Firefox and Gmail

FirefoxAre there any other Firefox users who have Gmail (Google Mail) accounts? If so, please put me out of my misery. Does your copy of firefox crash every single time you try and do something with your mailbox?

I am using Firefox 2.0.0.14, which as far as I can tell is the most up to date version. I have tried updating it and I have tried updating various other components on my computer. All to no avail.

Without fail, every time I go into Gmail the countdown to a crash begins. I can view all manner of other pages, have twenty tabs open and be downloading huge files. All fine. Try to click on a folder in Gmail and it is game over. I have sort of narrowed it down to something in the scripts on Gmail causing the crash but I am not totally sure (yet).

Recent examples: I tried to create a new filter… crash. I tried to view all starred mail… crash. I tried to view all emails with a given tag… crash. I tried to send an email… crash.

The only saving grace is I can read emails and, despite FF crashing on me it actually manages to send the emails. It is, in a nutshell, a nightmare. Fortunately Internet Explorer is perfectly functional with Gmail, but this makes it all the more annoying. During a given day, I wouldn’t have any reason to open IE if it wasn’t for bloody Gmail.

As far as I can tell, this is recent. I cant remember when it began but it must be less than a month ago.

Is it just my computer? Am I alone with this madness? Do Firefox developers get to see the 30 – 40 error messages my machine sends out each day?

14 thoughts on “Firefox and Gmail

  1. Start with the usual suspects.

    Did you install any extension a month ago? Did you try disabling all extensions?
    Did you try with the new Firefox3 beta?

  2. Thanks for the advice – I haven’t installed any new extensions in a long time but I have tried removing them all, so far with no success. The only thing I can relate it to is my Adobe Acrobat went haywire a few weeks ago (and now wont run what ever I do to it) but I am not sure if the two incidents occurred in a similar timeframe.

    I have run AVG and SUPERAntiSpyware to be on the safe side.

    No, I haven’t tried Firefox3 yet but I may well do so. I really am loathe to go back to IE and Opera annoys me now! 🙂

  3. if you are on a mac, use safari 3…it is fully compatible with Gmail and works well… i, too, have probs with gmail in firefox….like it not signing me in

  4. See, the problem is you’re an atheist and you’re more than clearly using Gmail. That’s G-dmail but since it’s Jewish, they leave off the “-d” out of respect. Being an unbeliever means you can’t use the holy grail of webmail apps.

    You may have to resort to that heathen app Yahoo! Mail. It works in any new browser.

    (sarcasm-laden for those without humour chips)

  5. I you haven’t tried ff3 yet I wholeheartedly propose you do. It’s quick and painless 😉

    As an alternative to figuring out your ff2 problems, try recreating your profile. Rename the directory where the settings are stored and try again (not certain where it’s stored in windows)

  6. The problem is with GMail’s redesign a few months ago. There’s a link at the top (next to “sign out”) that you can click to use the “Older Version”. Naturally, it can be a real pain in the ass having to click that link every time you sign in, but at least you won’t crash any more.

    The alternative that worked best for me and those I know has been to switch to FireFox 3. As of today, FF3 is still a beta, so that’s why you aren’t aware of it yet. You’ll have to grab it from their beta list. Rest assured that it won’t cause you big crashes, and you’re sure to love some of the new features.

  7. As a web designer, I am fairly intimate with Firefox, though I don’t use GMail much. I’ve been hearing that the latest version of Firefox overall is a bit buggy. It also changes web page presentation a bit. I’ve been having more problem on Windows than on a Mac. Hopefully another version will come through soon.

  8. All – thanks for the help and advice. I will try recreating the profile and see if it helps, if that fails I may go for the old version of FF3.

    Alternatively, it might be an excuse to buy a new computer 🙂

  9. Alternatively, it might be an excuse to buy a new computer

    Ugh, a new computer for a non-working gmail seems like an overkill 😕
    If nothing works, you’re better off trying GNU/Linux for a change 😉
    Since the latest version of Ubuntu just came out, it’s the perfect timing (hint, it installs through windows if you want)

  10. I actually have a spare PC that runs PCLinuxOS (I went through a bit of a trauma with ubuntu a while ago when I needed a Linux PC for work) but at the moment my main PC pretty much needs to remain on the windows platform as my job has windows-specific software I need to run.

    I know a new machine for gmail is overkill, however new toys are new toys 🙂 (and PCs are cheap now!!!!!) Also, I could (if I ever get round to it) network this with the other old ones…

  11. my main PC pretty much needs to remain on the windows platform as my job has windows-specific software I need to run.

    Have you tried virtualization? Virtual Box does a very well of allowing you to run the apps you need, and it’s free software.

    Unless you’re talking about games 🙂

  12. Actually, I hadn’t really considered Virtual Box, although I am now.

    How processor / RAM intensive is it? If I need to run Windows software that normally batters both processor and RAM, how much extra overhead would a virtual system impose?

  13. The actual software environment is not intensive by itself. I honestly can’t give you anything specific but I’ve run Vista (the only way it would touch my computer) on it at a normal speed. Since you have nothing to lose, just try it and see for yourself.

    I’m pretty certain you can find more information about this on the official page

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