Try this

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Memory_Leak
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-ram

Hello jihbeach1, firefox safe mode is a specific mode that can be used to troubleshoot and fix problems, it is not a permanent solution, just a mode to identify possible problems.

If the problem does not happen in Safe Mode then most possible is a faulty extension the cause of the problem (see : Test for faulty extensions), or hardware acceleration.

also, in your system details it seems that you have in your profile folder a User.js file. The user.js file does not exist by default. If you create the file, forget it, if you have not create the file then delete the User.js file, to see if the problem goes away (some programs create and write in the file also).

thank you

I just have to put my .02 in here. I have used firefox since the beginning, I haven't used every version, but every version I've used has had this problem. There is always some yokel that jumps in with the usual safe mode/disable add-ons blah blah blah in every thread where people are having legitimate problems with the browser. And almost every response is neither safe mode nor disabling add-ons did much at all. So please STOP. It does NOT usually seem to be the issue.

I have never seen mozilla themselves address this. EVER. It is total crap. Admit you have a problem, that's the first step. Apologize and be honest. If it's something that can't be fixed because it's at some fundamental level of the code, fine. Just tell us. We are (mostly) adults, we can handle the truth. Is this really too much to ask of a company?

</.02>

And sorry ideato, I wasn't speaking about you in particular, just ranting in general...

Ever Since FF 26 my Firefox has no problems reaching 500+ MB of ram, i have seen it as high as 1.2 gigs, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE

All these stupid canned responses and pointing to links are pointless, as they do not resolve the issue, the problem was not there before upgrading, and has been there after. Unfortunately slinging out links without properly reading and understanding the issue is very poor, hakf he mods are more interested in post counts and resolves on here.

I had to revert to FF 25 to attempt to resolve this stupid memory leak issue that the idiot devs created without proper testing.

I will try arura versions, but dont think they are smart enough to resolve this, like the flash issue.

Just 1-1.5 GB? FF 26 has been running between 2 - 4 GB when I try to stream a movie and play a Facebook game at the same time. I think it's either Flash or streaming video that's causing the memory leak, but I'm not sure which. And, in response to the inevitable deluge of "it's the add ons", and "Too many tabs" responses, NO. I'm just using adblock, which stops a lot of the memory-wasting junk from loading. And it still uses massive, ever-increasing amounts of memory when adblock is disabled. I do have a tendency to keep several tabs open, but I've noticed that having 30 or 40 Craigslist ads and another 30 or 40 eBay ads open doesn't affect memory usage. On the other hand, if I finish shopping, close all the other tabs and start watching a movie and playing Avengers Alliance and socializing on Facebook, memory usage begins creeping up until it's into multiple gigabytes in Firefox, with another 500 mb or more in the plugin container. It continues to rise until either Firefox or Flash crashes, or the computer slows to a crawl. The only thing that works is closing both tabs and re-starting Firefox.

I found a solution that worked for me.

I've had big problems with memory leaks in Firefox. The RAM being used skyrocketed and made me have to shutdown(often CTRL+ALT+DELETE and end task) in order to restart firefox because it was using so many resources. I searched for a long time with no good answers. What I finally tried that worked for me is: I went to tools, options, then clicked on tabs. I checked the box that says" Don't load tabs until selected". Firefox still uses more RAM than it should (IMO), but it doesn't spiral out of control and is stable again. Hope this works for other people and helps. Firefox is the best browser, but I downloaded chrome out of desperation before I finally found this to work.

FireFox has had memory leaks going back to Netscape Navigator v. 1. They don't give a damn about fixing memory leaks, they're too busy changing the UI and pissing off their user base. They're on a suicide mission - I think they're secretly all paid by Microsoft and/or Google or something. They should be concentrating on bug fixes instead of insisting that the address bar belongs under the tabs, to the point that they've even taken away the about:config option to put it back the way we all prefer it. That's right, the developers are so pissed that we don't like their UI decisions that they've taken away the configuration option and hard-coded it so we can no longer change it.

Memory leaks are the furthest thing from their minds. They simply don't care.

finally registered (after googling the registration link since they decided to hide it).

just came to say that i've had this problem since the beginning of time. memory consumption usually ends up around 1500 - 3000 MB on a daily basis. just restarted firefox now after having it opened since yesterday and it was at a solid 2100 MB.

the only addon i use is firebug which i realize does leak some memory of its own but i only use it selectively and don't have it activated all that much. besides, on my home computer i never use it and firefox still consumes 1.5GB+ of memory after a day of usage.

i really don't want to use chrome because i don't want to support google and IE still manages to degrade and get even worse with every update and is the definition of a joke for a browser. please at least acknowledge that there is a problem, it's getting ridiculous.

Safemode etc are troubleshooting steps as mentioned in the post #answer-516180 by Ideato

The canned responses are not made to annoy users with problems they are made in an attempt to troubleshoot the issue. You need to or remember you may see a problem but others may not the difference may be due to your setup.

• YEINU an expression coined by a developer involved with memory issues

Posts are not made for popularity counts, the chances are most users do not like the idea they need to troubleshoot a problem they want a magic fix.

• It could help to try Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings

Using out dated insecure versions of Firefox is not recommended it increases risks to your System and your personal data. Once fixes are made and publicised that opens you to exploits and the risk increases with time and the older the Version is that you use.

Feel free to use old versions

• see Install an older version of Firefox
  that includes the links you need for older versions
• https://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox.html

Those understanding the risks may take steps to mitigate, possibly using Virtual Machines and having well rehearsed bare metal restore procedures.
Generally newer versions are faster and use less memory. The current Fiefox29 compare favourably for speed with the competitors

• https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/desktop/fast/
• Use the Newest version available
  • Upgrade: Update Firefox to the latest release
  • if necessary Get the version for all languages

Yes Firefox may have outstanding Memory issues, but far from not caring a development team continuously works to investigate and fix memory issues, and improve Firfox's memory use and memory troubleshooting tools.

Turning on telemetry may help the developers.

• Share data with Mozilla to help improve Firefox

If you have a problem and you want someone to try to help you with it please start your own thread by asking a question

1. Start your own thread by using this special link
   It cuts out a couple of steps and contributors and HelpDesk will understand you have already read this question
2. Please follow the prompts to include troubleshooting information. Note there is a green button that partly automates the process.
3. You may wish to comment in this thread but only
   • to mention you have started a new thread. Others may wish to follow your progress.
   • Or if you have a solution to the issue. (Not reverting to an older version)
   • If you can demonstrate conclusively the current Firefox in a basic configuration has a problem and a previous one does not then a bug will need filed for engineers to fix the regression. Start a thread to explain what you have found, and to get help with bug filing.

General advice

• Firefox uses too much memory or CPU resources - How to fix

Update

And note the likely cause of he Original Poster's problem is use of AdblockPlus.

Hi jihbeach1,

Are you still around and having a problem ?
Or have you given up on Firefox use ?

Please post back if you would like us to try to help you.

If we do not hear back from you within the next week or so this thread will be closed as it is out of date and apparently not being used by you any more.

I really hate the condescension in your previous reply. I have been using Firefox for many years. I discovered this issues way back with v. 16, when I first asked for help and tried all of the same suggestions you are currently making. (I probably didn't notice it in prior versions because I had a old, slow computer.) Nothing has changed since then. I am a pretty savvy user and your implication that I didn't follow your previous instructions or don't know about Safe Mode is patronizing. YEINU - first off, if you see all the responses, this is a lie; second, please insult me more before you try to not help! I DID NOT post this for a popularity count. If you really want your customers to leave, keep it up, jerk.

I have the latest version. I have used Safe Mode and tried all the options. I have searched the internet endlessly to try to solve the issue. No, I will not go back to a previous version that is unsafe and does the same thing. Nothing works. I have read article after article discussing this as an ongoing issue with Firefox. It is YOU, not ME! I don't care if I have 20 tabs open, it shouldn't be using 1.8 GB!

I am currently using Firefox mostly for the extensions. I only have about 10, but if that is why it doesn't work, then why use Firefox at all? It SHOULD work as it is designed to.

Sorry you do not find the reply helpful. Although at least it did get a reply from you. You failed to reply to the others trying to help you. I am a fellow firefox users, not a developer and lacking any method of mind reading do not know what you have tried unless you happen to mention it.

You may now say you have tried suggestions but we do not know exactly what was tried or the outcome unless you reply to each question asked. Had you followed the previous suggestions and kept us informed of your progress you probably would have fixed the problems long ago.

So do you now want help and you wish to cooperate, or do just feel angry and wish to stay that way with a broken Firefox that you can not fix yourself.

1. When I look for previous questions I note you have mentioned other problems and said SafeMode helps.
2. Have you also tried disabling plugins when in safemode ?
3. Did you personally create the user.js file ? and what is its content ?
4. What version of Firefox are you now using ?
   Are you on some insecure usupported version again ?
5. YENIU is mentioned precisely because we can get a lot of questions from those not realising many millions do not have that particular problem they are reporting. People fail to realise a highly customisable Firefox can be changed and not work. Something you appear to have done but not realised.

Did you try the suggestion in the last reply when you asked before after downgrading to Firefox 24 ?

• Website don't work in 25 /questions/980086#answer-511003

Note the forum software improved since your last question and we were not aware last time of the user.js file.
N.B. old versions of firefox are not secure.
user.js files are sometimes an indication of malware.

You have the opportunity of continuing to troubleshoot the problem to find out which of your changes causes problems or you can continue expecting it to work when it does not.

I stopped responding because, as I previously stated, I am using the current version and didn't find the suggestions offered relevant to the current version since they didn't work on previous versions. The only responses I have received were from others agreeing with me. You didn't ask for a reply and I moved on to newer versions since I posted it 5 months ago. FYI, it is not my fault that others are having the same problem and they decided to vent it here.

1. Safe mode helped with those other problems, not the memory problem, the only one I am complaining about here. 2. Yes, as I said, I tried ALL the original options given to me to try, including this one. 3. I did not create the .js file. I will double-check to see if it still there. 4. Um, you JERK. I have NEVER been "on some insecure usupported version again ?" I TRIED the older version to see if the problems persisted after EVERYTHING ELSE HAD FAILED TO FIX THE ISSUE! I did not keep it. 5. This was used to slam me as a stupid user with your "superior" knowledge. As I said, I have a lot of experience so I really hate the fact that you are patronizing me again like some idiot. It is obvious from the others on this post as well as the MULTITUDE of articles I have read about the issue that this is an ongoing problem experienced by many, many people and Mozilla clearly knows about it. I have had it since v. 16, so it is not MY problem. Others have had this problem in much older versions. I NEVER said that every single person was having my experience. I said that I was and, obviously, others agreed with me.

Is there someone else I can talk to or do I need to call your supervisor? Please stop your snarky, condescending comments or I will be on the phone in a heartbeat.

Sorry you find my comments unhelpful. You clearly do not wish me to help you so I will make some closing comments.

By the way I did not state you were on an insecure version. I asked whether you were, given that you had previously downgraded.

The comment at the top of the thread is aimed at any readers of this thread as a reminder because the title does relate to Firefox 26 and has other people posting in it.

• It is not normally good practice to use out dated versions.
• Anyone now on Firefox 26 is on an outdated version.

Your memory problem may be something that could be improved, but that would need your cooperation in trying to troubleshoot the issue. Alternatively if you feel certain it is a fault in Firefox either

• Make a short comment in feedback. Aggregated summaries are made available for developers. Use https://input.mozilla.org/feedback
• OR File a bug about the issue. (That probably has more chance of gaining traction if well written and discussed on the forum first.)
  • See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/QA/Bug_writing_guidelines#Writing_precise_steps_to_reproduce
  • Use https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi

You may also be interested in reading

• Firefox uses too much memory or CPU resources - How to fix

although maybe you consider you have already tried all that.

Good luck with your memory problem.

I appreciate your frustration as you are having problems with your Firefox install but that does not excuse calling me names repeatedly whilst I have tried my best to help you, and remained polite.

If you do post again and want assistance please try to improve your attitude. Please note the forum Guidelines

Do not harass, insult, taunt, provoke, demean, or personally attack other forum members. Be friendly even if others are not. 

Your account may be deactivated if you attack well meaning contributors that try to assist you.

P.S. The likely Cause of your problem

You use AdblockPlus and that is currently known to cause memory issues with Firefox.

I am sure you will have tried disabling that and will have tried in safemode with all plugins disabled. In that state try installing and using adblock plus and opening many tabs with many iframes and you will no doubt see memory climbing more with adblock plus in use.