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Why is FIreFox continuously using more and more memory the longer it is open?

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 10 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

qwertyface
qwertyface
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Hello, and no I've checked the other "help" questions and you haven't answered this.

Why did this (great, and I love it, but seriously) browser get created in a way that causes it to slowly over time continue to use more and more memory. If you sit and watch it, just sitting there with one tab open, maybe listening to pandora or something, it will slowly gobble up more and more memory, regardless of what you are doing. The rate for my computer is usually about 1 meg every few seconds, so it is "using" more and more memory the longer it is open. It shouldn't be. It doesn't make any sense.

I've spoken to "tech dudes" -people who fix this junk for a living and they all know about it. They think it's annoying. They also prefer Firefox but admit this really screwed up problem it has and have no idea how to fix it. There is no reason for a browser to keep eating up more and more memory when there is nothing going on that should merit that. This is a long-standing issue that has been in all versions and (yes) the current version. It would be great if someone were even honestly addressing this coding fluke and admitting that it's a problem instead of telling people to upgrade and do various junk to their computers. This is a well-known bug, can't you just make it stop?

It continues to eat memory until the computer crashes. It happens no matter how many tabs you have. It doesn't matter if you have the most recent browser. It doesn't matter how much memory you have - it will keep eating up to whatever you have, if the browser is open long enough. Why do you want people to restart your browser? Why not just fix it?

Hello, and no I've checked the other "help" questions and you haven't answered this. Why did this (great, and I love it, but seriously) browser get created in a way that causes it to slowly over time continue to use more and more memory. If you sit and watch it, just sitting there with one tab open, maybe listening to pandora or something, it will slowly gobble up more and more memory, regardless of what you are doing. The rate for my computer is usually about 1 meg every few seconds, so it is "using" more and more memory the longer it is open. It shouldn't be. It doesn't make any sense. I've spoken to "tech dudes" -people who fix this junk for a living and they all know about it. They think it's annoying. They also prefer Firefox but admit this really screwed up problem it has and have no idea how to fix it. There is no reason for a browser to keep eating up more and more memory when there is nothing going on that should merit that. This is a long-standing issue that has been in all versions and (yes) the current version. It would be great if someone were even honestly addressing this coding fluke and admitting that it's a problem instead of telling people to upgrade and do various junk to their computers. This is a well-known bug, can't you just make it stop? It continues to eat memory until the computer crashes. It happens no matter how many tabs you have. It doesn't matter if you have the most recent browser. It doesn't matter how much memory you have - it will keep eating up to whatever you have, if the browser is open long enough. Why do you want people to restart your browser? Why not just fix it?

All Replies (2)

FredMcD
FredMcD
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Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac Options) key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?

While still in Safe Mode,

In the address bar, type about:crashes<enter>. Note: If any reports do not have BP in front of the numbers/letters, click it and select Submit.

Using your mouse, mark the most resent 7 - 10 crash reports, and copy them. Now go to the reply box below and paste them in.

aboutcrashesFx29

Firefox uses too much memory (RAM) - How to fix This article describes how to make Firefox use less memory to make it run faster and prevent crashes.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-slow-how-make-it-faster

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-many-cpu-resources-how-fix

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-hangs-or-not-responding

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.