72-a8ae-4b81-9a82-35a792130215  2/14/2013  19:21
bp-1634c084-eb88-4745-a128-f49342130215  2/14/2013  18:22
bp-df96236d-db3b-4244-8eb0-98dc22130215  2/14/2013  17:50
bp-58434c69-c3ad-44cb-82cd-70b102130215  2/14/2013  17:49
bp-ba9c0a57-d567-4a42-b7b8-e3cb42130215  2/14/2013  17:49
bp-95596a5c-e19f-4ded-859b-a457f2130215  2/14/2013  17:48
bp-ee5e6204-e0bd-4489-9ae3-1077a2130215  2/14/2013  17:48
bp-b8d6959a-a754-4579-b27c-46bd02130215  2/14/2013  17:44
bp-b9cd9b33-47a6-4366-99a9-e8ff52130215  2/14/2013  17:23
bp-9356bab8-1c40-4837-8ee0-cfb062130215  2/14/2013  16:02
bp-6172141d-8e90-476c-a0be-70b152130214  2/14/2013  15:57
bp-d9f28ae5-25c1-4766-9556-4d2212130214  2/14/2013  15:57
bp-7de86a8b-64e4-43d8-978e-194aa2130214  2/14/2013  15:57

George, please create your own new thread, your crashes are different than the original poster's on this thread