Firefox "cuts out" service occasionally

ohpfan · 02-09-2008, 07:38 PM

Hello, I would call myself a mediocre computer user; I understand a lot about computers, but I'm not into programming or hacking software. I have about 10 years internet experience, as I just use the internet and know a few "shortcuts" on a keyboard. I am currently using an Acer Aspire 5050 laptop, with a 2 GHz Processor, & Win XP Media Center Edition, with 1 GB memory. If you need more info about it, I'll be happy to elaborate.

I've used Firefox on this laptop for at least a year without any major issues . . . until lately. About 5 days ago, I noticed that nearly all my everyday (most likely still cached) websites will not load when I attempt to access them at least once a day. Just today, it caused the same error on Yahoo e-mail, so I doubt it's the website itself. The downtime is about 1 or 2 minutes, max; it occurs approximately every 30 minutes, I would estimate.

Before 'internet connection issues' is suggested, there's another interesting point. I listen to an online radio station [using Firefox], and it doesn't cut out during the Firefox browser "downtime". Furthermore, I visit a chat lounge with web cams which never freeze or disconnect; however, during the downtime I can not access the profiles on the same site.

I subsequently ran Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, which only found cookies and temporary internet files. However, I won't rule out a virus, as that was my first suspicion, but Ad-Aware not finding anything is stumping me.

If it is a virus, what other freeware anti-virus programs would be recommended? If it's not a virus, what else would cause this oddity?

Thanks in advance for all replies,
ohpfan

Edit
This is the error message that appears in the white page generated by Firefox:

Server not found

Firefox can't find the server at www.example.com.
* Check the address for typing errors such as
ww.example.com instead of
www.example.com
* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection.
* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

ohpfan · 02-11-2008, 08:59 PM

My Firefox version is 2.0.0.12, which I forgot to mention. I didn't install any extensions or such. The only thing I've installed is free games or programs from "giveawayoftheday.com".

**speedster123** · 02-14-2008, 09:10 AM

avg antivirus

use cleanup
make sure you have no important data/files in your temp folder

02-09-2008, 07:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
ohpfan Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP-MC	Firefox "cuts out" service occasionally Hello, I would call myself a mediocre computer user; I understand a lot about computers, but I'm not into programming or hacking software. I have about 10 years internet experience, as I just use the internet and know a few "shortcuts" on a keyboard. I am currently using an Acer Aspire 5050 laptop, with a 2 GHz Processor, & Win XP Media Center Edition, with 1 GB memory. If you need more info about it, I'll be happy to elaborate. I've used Firefox on this laptop for at least a year without any major issues . . . until lately. About 5 days ago, I noticed that nearly all my everyday (most likely still cached) websites will not load when I attempt to access them at least once a day. Just today, it caused the same error on Yahoo e-mail, so I doubt it's the website itself. The downtime is about 1 or 2 minutes, max; it occurs approximately every 30 minutes, I would estimate. Before 'internet connection issues' is suggested, there's another interesting point. I listen to an online radio station [using Firefox], and it doesn't cut out during the Firefox browser "downtime". Furthermore, I visit a chat lounge with web cams which never freeze or disconnect; however, during the downtime I can not access the profiles on the same site. I subsequently ran Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, which only found cookies and temporary internet files. However, I won't rule out a virus, as that was my first suspicion, but Ad-Aware not finding anything is stumping me. If it is a virus, what other freeware anti-virus programs would be recommended? If it's not a virus, what else would cause this oddity? Thanks in advance for all replies, ohpfan Edit This is the error message that appears in the white page generated by Firefox: Server not found Firefox can't find the server at www.example.com. * Check the address for typing errors such as ww.example.com instead of www.example.com * If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection. * If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web. Last edited by ohpfan : 02-09-2008 at 07:54 PM.

02-11-2008, 08:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
ohpfan Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP-MC	Re: Firefox "cuts out" service occasionally My Firefox version is 2.0.0.12, which I forgot to mention. I didn't install any extensions or such. The only thing I've installed is free games or programs from "giveawayoftheday.com".

02-14-2008, 09:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
speedster123 Mentor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: United States-New York Posts: 4,053 OS: xp pro My System	Re: Firefox "cuts out" service occasionally avg antivirus use cleanup make sure you have no important data/files in your temp folder __________________