August 12th 2018 - Firefox 61.0.2 (64-bit) uses up to 95% and 11GB memory (out of 16GB)!
- NOTE: I only created this question so I could open an account. Why isn't there a Register or Create Account option along with the Log In option for an existing question that is relevant to a problem?!!! Better still, why can't my Firefox account be used for this too?
OS: Windows 10 64-bit 1803, Dell Alienware 17 R4
After Firefox was updated to Version 61.0.2 yesterday, it is now often using so much memory that everything I'm trying to do is excruciatingly slow! I have not installed any new add-ons. I've clicked "Minimize Memory Usage" under about:memory, which seems to help, but is this a permanent solution or does this have to be done each time Firefox is opened?
The following comment in https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1223605 (*which is where I wanted to add a comment but couldn't with no account) is ridiculous if everything comes to a grinding halt and the internet is unusable.
"To be honest with you 8GB of RAM is the minimum standard nowadays. Firefox makes sure people with more RAM can utilize them."
All Replies (6)
HI, this is not a normal Forum for leaving comments. All reply's are done by Volunteers that are registered with Mozilla and have a knowledge of ...
The answer you saw was by someone new. No longer around.
The 8gig minimum is wrong is 16gig minimum and if prepared to go for the future it is 24gig which I did 6yrs ago on this one and 32 gig on a 4yr old.
This would be my answer now :
To be Checked and turned off unless needed for accessibility : Please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser.
Multi-Processor Support : Go to the 3 Bar Menu then Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything. change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please. Note : Hardware Acceleration is for Video Card, Monitor to see if remain off or to turn back on.
Only Disable as last resort.
Multi-processor Can completely disable it this way in about:config : dom.ipc.processCount set to 1 browser.tabs.remote.autostart = false browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false
Only move to esr if low ram and old system.
Firefox Extended Release Version : Firefox ESR does not come with the latest features but it has the latest security and stability fixes.
If do please :
OK, thanks. By "comment", I meant being able to reply to the posts in that existing thread without having to create another question. For visibility, I presume it's better to create a new question anyway?
I changed the settings as per your instructions, but was still experiencing ridiculously high memory usage which slows everything down too much. I'm a Goodreads librarian and was trying to edit database records, in addition to opening Goodreads and Amazon book pages in order to copy/paste information into an Excel spreadsheet, which was almost impossible to manage due to very slow response times.
My internet speed is slow at the best of times, but I always managed OK prior to multi-processing (except still when my ISP hasn't purchased enough bandwidth to cope with increased load in peak usage periods!). I installed the Auto Tab Discard add-on https://add0n.com/tab-discard.html a while ago which is supposed to reduce memory use when multiple tabs are open after a set period, but this current huge memory spike problem occurred anyway even after several tabs had been suspended. I check memory use in the Windows task manager regularly and have never seen this level of FF memory use before. Just seems more than a coincidence that it's been happening after 61.0.2, but I'd rather not roll back to FF 60 ESR if I can avoid it.
I've now also disabled hardware acceleration after having tried a limit of 2 as suggested. I only then needed to change the browser.tabs.remote.autostart preference to false to turn off multi-processing. I'll try switching it and hardware acceleration back on when I've finished what I'm doing, or tomorrow. (I still need to check out "learn more" for performance and accessibility settings properly when I get time.) I've been working in Goodreads etc. again and so far, so good.
BTW, I should have said that FF memory usage took the total memory used up to 95%, not that it was using 95% on its own!
Also, when Firefox is closed, why don't instances of FF disappear from the Windows task manager Details tab automatically? I end these tasks manually to ensure everything has been cleared before re-opening FF. Do I really need to do that?
Anyway Pkshadow, thanks for you help and I hope I haven't confused things with TMI!
Spoke too soon. FF memory usage is still spiking up to 9GB and slowing response time down, but then goes back down fairly quickly. I've only got three tabs open (Pinterest, Goodreads, Amazon). I've just checked the memory use after I click on a link in either Goodreads or Amazon and that's when it spikes, steadily increasing before it goes down. Why is it doing this?!! It never used to!
HI, ya that is the idea that people go through the process of self help and then are suppose to have gained some insight to explain if still need to ask a question. This side you do get sometimes some wanderers but it is 1 on 1 or you and 4-5 Contributors trying to figure things out. So it makes for good relationship most of the time with out distractions of ....
Do finish turning off E10's / Multi-process then will know what is going on.
You saying that after closing Firefox it still has things going on in Task Manager is not suppose to happen. When shut down they are suppose to also.
Please give your self a scan just to make sure : https://www.malwarebytes.com/
If still issues with processes running after shut down please try a clean reinstall but 1st try : SAFE MODE
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
In Firefox Safe mode these changes are effective:
- all extensions are disabled (about:addons)
- default theme is used (no persona)
- userChrome.css and userContent.css are ignored (chrome folder)
- default toolbar layout is used (file: localstore-safe.rdf)
- Javascript JIT compilers are disabled (prefs: javascript.options.*jit)
- hardware acceleration is disabled (Options > Advanced > General)
- plugins are not affected
- preferences are not affected
TEST''''is issue still there ?
If not then it is a Extension, disable read the Trouble shooter for it.
Now I stick some teachable moments into this : uninstall Firefox. Then Delete the Mozilla Firefox Folders in C:\Program Files , C:\Program Files(x86) & C:\ProgramData Then restart system. Then run Windows Disk Cleanup. (Note: This should be Pinned and run Weekly, If never done below expect 10's of gig's) Then run it again and click the button that says Cleanup System Files. Note: your Firefox Profile is saved. But you should make a back up before you do :
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/export-firefox-bookmarks-to-backup-or-transfer
Reinstall with Current Release Firefox 61.0.2 with a Full Version Installer
Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
Pkshadow said
The 8gig minimum is wrong is 16gig minimum and if prepared to go for the future it is 24gig which I did 6yrs ago on this one and 32 gig on a 4yr old.
No the 16GB RAM is not a minimum necessity for a good while yet, more so if not gaming and even then depending on game it may make no real difference over 8GB. The difference is much bigger between 4GB and 8GB then between 8GB and 16GB. Keep in mind that while Graphics card prices have been going down more close to normal prices again, the RAM prices can be still ridiculously high more so with DDR4. See pcpartpicker.com and price history of the ram going back two years to see.
Is 8GB of RAM Enough In 2018? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnuNs_Nu46Q
Modified by James
I have Malwarebytes installed and the last scan on Aug-12 was clear.
I didn't bother with systematically disabling add-ons and testing, but I did disable a dozen or so add-ons I don't use or rarely use.
I've tried safe mode but I can't reproduce exactly what I was doing with the websites I had open (Amazon, Goodreads, Pinterest) when I first experienced the memory spike without a Pinterest add-on I use (not Pinterest's own, because it doesn't work!). Trying to pin images from the websites I was using without the add-on doesn't work (a problem with Pinterest, I think).
Please note that hardware acceleration is NOT disabled in safe mode. I had it enabled before I opened FF in safe mode and it remained enabled in safe mode, which makes sense since you've said that preferences are not affected in safe mode. Also, "Options > Advanced > General" does not exist. It's under Options > General.
I uninstalled FF and then did a disk/system cleanup as suggested.
Please note that it was not necessary to manually delete the Mozilla Firefox folders in any of the program files folders. They were gone after uninstallation.
I downloaded FF 61.0.2 from the suggested website and reinstalled it.
Today I had several tabs open, different from previously, and I again got several memory and CPU spikes again, where close to 100% of each was being used, 12GB memory (out of 16GB installed) by FF alone!
The issue where tasks remain in the Windows task manager Details tab after closing FF is still occurring. Please note that this also occurs when there's a FF update, after which it does NOT open automatically. I can't open it manually until I delete FF tasks on the Details tab.
At one stage, when I tried turning multi-processing back on with the default setting of 4, initially Window task manager showed 4 processes, but this soon increased to 6. Is that supposed to happen? Also, at a different time, there were about 15 instances of FF in the Details tab! Is that supposed to happen? I can't remember if I had multi-processing enabled then or not.
I've now disabled multi-processing again and also hardware acceleration. I'll see what happens tomorrow.
As I've mentioned before, the memory spike problem only started after 61.0.2, and I hadn't installed any new add-ons, so I'm highly sceptical of any likelihood that add-ons could be responsible. Complaints of memory spike issues, and indeed memory leakage where memory is not being freed up as tabs are closed, have been common well before 61.0.2. Surely we'd also see complaints about memory problems with particular add-ons if they were to blame, but of course I know we're not all using the same add-ons. I only have about 20 installed now after I disabled some as mentioned earlier, but I've read of some people who have many, many more than that.
