Solved Firefox install triggers BSOD

Hi there
3 days ago I decided to uninstall Firefox and reinstall to fix the missing bookmark issue. Until this happened, I had been using Firefox for years on Win 10 then Win 11. The missing bookmark issue occurred after Firefox updated some days ago and I couldn't fix it. I decided to uninstall Firefox then download and install the fresh 'full' file from Mozilla instead of the stub file from Firefox. The install proceeded uneventfully until 50% through, then the system (win 11) crashed to BSOD with the stop code: critical_process_died (0xEF). I must emphasize that I was able to restart immediately and no other system / function affected. Then, I uninstalled the Firefox remnants, disabled Malwarebytes and reinstalled Firefox. This time it installed all the way through to the final window but when I clicked on Launch Firefox now (something like that) it crashed again. I decided to try again this time with the stub file from Firefox but the install crashed immediately. Note that Each time it crashed,

• I ran windows diagnotics sfc and dism and chkdsk - no issues were identified
• I restarted after each uninstall with no issues
• the system has been on, off, sleeping, worked on for 3 days with no other overt issue - I have a full back up and restore just in crashes for good.

I haven't yet interrogated the minidump file hoping that someone on this forum make have an aha moment and know what the heck is going on. Win 11 updated just fine a few hours ago and I was able to download 2 other apps with no issues. The system seems stable - Anyone have this happen ? Could it be Malwarebytes, but why now? I've had Malwarebytes installed for years or could it be a registry error?

EDIT: I just read the instructions for posting about BSOD, here is the link to the zip file - LOVEY-(2025-12-10_21-35-05).zip

@zbook will provide assistance when available.

Also would help to complete the "My Computer" information.

Did you also disabled Malwarebytes service?

Firefox, by default - on a fresh install - needs/uses hardware acceleration (unless disabled - after install). So, maybe the GPU Drivers are at fault - for the BSOD.

To rule out conflicts with other software - create a new account and install it there., see if that works. You gave to little info - to be able troubleshot a specific issue. That code can mean - a lot of things... from corrupted/broken drivers, corrupted system files, disk errors and anything in between. To rule all this out - you'll have to check each possible issue - till you find the culprit.

Easiest solution for Windows related corruptions/issues - would be an in place upgrade:


Experience wise - it takes the least amount of time to get Windows 11 in a functional state while preserving most custom settings and installed apps. Unless... one of those custom settings or custom app - it's what causing the issue (then you either dig deeper or try a clean/reset install). But most of the time - this is enough. If truly a Windows corruption issue. Will also preserve the last installed driver - so it's why i recommend checking the drivers first (if you have the most recent driver - maybe that's what's causing this issue - so revert to older version).

Hi Neves, that was fast. I mentioned I disabled Malwarebytes but didn't uninstall it. Yea, it looks like I'll try the in-place upgrade rather than chase the issue further. I'm inexperienced and it has been a great learning curve. I wondered whether the BSOD was something well known or common with Firefox. Thank you for replying.

Please perform the following steps:


Make sure that images or share links are posted for all steps / tests.





1) Post a link for the motherboard support Z170-HD3-CF > drivers and BIOS





2) The BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. F6, 23/02/2016

Upgrade the BIOS to the most up to date non-beta BIOS





3) Run Tuneup plus > post a share link


Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums





4) Create a new restore point:






5) Run Memtest86+ for 8 or more passes > take pictures > post images or share links

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Just 1 error is a test fail and testing can be aborted.

The more the passes the better the testing conditions.

It sometimes takes passes into the 20's to detect malfunctioning RAM.

The RAM can be tested all at one time or one at a time in the same DIMM.

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86+ - Test RAM





6) Run Sea Tools Long generic test (all drives) > post images or share links






7) Run HD Tune (all drives) (old version) > post images or share links



a) Health

b) Full error scan





8) Open administrative command prompt and copy and paste:

chkdsk /b /v

Run these chkdsk switches on all drives using the syntax: chkdsk /b /v C: or chkdsk /b /v D: or chkdsk /b /v E: etc.

Make sure that the windows drive runs overnight while sleeping.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>chkdsk /b /v
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

Type: Y

Reboot as needed.





9) After completing all chkdsk /b /v run:

https://www.tenforums.com/attachmen...-files-use-bsod-debugging-chkdskfromevent.bat

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums

Batch files for use in BSOD debugging - Windows 10 Help Forums





Make sure that this runs only after the prior three steps for each drive.



10) Run HD Sentinel (all drives) > post images or share links (do not run until posting results for each steps 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9)

Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health and temperature monitoring
a) Overview
b) Temperature
c) SMART





11) Please make sure that all of the above steps are performed in sequence

These steps / tests can be performed overnight while sleeping:
a) Memtest86+
b) Sea Tools Long generic test
c) HD Tune Full error scan
d) Chkdsk /b /v






12) At a later time upgrade secure boot (multiple active EF threads

Thanks Zbook for your very comprehensive response. Before I launch into this let me ask/make a novice question/comment - you're of the opinion the issue may be hardware related in so much as that the act of installing Firefox is uncovering / unmasking a hardware issue that may or may not at some time become more overt and cause a catastrophic failure. I'm supposing that in this scenario the Win 11 in place upgrade would, in fact, fail to repair the problem?

The next troubleshooting steps to rule in / out malfunctioning hardware:

a) upgrade the BIOS > steps #1 & #2
b) check the operating system and component store > step #3
c) reduce the likelihood of missing BSODs > step #3
d) check to see if Windows reported RAM problems > step #3
e) save new settings > step #4
f) test RAM > step #5
g) test drives > steps #6 - #10
h) update secure boot > #12