WTF is Firefox always lagging?

[lektrix]

P4 2.6 HT
2GB DDR

I've tried all the fixes and tweaks on their support site (memory leak, memory loss, memory over usage, etc.) but my FF is still slow to a crawl sometimes (lag between switching, typing, opening up pages). I've even disabled all web videos, ads so that I only get them when I want them. I'm barely using any extensions or addons, I thought the AccuWeather weather report toolbar was the culprit but FF is STILL slow when I disable it. Sure I have the "reload", video block and ad block addon but they barely take up any memory. Sure I have 5-6 multiple tabs open, MSN, Lotus Notes, McAfee AV but so what? I've already disabled all non-essential services, sys restore, indexing, etc.




..............

 

[Razgriz]

I don't know either..Firefox lags for me sometimes when I open a new tab and start typing in the awesome bar, I don't think it's a memory issue. I just put up with it, but I wonder if there's a fix for it.

 

[MrChad]

Have you tried running FF with no add-ons ("safe mode")?

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: lektrix
P4 2.6 HT
2GB DDR

I've tried all the fixes and tweaks on their support site (memory leak, memory loss, memory over usage, etc.) but my FF is still slow to a crawl sometimes (lag between switching, typing, opening up pages). I've even disabled all web videos, ads so that I only get them when I want them. I'm barely using any extensions or addons, I thought the AccuWeather weather report toolbar was the culprit but FF is STILL slow when I disable it. Sure I have the "reload", video block and ad block addon but they barely take up any memory. Sure I have 5-6 multiple tabs open, MSN, Lotus Notes, McAfee AV but so what? I've already disabled all non-essential services, sys restore, indexing, etc.




..............

I have no idea as well but kept thinking it was my add ons but it really wasn't. Even went back to Firefox 2 the latest version that came out. It is so much faster and less laggy. Much less of a ram hog too! Even though Firefox 2 may have fixed the problems I decided to not take the risk and run a outdated browser so now I am back to deciding between SRWare Iron, Opera, and Internet Explorer. Still not sure which one. Leaning toward Opera and Internet Explorer because at least I can use the find on those two browsers when looking for a certain word on a webpage. SRWare Iron doesn't seem to have that everywhere I look. Sucks. It is not a bad browser either. Just need the find tool! I thought every browser had that by default. Bascially given up on firefox. Not sure what else to do. I may try again every now and then but firefox will really need to prove itself again for me to keep it as a default web browser.

 

[jefa]

time to switch to google chrome, its super fast

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: jefa
time to switch to google chrome, its super fast

Sorry but I don't like the auto updater or else I would of went ahead using google chrome as my default web browser. I prefer to update manually. Also where is the find on page search in google chrome like you get on firefox, opera and internet explorer?

 

[0roo0roo]

how much memory does it use?

chromes no faster..its slower when it swaps stuff out

try running adblock/noscript/flashblock.
then see if firefox is still slow.
also how much are you mulititasking, perhaps your multitasking usage has grown over time and now the single core isn't cutting it. firefox never lagged on me. even when i used it on old pcs or single core centrino laptops. somethings wack with your windows as well perhaps. 5-6 tabs is nothing. even when i was running a pentium d i'd use 100tabs and be fine.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
how much memory does it use?

chromes no faster..its slower when it swaps stuff out

try running adblock/noscript/flashblock.
then see if firefox is still slow.
also how much are you mulititasking, perhaps your multitasking usage has grown over time and now the single core isn't cutting it. firefox never lagged on me. even when i used it on old pcs or single core centrino laptops. somethings wack with your windows as well perhaps. 5-6 tabs is nothing. even when i was running a pentium d i'd use 100tabs and be fine.

Yeah I hate that with SRWare Iron on my old pc with only 512MB of ram when I go back into the browser the whole thing reloads the screen. Opera does not do this for me on the same machine.

Now my main system no browser does that sense it has 8 GB of ram which I expected to be the case. The only time I had it where a browser really slowed down for me and even my machine is when firefox starts to leak using more ram gradually. Once it hits well over 1.1 GB of memory usuage it crashes a few hours later. That really sucked and saw that starting to happen again which is why I gave up. Thought I fixed it. As time goes on and firefox uses more memory the slower it starts to get. Pages and just general browsering start to scroll very jumpy like. Sorry not restarting my browser every few hours.

 

[quakeworld]

@pcslookout:

are you referring to the find feature in Iron? Doesn't CTRL-F bring up the 'find in page' box?

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: quakeworld
@pcslookout:

are you referring to the find feature in Iron? Doesn't CTRL-F bring up the 'find in page' box?

Yes it does thank you! Is there anyway else to open it up or just from there? Was looking for a menu at top to open it from but if there is no way that is ok.

 

[quakeworld]

Top right. The paper icon, to the left of the wrench icon, click on the drop down arrow and you'll see you can select the 'Find in Page' option.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
how much memory does it use?

chromes no faster..its slower when it swaps stuff out

try running adblock/noscript/flashblock.
then see if firefox is still slow.
also how much are you mulititasking, perhaps your multitasking usage has grown over time and now the single core isn't cutting it. firefox never lagged on me. even when i used it on old pcs or single core centrino laptops. somethings wack with your windows as well perhaps. 5-6 tabs is nothing. even when i was running a pentium d i'd use 100tabs and be fine.

Yeah I hate that with SRWare Iron on my old pc with only 512MB of ram when I go back into the browser the whole thing reloads the screen. Opera does not do this for me on the same machine.

Now my main system no browser does that sense it has 8 GB of ram which I expected to be the case. The only time I had it where a browser really slowed down for me and even my machine is when firefox starts to leak using more ram gradually. Once it hits well over 1.1 GB of memory usuage it crashes a few hours later. That really sucked and saw that starting to happen again which is why I gave up. Thought I fixed it. As time goes on and firefox uses more memory the slower it starts to get. Pages and just general browsering start to scroll very jumpy like. Sorry not restarting my browser every few hours.

you try installing noscript/adblock/flashblock?
i certainly don't restart every couple hours. maybe once every couple days

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: quakeworld
Top right. The paper icon, to the left of the wrench icon, click on the drop down arrow and you'll see you can select the 'Find in Page' option.

Thanks.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
how much memory does it use?

chromes no faster..its slower when it swaps stuff out

try running adblock/noscript/flashblock.
then see if firefox is still slow.
also how much are you mulititasking, perhaps your multitasking usage has grown over time and now the single core isn't cutting it. firefox never lagged on me. even when i used it on old pcs or single core centrino laptops. somethings wack with your windows as well perhaps. 5-6 tabs is nothing. even when i was running a pentium d i'd use 100tabs and be fine.

Yeah I hate that with SRWare Iron on my old pc with only 512MB of ram when I go back into the browser the whole thing reloads the screen. Opera does not do this for me on the same machine.

Now my main system no browser does that sense it has 8 GB of ram which I expected to be the case. The only time I had it where a browser really slowed down for me and even my machine is when firefox starts to leak using more ram gradually. Once it hits well over 1.1 GB of memory usuage it crashes a few hours later. That really sucked and saw that starting to happen again which is why I gave up. Thought I fixed it. As time goes on and firefox uses more memory the slower it starts to get. Pages and just general browsering start to scroll very jumpy like. Sorry not restarting my browser every few hours.

you try installing noscript/adblock/flashblock?
i certainly don't restart every couple hours. maybe once every couple days

Yeah I have may try again soon.

 

[KeypoX]

yeah this new FF really sucks. I am using chrome now. Which isnt half as good but FF keeps crashing and locking up.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: KeypoX
yeah this new FF really sucks. I am using chrome now. Which isnt half as good but FF keeps crashing and locking up.

I went back to Firefox 3 sense at least that is secure still as well, for now. Hopefully they will iron out all the stability and bug issues with Firefox 3.5 by the time I am forced to upgrade on January 2010 Who knows maybe I will get a chance to sooner! Did try Firefox 2 again and really miss it but was worried staying with it because of security concerns. Was I right with leaving Firefox 2 behind? Wow I can only day dream how less bloated firefox use to be in version 1 and 2! To bad they haven't followed that. It is so sad. It feels like your between a rock and a hard place with deciding on what browser to use. Don't want to go back to Internet Explorer but so many things don't work with other browsers other than IE and Firefox. Sucks.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: KeypoX
yeah this new FF really sucks. I am using chrome now. Which isnt half as good but FF keeps crashing and locking up.

I went back to Firefox 3 sense at least that is secure still as well, for now. Hopefully they will iron out all the stability and bug issues with Firefox 3.5 by the time I am forced to upgrade on January 2010 Who knows maybe I will get a chance to sooner! Did try Firefox 2 again and really miss it but was worried staying with it because of security concerns. Was I right with leaving Firefox 2 behind? Wow I can only day dream how less bloated firefox use to be in version 1 and 2! To bad they haven't followed that. It is so sad. It feels like your between a rock and a hard place with deciding on what browser to use. Don't want to go back to Internet Explorer but so many things don't work with other browsers other than IE and Firefox. Sucks.

Yup.. it does suck. I've used Firefox for years and years... but 3.5 sucked so bad I had to dump it. I'm a Chrome thumper now... although I'm posting this from FF 3.7!

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: KeypoX
yeah this new FF really sucks. I am using chrome now. Which isnt half as good but FF keeps crashing and locking up.

I went back to Firefox 3 sense at least that is secure still as well, for now. Hopefully they will iron out all the stability and bug issues with Firefox 3.5 by the time I am forced to upgrade on January 2010 Who knows maybe I will get a chance to sooner! Did try Firefox 2 again and really miss it but was worried staying with it because of security concerns. Was I right with leaving Firefox 2 behind? Wow I can only day dream how less bloated firefox use to be in version 1 and 2! To bad they haven't followed that. It is so sad. It feels like your between a rock and a hard place with deciding on what browser to use. Don't want to go back to Internet Explorer but so many things don't work with other browsers other than IE and Firefox. Sucks.

Yup.. it does suck. I've used Firefox for years and years... but 3.5 sucked so bad I had to dump it. I'm a Chrome thumper now... although I'm posting this from FF 3.7!

So how is FF 3.7 does it actually work better without freezes, lagging, and no memory hogging ? How about does it slow down when you add more than ten add ons ?

Why are you still testing Firefox if you use Chrome now? Just asking.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I don't know what it is with your configurations but firefox is always very fast for me. Unless i open 20 or 30 tabs sometimes quickly, but even then it isn't too bad....

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Chiefcrowe
I don't know what it is with your configurations but firefox is always very fast for me. Unless i open 20 or 30 tabs sometimes quickly, but even then it isn't too bad....

What is your system specs? What OS do you run? 32 bit or 64 bit? How many addons do you use?

Like I said before my other slower system doesn't seem to have any problems with any Firefox versions but it is a very old pc with only 512 MB of ram.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I have a 2 GHZ AMD Athlon (i'm pretty sure), 1 GB Ram, XP Pro 32bit, with 10 Addons. right now it's using slightly less than 100 mb with 3 tabs. earlier it was up to around 200 mb ram.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Chiefcrowe
I have a 2 GHZ AMD Athlon (i'm pretty sure), 1 GB Ram, XP Pro 32bit, with 10 Addons. right now it's using slightly less than 100 mb with 3 tabs. earlier it was up to around 200 mb ram.

That about what my older system is but it only has 512 MB of ram Really sucks but maybe sooner or later I will upgrade that ram to at least 1 GB, if it is even worth it. Anyway thanks for replying I really wish we could get to the bottom of this issue. It is driving me crazy how firefox works perfectly fine on one machine but not on the other. With the more powerful one having the problems. Sucks.

My main pc has 8 GB of ram I wouldn't care how much memory firefox used if it didn't slow down the rest of my system once it started using well over 900 MB to 1 GB + of ram. By the time it hits 1.1 to 1.5 GB of ram use firefox crashes. Guess because of the 2 GB 32 bit limit I don't know. Guess we all need a official 64 bit firefox soon so it can eat all 8 GB of people's ram. :laugh:

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: KeypoX
yeah this new FF really sucks. I am using chrome now. Which isnt half as good but FF keeps crashing and locking up.

I went back to Firefox 3 sense at least that is secure still as well, for now. Hopefully they will iron out all the stability and bug issues with Firefox 3.5 by the time I am forced to upgrade on January 2010 Who knows maybe I will get a chance to sooner! Did try Firefox 2 again and really miss it but was worried staying with it because of security concerns. Was I right with leaving Firefox 2 behind? Wow I can only day dream how less bloated firefox use to be in version 1 and 2! To bad they haven't followed that. It is so sad. It feels like your between a rock and a hard place with deciding on what browser to use. Don't want to go back to Internet Explorer but so many things don't work with other browsers other than IE and Firefox. Sucks.

Yup.. it does suck. I've used Firefox for years and years... but 3.5 sucked so bad I had to dump it. I'm a Chrome thumper now... although I'm posting this from FF 3.7!

So how is FF 3.7 does it actually work better without freezes, lagging, and no memory hogging ? How about does it slow down when you add more than ten add ons ?

Why are you still testing Firefox if you use Chrome now? Just asking.

Because I really want Firefox back

I like Chrome, but I loved Firefox! It just sucks too hard to use right now.

I haven't used 3.7 long enough to comment on its functionality.

 

[Engineer]

Where did you get FF 3.7? I thought that 3.6 "Alpha" was available, but 3.7?

Edit: Nevermind, I found information via a simple search, lol!

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Well without knowing too many tech details, I think the issue may lie in the fact that it is a 32 bit browser running in a 64 bit OS. Once a certain memory threshold is reached then there are slowdowns that the developers may not have anticipated testing for....

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Chiefcrowe
I have a 2 GHZ AMD Athlon (i'm pretty sure), 1 GB Ram, XP Pro 32bit, with 10 Addons. right now it's using slightly less than 100 mb with 3 tabs. earlier it was up to around 200 mb ram.

That about what my older system is but it only has 512 MB of ram Really sucks but maybe sooner or later I will upgrade that ram to at least 1 GB, if it is even worth it. Anyway thanks for replying I really wish we could get to the bottom of this issue. It is driving me crazy how firefox works perfectly fine on one machine but not on the other. With the more powerful one having the problems. Sucks.

My main pc has 8 GB of ram I wouldn't care how much memory firefox used if it didn't slow down the rest of my system once it started using well over 900 MB to 1 GB + of ram. By the time it hits 1.1 to 1.5 GB of ram use firefox crashes. Guess because of the 2 GB 32 bit limit I don't know. Guess we all need a official 64 bit firefox soon so it can eat all 8 GB of people's ram. :laugh: