Why i'm going to stop using Firefox

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Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
0
The time it takes to restore the browser from a minimized state after heavy use of other apps is completely unacceptable (30 sec+). There is a big long bug report on this and there are LOTS of people seeing these memory problems but it hasn't been fixed yet.

The trim on minimize thing was fixed AFAIK. And you have to remember that it's partly Windows' fault, when a process gets minimized Windows trims it's working set thinking you won't be using it for a while and wanting to save memory. I believe the Mozilla people did some extra work to make the memory savings higher, but they were just trying to play nice with other apps by MS's rules. Frankly I don't care because I never minimize things, but I just minimized FF and it's working set didn't shrink and it restored instantly. Maybe there's something I'm not doing...

 

EmperorRob

Senior member
Mar 12, 2001
968
0
0
I have the same experience with the minimize/maximize time on Windows. Same machine running Firefox on Linux I don't see this issue.
 

Firus

Senior member
Nov 16, 2001
525
0
0
Originally posted by: Nothinman
this has been happenning with MANY MANY MANY re-formats, i also have the same problem on different computers

What's the common denominator here?

Pebkac?

I must say that I have a very similar laptop, Eurocom D500p (Sager 5680). Firefox has been nothing but good to me. I find it loads much faster than IE, especially when initially loading a page, IE has this weird pause where nothing happens for a second, I think it's when it loads the CSS in the background...Firefox there is no delay, even when I rapid fire new tabs open on a forum.
 

Modeps

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
17,254
44
91
Thanks for feeling the need to post that you're going to stop using a program.

Oh hey, just FYI, I stopped using Wordperfect.
 

imported_obsidian

Senior member
May 4, 2004
438
0
0
I have none of those problems. Uninstall and delete the C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\ directory. Even embedded wmv, quicktime, and real files play perfectly.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Originally posted by: KidViciou$
i think that firefox really doesn't like opera because when i was trying to download it, it locked up on me

is there a way to re-install firefox cleanly without losing my XPI's?

LOL. Yes, of course, Firefox is sooooo "partisian" a browser, it actively prevents you from trying to use it to download another. :roll:

Btw, if you saved your XPIs to disk somewhere, then there should be no problems re-installing them to a fresh Firefox installation, if they are supported by that version.

PS. You definately have some other problems with your system, and they aren't from Firefox.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Originally posted by: UCJefe
Actually I just stopped using Firefox for very similar reasons. Mostly the memory management. The time it takes to restore the browser from a minimized state after heavy use of other apps is completely unacceptable (30 sec+). There is a big long bug report on this and there are LOTS of people seeing these memory problems but it hasn't been fixed yet. And yes I have tried most of the cache and memory tweaks and I am running 1.0 and deleted my profile and all that. This has been going on since the .6 versions and I finally got so fed up with it I switched.
Yes and no. After having Firefox open in the background here, with ~20 windows open, most with a full set of tabs (without overflowing), after using XNews, QuickPar, WinRAR, and a number of other apps that eat memory and flush other stuff from my physical RAM, using Firefox 1.0RC2, I don't see the problem that you're describing. I also don't see the same sort of long-term memory-leaks that I used to see in Firebird 0.8. Firefox tops out at around 600MB VM for me now, whereas prior versions with the memory leak used to get as high as 1.5GB of VM, before they eventually crashed. After not using the browser for a while, I can restore a window and it is responsive in under 5 seconds. This on an XP1800, 768MB of RAM (1.2GB of VM allocated), WD 80+160GB JB drives, on a Promise Ultra100 TX2.

Originally posted by: UCJefe
I tried Avant, and Maxthon and finally settled on Slimbrowser. It has all the features I need and is much more responsive. I really want to use Firefox but at this stage in the game, I can't. It just doesn't work as well as the IE based browsers.

Firefox does have *some* UI lag, I don't deny that, but in any recent version, it hasn't been nearly as bad as you state. (pre-0.9 versions might have been though.)
 

KidViciou$

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,998
0
0
Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Originally posted by: KidViciou$
i think that firefox really doesn't like opera because when i was trying to download it, it locked up on me

is there a way to re-install firefox cleanly without losing my XPI's?

LOL. Yes, of course, Firefox is sooooo "partisian" a browser, it actively prevents you from trying to use it to download another. :roll:

Btw, if you saved your XPIs to disk somewhere, then there should be no problems re-installing them to a fresh Firefox installation, if they are supported by that version.

PS. You definately have some other problems with your system, and they aren't from Firefox.

i think i'll get you a sarcasm detector for christmas :)

i don't know how there can be something else wrong with my system when i don't have problems with ANY other program i run. no to mention i run firefox on numerous systems with both different configs, and different software, and i sometimes run into the same problems.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Originally posted by: KidViciou$
i think i'll get you a sarcasm detector for christmas :)
Oops, sorry, probably broke mine, due to overload from all of the sarcasm eminating from my direction.

Originally posted by: KidViciou$
i don't know how there can be something else wrong with my system when i don't have problems with ANY other program i run. no to mention i run firefox on numerous systems with both different configs, and different software, and i sometimes run into the same problems.
Well, if you are using the same collection of extensions (especially the exact same downloaded XPIs), and/or visiting the same web sites - you might have found a bug. I recently started playing around and created another profile in 1.0RC2, and added a few extensions, and after adding them, Firefox doesn't load that profile. At all. No initial window display, have to kill the process using Task Manager. So I deleted that profile (completely) using the Profile Manager (and verified using Explorer.exe), and created another one, and a few more extensions downloaded, and... same thing. Strange. So I delete that profile too, and go back to my main profile, and all's well. So I have no idea. FF can be wierd at times. I'm guessing that one of my newly-downloaded XPI versions of one of my favorite extensions causes startup conflicts somehow.

 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
My Firefox always cranks up there in Memory usage as it's open throughout the day as well. Eventually clickign links that open new windows takes 5-10 seconds to work. no idea why it just keeps climbing and climbing.
 

Todd33

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2003
7,842
2
81
I had a problem with cpu usage. My home computer has no issues, but my work one sputters some times. I think it's just due to different extensions. I also installed "Flashblock" and that seemed to really help.
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
0
I'd consider troubleshooting it, but the install has been dirtied by the installation of extensions. ew.
 

KidViciou$

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,998
0
0
okay, i re-installed firefox, and it still had the problems

after deleting and re-creating my profile, it worked fine. only sucky thing is that i now have to install all the extensions again. i still have the original directory if someone can instruct me how to import the extensions
 

boshuter

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2003
4,145
0
76
I'm having a lot of the same problems.

1. FF will slow and finally stop loading pages completely.
2. It randomly creates a new user profile and you lose all your bookmarks.
3. The service will not unload when the browser is closed (I can't shut it down with Task Manager, have to reboot to get it to stop)
4. Will randomly lose previously downloaded and installed ActiveX controls (Flash Player)

I do not have this problem in IE. I don't have any extensions installed. I have the latest version of FF. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. This is a fresh install of XPpro SP2 and I have no issues with any other apps.

I really like FF, but these problems are just not worth it for tabbed browsing wich is the only advantage I can find over IE. I can even put up with the high memory usage, but losing all my bookmarks is a real pain in the ass. All of these problems are WELL documented on the FF help forum, with various workaround solutions wich may or may not work. I'll keep playing with it, but it is not even close to being a replacement to IE until they get the bugs worked out. This would all be understandable if it was a BETA, but from reading about all the other people having these issues on the FF help forum, it's not ready for release. I guess it's like they say.... "You get what you pay for";)
 

CTho9305

Elite Member
Jul 26, 2000
9,214
1
81
The "trim on minimize" thing is not a fix-all. Mozilla will still eventually get paged out, and once it's on disk, it's horrendously slow to page back in. To the OP: try opening a new window and closing it - this forces a garbage collect, and can sometimes free up some memory.
 

SleepWalkerX

Platinum Member
Jun 29, 2004
2,649
0
0
you might be able to tweak some settings with firetweaker. you can set a cap for memory usage and optimize web browsing. it might help. :shrugs:
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: boshuter
I'm having a lot of the same problems.
I really like FF, but these problems are just not worth it for tabbed browsing wich is the only advantage I can find over IE.

Then try Opera on for size. It has a lot more advantages over IE than just tabbed browsing.
 

magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
wooo hooo hahah my firefox works fine


though oddly enough i like it more b/c the UI is MUCH more respnose to me....

2200+ / 512