Why do links to Flickr photos kill my Firefox?

August 9, 2009 7:37 PM

Why do links to Flickr photos kill my Firefox? When someone posts an entry in AskMe that refers to a photo on Flickr, I am forced to copy the link, open IE, and look at the picture from there.

I have searched AskMe and Google, I have tried disabling Adblock settings... I just don't get it. If/when Firefox dies because of one of these links, I restart, it comes up and I select "Restore Previous Session", and I need to close the offending tab before it fully loads otherwise it will kill Firefox again.
(I am currently running Firefox 3.0.13)

posted by Drasher to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

What extensions/add-ons do you have installed and enabled? I have FF 3.0.13 and Flickr works fine, as I'm sure it does for most others; an extension problem is the only thing I can imagine would be at work.

Also, what OS and platform? I guess it's possible there's a FF bug, but it would be unlikely for such a high-profile site particularly if you're using the standard Windows build.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:11 PM on August 9, 2009

I'd recommend creating a separate Firefox profile (Start > Run > "firefox -p", then "Create Profile" in the profile manager window) and seeing whether or not you have the issue there. Odds are it's an add-on of some sort, as Kadin said.
posted by andrewcilento at 9:22 PM on August 9, 2009

Yeah, in these situations you need to hone in on some foul interaction of addons like an extension or greasemonkey script, because the chances of it being related to the core/stock Firefox and Flickr are extremely small, since it's a well tested combination. Creating a new profile (or using Safe Mode) is the first step because that will eliminate all of those variables. See also Standard Diagnostic - Firefox at mozillazine's knowledgebase.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:50 PM on August 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sorry for the delay...

Platform: Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 (on a standard HP (64bit) system it came on)
Intel Core 2 Quad - 8G RAM

I know I have add-ons that I don't need.
Adblock Plus 1.1
DNA 1.0.0.1
FireBug 1.4.2
GoogleGears 0.5.30.0
Google Toolbar
Microsoft .NET Framework (which is disabled)
Norton IPS 1.0
Norton Toolbar 3.5
PDF Download 2.2.0.2
ReadIt Later 0.9947
Web Developer 1.1.6
YSlow 2.0.0b6
[whew!]

I can go to the Flickr site, but the browser gets mucked up when someone posts a link to a specific picture.

I will try the Firefox profile suggestion.
posted by Drasher at 7:45 AM on August 10, 2009

Best answer: Well, I can tell you it's not ABP, because I have that installed and Flickr works just fine. (Unless you have some very strange blocking rules installed.)

What I think you'll want to do is start disabling add-ons in groups, and figuring out which one is to blame. The easiest way to do this (borrowed from my pre-OSX Mac days) is to disable 50% of them, then test. If it's fixed, you know which 50% the problematic one is in. If it doesn't, then disable the other 50% and test. If it's fixed, work from there. If it's not fixed in either case, then you have a conflict at some lower level in the operating system, and I'd go do the new-profile trick.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:41 AM on August 10, 2009

Response by poster: OK, thanks to all for the suggestions.
Sorry (I am SO lazy) that it took so long to get an answer... here it is...

It is the frikkin' Norton's Toolbar!
I loved Norton's in the 80s when they had that spiffy defragger that really worked. But, since that time, they have spent resources on sucking the life from other products from other companies and claiming it as their own. It is sucking a whirling vortex of suck! I think you get the picture.

posted by Drasher at 6:31 AM on August 15, 2009