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Firefox Quantum is unusable with multiple tabs (v57.0)

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  • 126 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by icemanuk4

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I have installed the new "super fast" Firefox Quantum (well Firefox auto installed it for me).

However - it is the exact opposite. It is slow (even to type in this chat box) and when I open multiple tabs, it just grinds to a halt. I cant click on the window, cannot change tabs, cant scroll - nothing (as i typed this sentence, Firefox went to "Not Responding") and I had to wait.

I have tried a total uninstall and reinstall of FF Quantum - same issues. I use Windows 10 and the MS Edge browser has no such issues.

Broadband speed is not an issue that would explain slowness - I have a 300Mbps line and other apps (Edge as I mentioned) are fine.

Running FF v57.0 (64 bit).

I am going to uninstall this new "faster" browser and go back to the old "slow" one for now - but happy to retry if there is some reason why the super fast new release goes super slow for me.

I have very few addons / plugins and nothing that impacts the browser (I tried without them as well - same issues). These include Norton Safesearch and Flash.


Thanks in advance for your help.

I have installed the new "super fast" Firefox Quantum (well Firefox auto installed it for me). However - it is the exact opposite. It is slow (even to type in this chat box) and when I open multiple tabs, it just grinds to a halt. I cant click on the window, cannot change tabs, cant scroll - nothing (as i typed this sentence, Firefox went to "Not Responding") and I had to wait. I have tried a total uninstall and reinstall of FF Quantum - same issues. I use Windows 10 and the MS Edge browser has no such issues. Broadband speed is not an issue that would explain slowness - I have a 300Mbps line and other apps (Edge as I mentioned) are fine. Running FF v57.0 (64 bit). I am going to uninstall this new "faster" browser and go back to the old "slow" one for now - but happy to retry if there is some reason why the super fast new release goes super slow for me. I have very few addons / plugins and nothing that impacts the browser (I tried without them as well - same issues). These include Norton Safesearch and Flash. Thanks in advance for your help.

Chosen solution

Also, please see the reply from philipp in this thread regarding accessibility services: Firefox 57 hangs up.

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I’d estimate that in more than 90% of all cases, any issues are related to profiles. Most users only run one and never look into them, but Firefox updates can trigger issues as a result of changed preferences in profiles, either by add-ons that are or were previously installed, add-ons that claim to be compatible with new Firefox versions but actually are not, or Firefox preferences changed (in about:config) by the user manually, sometimes long ago.

A simple way to pinpoint and/or fix such issues is to perform a Refresh, another way (that I prefer) is to create a second profile and run Firefox with that. Most of the time it solves issues for me.

One of the beauties of Windows is that it allows you to run Event logs and a Performance Monitor that allows you to see what is hogging up memory or disk activity (per application) so you could try that too.

If you don’t fee like any of this, you can also revert to a previous version of Firefox, but I’m eager to find out what happens in a new profile.

Finally, my personal opinion is to never allow any add-ons from any security product to be enabled or even recognized in Firefox. Some prefer to run no security software at all, but their add-ons are known to cause issues in a number of cases.

Hope this helps.

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Tonnes said

I’d estimate that in more than 90% of all cases, any issues are related to profiles. Most users only run one and never look into them, but Firefox updates can trigger issues as a result of changed preferences in profiles, either by add-ons that are or were previously installed, add-ons that claim to be compatible with new Firefox versions but actually are not, or Firefox preferences changed (in about:config) by the user manually, sometimes long ago. A simple way to pinpoint and/or fix such issues is to perform a Refresh, another way (that I prefer) is to create a second profile and run Firefox with that. Most of the time it solves issues for me. One of the beauties of Windows is that it allows you to run Event logs and a Performance Monitor that allows you to see what is hogging up memory or disk activity (per application) so you could try that too. If you don’t fee like any of this, you can also revert to a previous version of Firefox, but I’m eager to find out what happens in a new profile. Finally, my personal opinion is to never allow any add-ons from any security product to be enabled or even recognized in Firefox. Some prefer to run no security software at all, but their add-ons are known to cause issues in a number of cases. Hope this helps.

Hi - I had zapped my FF profile because it crashed badly and corrupted the profile. That was shortly before I moved to Quantum, so the profile is quite fresh. Happy to try a totally new one though.

Add on wise - I can remove Norton, but as i mentioned, I did a vanilla install and it was brutal before adding the plugin as well.

PS... The biggest CPU and memory hog is Firefox lol

Modified by icemanuk4

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Chosen Solution

Also, please see the reply from philipp in this thread regarding accessibility services: Firefox 57 hangs up.

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jscher2000 said

Also, please see the reply from philipp in this thread regarding accessibility services: Firefox 57 hangs up.

Thanks man - Seems that accessibility services was at fault for me as well. I managed to open 20 tabs and performance was a-ok :) Much appreciated.