Why is Firefox 15 so slow?

Computer Help and Discussions The Lounge
1

I am using Firefox 14.01 with no problems, but if I install 15, it seems to lag badly. Especially surfing youtube videos. Doesn't seem to be a video driver issue, nor does it seem to cause a high CPU, but it takes a while. Sometimes Firefox even locks up for a few seconds, before settling back down. Yet, running Task Manager in the system tray doesn't seem to show higher than normal spikes in activity.

Even 16b1 seems to have some problems, but not so severe as 15 on my system.

Tried Palemoon 15, & it seems to work pretty good. Or, as far as I can tell. But I had to switch back to Firefox 14.01 on my system to get things "back to normal" as it were, & end the "lockups" that cause a several second lag. It even takes much longer to connect to websites on 15 than 14 for some reason?

Anyone else having problems with the full release of Firefox 15? Or is it only me?

2

I was wondering the same thing version 15 is so slow! It completely stalls on sites like Softpedia.com to the point where the site can't even be properly browsed, but that isn't the only site it runs at a snails pace on, on YouTube.com it's also too frustratingly slow to bother with anymore. About 1 hour ago I've switched to using Comodo Dragon and will most likely never use Firefox (or it's clones) again.

3

I was wondering the same thing version 15 is so slow! It completely stalls on sites like Softpedia.com to the point where the site can't even be properly browsed, but that isn't the only site it runs at a snails pace on, on YouTube.com it's also too frustratingly slow to bother with anymore. About 1 hour ago I've switched to using Comodo Dragon and will most likely never use Firefox (or it's clones) again.

Ironically, it did that to me on those sites, too. Even clean loading just the google start page took far longer than 14.01.

I don't have a problem with 14.01, so I am trying to figure out why 15 (& 16 beta?) went wrong...

Is Comodo Dragon, or Palemoon faster? I tested Palemoon 15, & it was far faster than FF15. I assume that PM 14.01 also trumps PM 15? Not sure...

I did send FF made me sad report to let them know its waaaayyy slower...

4

Comodo Dragon and SRWare Iron both absolutely smoke Firefox v15 and any previous version of Firefox when loading pages.

I don't know about Palemoon v15, and don't have any plans to use it or any Firefox clone again.

5

Comodo Dragon and SRWare Iron both absolutely smoke Firefox v15 and any previous version of Firefox when loading pages.

I don't know about Palemoon v15, and don't have any plans to use it or any Firefox clone again.

I might have to test those out again. It's been a long time since I tried them last. I use mostly AdBlock on FF.

6

I'm having no issues on any of my firefox flavors (15, waterfox 15, 16b,17a,18a) whatsoever.

7

Try the Firefox reset feature. I read somewhere on MDN that they changed the structure of user profiles slightly between Firefox 14 and Firefox 15. Perhaps something corrupted slightly; which is causing a lockup.

8

It may have to do with Gecko 15

9

Try the Firefox reset feature. I read somewhere on MDN that they changed the structure of user profiles slightly between Firefox 14 and Firefox 15. Perhaps something corrupted slightly; which is causing a lockup.

If so that's pretty disgusting since I had only just started using Firefox again when they released v14.01, and within one upgrade they hose the whole experience. Problems in previous versions had made me switch to Pale Moon a few months ago.

Happily using Comodo Dragon now though, and thankfully Google's Chrome Store has all the plugins I require; AdBlock, Ghostery, Paused, and WOT, so no need to ever go back to Firefox.

10

I've been using google chrome since I got my Nexus 7. Only reason is because it syncs my bookmarsk(also use chrome on iphone) pretty slick that I have even my most recent bookmarks on any device I use. One thing I hate about chrome is that it doesn't have the option to clean out my history on browser exit.

11

I've been using google chrome since I got my Nexus 7. Only reason is because it syncs my bookmarsk(also use chrome on iphone)

Firefox also has this, however, & can sync your bookmarks/saved passwords/settings/etc. Firefox/Options/Sync...

12

But Chrome comes pre-installed on the n7 and runs quite nicely. I've never had a desire to run Fx on my n7!

13

Ahhh!!! Never had a nexus, so I guess that would make a difference...

14

I didn't notice any slowness in FF15, but then I use mostly Waterfox on my 64-bit machine.

15

Gecko 15 is a new base for Firefox 15.

Palemoon has been carefully incrementing through the 12.?? series whilst incorporating security fixes etc found in Firefox ??.??? up to Firefox 14.???

Palemoon is now using Gecko 15 and to mark the event has jumped from 12.??? up to 15.0,

and the transition was not as smooth as Palemoon users are accustomed to.

Such issues have been investigated by "Moonchild", the Palemoon Developer.

He has provided solutions to these issues at

http://forum.palemoo....php?f=1&t=1307

The focus is on fixing Palemoon,

but since this is based on the same opensource software base as Firefox,

much of what applies to Palemoon may also (with appropriate adaptations) be applied to Firefox and other related browsers.

16

So Palemoon is having issues related to changes in the profile structure too. That confirms that Mozilla have made (another) stupid error.

17

One thing I hate about chrome is that it doesn't have the option to clean out my history on browser exit.

Comodo Dragon has that feature on Windows. I don't know if extensions work on your hardware version of Chrome, however there's Click&Clean, etc., you may want to look into.

18

Update! Running Firefox Profile Reset appeared to have no affect on speed of Firefox 15. Loading Google.com would take 7 to 15 or 30 seconds.

What worked: Backup bookmarks, passwords, & saved form details via MozBackup. Delete old Mozilla folder & let Firefox create a new one. Import settings via MozBackup.

This one threw me for a loop! Profile Reset apparently failed to save the day because the way firefox uses the profile changed so much between 14 & 15, that resetting an old profile would fail to properly work. Apparently, the ONLY way to fix this is with a brand NEW profile, then import the old bookmarks/passwords/saved form details.

TheWebAtom, thank you for suggesting the profile structure changes as a possible cause, because I was about to lose faith in Firefox (and my sanity!).

Well, now we can know that there IS a fix that works, & it is NOT profile reset!

Backup the old profile settings you wish to keep via MozBackup, create a new profile, then use MozBackup to re-import them!

* Thanks to the sharp investigative sleuthing of TheWebAtom, Firefox now loads Google.com in 3 seconds flat from a cold start! Although both you & I were wrong that a Profile Reset would fix this, the solution I posted above DOES work. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction!

19

Glad you got yours fixed Super Fast! I'm staying "on the other side of the tracks" though with Comodo Dragon, and not returning.

20

So Superfast, what you're saying is get rid of old MozBackup files and keep the most recent?