Firefox running but not responding

[Dave Davison]

Just now -with no files open on screen or minimized to the taskbar - I endeavoured to access the web using Firefox only to be told it was running but not responding. This is yet another anomaly I've encountered with Firefox of late, I know it suggests a simple reboot to rectify the problem but any suggestions as to why this fault has occured & how it can be running but not responding? Firefox of late, is far from living up to the reliable performance I have come to expect over many years so am seriously considering an alternative, I know choosing a browser is a personal choice but what would you loungers put at the top of your list please? Thanks Dave.

[HansV]

If this happens occasionally, see "Firefox is already running but is not responding" error message - How to fix it.

If this happens most or all of the time, see Firefox hangs or is not responding - How to fix.

(I myself use Internet Explorer as my standard browser, with Firefox as second choice)

[Bigaldoc]

I was about to post the first link Hans gave for it's what I used a long time ago when this happened to me. In my case, somehow it was the Parental Lock file not getting deleted.

After going through the article's steps, I've never had that problem any more. Good luck.

[Dave Davison]

Many thanks guys, on a slightly related issue, you mentioned Hans that you use IE as your main browser and Firefox as an alternative, for me it has been the reverse as I found that the Firefox add on "Video Downloader" (three colored balls) which hovers / revolves under the tool bar is very handy so if there was an equivalent for IE I would maybe revert to it. I looked just today on the Cnet site but could no immediately identify such an add-on. That's not to say there is not one but such did not jump out at me. Thank You Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

... so if there was an equivalent for IE I would maybe revert to it. I looked just today on the Cnet site but could no immediately identify such an add-on. That's not to say there is not one but such did not jump out at me. Thank You Dave.

I've not tried either of these, so be wary and careful:

EDITED: I've removed the link for this product as it is no longer available: IE DownloadHelper for Internet Explorer (November 15, 2012)

Ant Video Downloader for Internet Explorer - Ant.com

[HansV]

I've never felt the need to download videos to my hard disk - I can view them in my browser whenever I want to view them.

[Dave Davison]

Hi Hans............as I have indicated more than once the reason I download is so I can -using ConverXtoDVD - doctor the videos so they can be watchable (by friends who do not have a computer) on their tv sets. Some I do of course watch on line from sites like http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; which has hundreds of documentaries some of which have been shown on BBC like The Frankincense trail with Kate Humble who traces this expensive resin from it's source high up in the Yemen mountains. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-frankincense-trail/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Fascinating viewing. Cheers Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

Dave,

If you DO try one of the IE helpers, please post back so we'll know how you come out.

Thanks,
Al

[Dave Davison]

Thank Al.............did try those you suggested and had problems with both. Possibly partly my fault as I am not the sharpest knife in the box. The first one gave me no choice as the where to install it and no provision to place a shortcut on the desktop. So I looked in the "C" drive but there was no sign of it there, Looked in Control panel > Add/ remove progs and it was there but no indication where it was installed. Next I did a search and found it lurking in C> Docs & Settings >Owner>Favorites> Unsorted bookmarks> Bookmarks menu> G_H_I. Problem solved I thought but NO as clicking on it only opened the web page for Cnet which baffled me even more. Searching for help I found a blog about it in which one writer said it was to be avoided as crap & caused him to need to reboot. Also the instructions said there should be a blue downward pointing arrow in the "Status Bar" which I can not see anywhere. Is that maybe because I am using IE8 ? Frustrated I decided to delete it and try the other one but again bounced from one problem to another so I am back to where I started. If only Firefox behaved as it has done for years I would not need to even consider an alternative. I have occasionally used Freemake downloader and VSO downloader but there are some even these will not capture but of course that could be because they're not intended for download. Thanks anyway Al, was worth a try and tested my patience which tends to be rather thin these days anyway. Cheers Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

Question for ya, Dave. Did you do the download(s) within Firefox or IE ? I don't think doing it in Firefox would work. I ran IE8 and went to the site of the first link I gave you - IE Download Helper. Worked OK for me and I've successfully downloaded and viewed a video using that addon. These graphics might give you some insight what I saw along the way.

After choosing Save and then Run from the site's download link, the addon installed and pointed out to me that I should now see an icon in the bottom status bar of the IE8 browser. I do see that icon but I might tell you that yours might look a bit different because I have yet another video converter program installed that may have changed that icon somewhat. Nevertheless, it IS present.

2012-11-13_192601.png

When I hovered my mouse over a sample video they provided, the BLACK tab in the upper right corner of this clip appeared, indicating that I could download that video. I clicked on that download tab, had to do a little browsing to choose where I wanted the video saved to. I did all of that, and the video downloaded to my hard drive. I then used WMP to view and play the downloaded video and it did so successfully.

2012-11-13_192616.png

After doing all of that, I went to Tools, Manage Addons in IE8 and this is the screen I see, indicating that it HAS been added as an IE8 addon.

2012-11-13_193003.png

Your mileage may vary...

[Dave Davison]

Thanks for making the time to explain you're experience with the first option, as I said, I did see the tutorial with the arrow in the Status bar but there is not such status bar to be seen on my screen when using IE. Maybe I will give it another go and see how things go. Will let you know if success follows me the next time around. Thanks Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

Dave, you MUST do the download and install from within IE in order to get it added to the IE addons as shown in my third picture in the earlier post.

If you open Manage Addons in IE and DO NOT see the same entry as in mine, you have not done it correctly.

To be honest, this is no different than the download helper you use in Firefox. I use that same one. These types of programs that are addons or helpers for a browser don't appear in your Windows Start Menu because they are not "executables" that you run. They are only active INSIDE the browser.

As a final point of interest, you'd be much better off in the future by using Revo to check installed programs rather than the Windows Control Panel app. Revo, when you right click on a program will let you view the "registry key" for that program which DOES show where the program is installed on your hard drive.

Good luck... I've used this one two more times today to download a couple of You Tube videos and it has worked flawlessly.

[Dave Davison]

Many thanks Al........the simple asnwer lay in the fact that (in ignorance) I downloaded the add on using firefox seeing I usually access the lounge with that browser & clicked on the 1st link you provided in you're post from there. I note that in the screen shot you posted showing the add-ons installed IE Downloader is shown as "Unverified", mine too now shows the same which means the downloder helper is now on my H/D which is great but I just wondered if it not being verified is not a problem! Is it not prudent to verify it and how can it be done? Also, in light of what you said about using Revo to locate the position of an installed prog, I followed that advice and the result does not seem to give the location string. Am I doing something wrong here maybe? Thanks a lot Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

Great progress, Dave! Looks like, from your IE addon screen that you've got it installed properly now.

I wouldn't worry about that "not verified" thing. In my opinion it simply means that Microsoft doesn't know who the publisher of this addon is. I'm pretty sure it's NOT a security problem, at least I don't think so.

As to the Revo thing, I'm afraid I may be seeing something different that you do because I use the PAID version called Revo Pro and the free version may not give you the same info.

It should be a moot point if the addon works OK. But just for fun, here's one more thing you can look for. My copy of this addon is installed in C:\Program Files\IE Download Helper\IE Download Helper\. In the final analysis, it really doesn't matter because you can always uninstall it with Revo if you decide you don't like it.

So far, I'm satisfied that it's safe and OK to use so I'm planning to leave mine installed even though I hardly ever use IE.

[Dave Davison]

Hi Al…….I’ve been experimenting with IE downloader & -on first impressions- don’t think it is as good as the add-on for Firefox or for that matter, VSO video downloader”. For example one of the sites I visit frequently & from which I download videos is : -
http://www.radiofreechurch.com/the-hope ... before-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
so I thought I would test IE downloader there. When the page opened I selected the talk “Hope for America” by Bill Koenig who is a White House correspondent from the following link: -
http://www.radiofreechurch.com/the-hope ... ill-koenig" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and found that IE Downloader instantly began to download when the arrow was clicked. Likewise when I selected Bill’s talk “Hope for the nations, it too downloaded instantly. However, when I selected any of the other options on this same site none would download. See the screen shots which show the talk by Bill "Download-radiofreechurch" etc." is in normal text but for the talk “Hope beyond the grave” the words "No files to download" are greyed out thus dead. The same happened with “Freemaker downloader”. Strange as it may seem, the add-on for “Firefox” will download any of the options on this site which suggest there is no download restrictions being made by the admin. In contrast, VSO download helper -like Firefox add on- copes with all the videos on this site.
If you can be bothered I’d appreciate it if you would go through the initials steps as though you were going to download the two videos mentioned and see what results you get.
Finally, what is the red icon in the “Privacy Report” square to the right of the green download arrow, is it possible to delete it or does it signify some needed safety feature. Dave.

[Bigaldoc]

I have no idea why you experienced what you did, Dave. I had none of those kinds of problems in the several downloads I did with it, but:

Please see my edit in the earlier post about this addon. For some reason it is no longer available, so I've removed it from my system, unsure of what's going with the author of that software.

I'd suggest that you use Revo to do the same and let's keep looking for another alternative.

[Dave Davison]

Thanks Al.........perhaps I will oscillate between the download helpers of Firefox; VSO and Freemake in that order each in that order if needs be. Thanks for the feed back anyway, appreciate it. Dave.