Serious Problem: Firefox using ALL OF MY 8GB of RAM... :( :(
Greetings everyone,
I have 8gb of RAM installed on my laptop running Windows 10 Pro.
However, I'm always running out of RAM because Firefox is using almost all of it.
I'm unable to open any other App while I have Firefox running because there just isn't any RAM available. :( :( :( :( :(
I'm constantly trying to close tabs and windows, but I just wanted to know if there was another solution?
I've used other web browsers that have a "sleep tab" feature where the tab will use very little RAM if the user hasn't accessed it for about 15 seconds to 1minute.
What else can I do?
Thank you for any help!
All Replies (7)
You could try the following extension to unload tabs you are not actually using. All the same, I think you will need more ram.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/auto-tab-discard/ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-or-cpu-resources
You can close processes to free up memory from the Firefox Process Manager (Shift+Esc).
Visit about:unloads to see how automatic tab unloading prioritizes tabs and trigger it manually by clicking the "Unload" button.
Reduce the number of processes per site by going to about:config and changing dom.ipc.processCount.webIsolated to 1.
Terry said
You could try the following extension to unload tabs you are not actually using. All the same, I think you will need more ram. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/auto-tab-discard/ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-or-cpu-resources
zeroknight said
You can close processes to free up memory from the Firefox Process Manager (Shift+Esc). Visit about:unloads to see how automatic tab unloading prioritizes tabs and trigger it manually by clicking the "Unload" button. Reduce the number of processes per site by going to about:config and changing dom.ipc.processCount.webIsolated to 1.
Thank you for your responses!
I get really nervous installing extensions so I try to keep them to a minimum.
zeroknight, I like your response and I'm attempting to follow your advice, but this like it's very advanced and I may accidentally do some damage to my Firefox install.
Is there a way to make tabs that aren't being used to "sleep" like other web browsers?
I think my best option is to bookmark the tabs I want to read and then close them and come back to them later by accessing the Bookmarks Manager?
Helpless_Quest said
Greetings everyone, I have 8gb of RAM installed on my laptop running Windows 10 Pro. However, I'm always running out of RAM because Firefox is using almost all of it. wI'm unable to open any other App while I have Firefox running because there just isn't any RAM available. :( :( :( :( :( What else can I do? Thank you for any help!
What ram are you running? If you're not sure go here and find or scan your computer. https://www.crucial.com/upgrades
jonzn4SUSE said
Helpless_Quest said
Greetings everyone, I have 8gb of RAM installed on my laptop running Windows 10 Pro. However, I'm always running out of RAM because Firefox is using almost all of it. wI'm unable to open any other App while I have Firefox running because there just isn't any RAM available. :( :( :( :( :( What else can I do? Thank you for any help!What ram are you running? If you're not sure go here and find or scan your computer. https://www.crucial.com/upgrades
Thank you for your response!
I checked in Windows 10 under 'System Settings' and I have 8GB with 7.35GB usable as 512mb of RAM is shared with my graphics card.
I checked if I can buy more RAM but I can't because it's soldered into my laptop.
Is there anything else I can do to reduce Firefox's RAM usage because Firefox keeps crashing when it's using a lot of RAM :(
FISSION: The links are sites explaining the Firefox's Project Fission. Users are complaining about ram usage, but this is the reason for the processes you see in task manager. You can turn fission off by setting it to false on the about:config page. see screenshot Here is more info. https://www.ghacks.net/2016/02/15/change-how-many-processes-multi-process-firefox-uses/
Introducing Firefox’s new Site Isolation Security Architecture https://hacks.mozilla.org/2021/05/introducing-firefox-new-site-isolation-security-architecture/
Firefox's Project Fission: better security and more processes https://www.ghacks.net/2019/02/07/firefoxs-project-fission-better-security-and-more-processes/
jonzn4SUSE said
FISSION: The links are sites explaining the Firefox's Project Fission. Users are complaining about ram usage, but this is the reason for the processes you see in task manager. You can turn fission off by setting it to false on the about:config page. see screenshot Here is more info. https://www.ghacks.net/2016/02/15/change-how-many-processes-multi-process-firefox-uses/ Introducing Firefox’s new Site Isolation Security Architecture https://hacks.mozilla.org/2021/05/introducing-firefox-new-site-isolation-security-architecture/ Firefox's Project Fission: better security and more processes https://www.ghacks.net/2019/02/07/firefoxs-project-fission-better-security-and-more-processes/
Thank you for your response!
I'm reading your links now.
Is there anything else I can do because when my Windows 10 PC runs out of RAM Firefox will often crash.
This sucks :(