Have you read Firefox uses too much memory or CPU resources - How to fix?

thnk u for reply Chris. Yes i did read and the solutions of trying the 2 addons does not work. actually those addons are useless.

Why doesn't anyone comment on FireFox Optimizer? Is it something which FireFox is against or is it something which really is a trojan or whatever. Why can't FireFox just offer a simply solution without the users having to try different add-ons?

BTW I also tried to start FireFox in Safe mode by disabling Plugins/Extensions (don't remember the exact option that I got), FireFox was taking almost the same memory which it does in normal mode. Someone pls help. I have read tons and tons of posts and all are related to the same problem and none of them seem to have found a solution.

What do i do?

I've never heard of the Firefox Optimizer. :-)

What about disabling plugins? That's not done through safe. It needs to be done using the Add-ons window.

Google will give you many links for FireFox Optimizer ;)

I disabled the plugins and extension in the normal mode (not safe mode) and when I started the Safe Mode it gave the options of disabling certain things; out of which I selected disable all plugins.

We'll need some more info about your Firefox setup. Go to Help > Troubleshooting Information, then click Copy all to Clipboard. Open a reply to this post, and go to Edit > Paste to paste the info from your Troubleshooting Information page.

Hi Chris. Apologies for the late reply.

Here are the results. Pls not that there are on as is basis, I no longer have anything disabled since disabling the extensions or plugins was not much different (details in my post above).

HOWEVER I under the Modified Preferences section i noticed that some things are wrong:

The 'print.printer_Adobe_PDF' related entries are wrong since I no longer have Adobe installed.

The 'print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator" related entries are incorrect since I uninstalled the trial version a long time back

Do you think I'll be better off by uninstalling FireFox and then install it again (which means that I will have to add all the extensions etc. again). Do you think this will solve the problem?

Results:

 Application Basics

       Name
       Firefox

       Version
       3.6.3

       Profile Directory

         Open Containing Folder

       Installed Plugins

         about:plugins

       Build Configuration

         about:buildconfig

 Extensions

       Name

       Version

       Enabled

       ID

       Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant
       1.2.1
       true
       {20a82645-c095-46ed-80e3-08825760534b}

       FEBE
       6.3.3.2
       true
       {4BBDD651-70CF-4821-84F8-2B918CF89CA3}

       Adblock Plus
       1.2
       true
        

       AddThis
       3.0.1
       false
       {3e0e7d2a-070f-4a47-b019-91fe5385ba79}

       All-in-One Sidebar
       0.7.11
       true
       {097d3191-e6fa-4728-9826-b533d755359d}

       Session Manager
       0.6.7.4
       true
       {1280606b-2510-4fe0-97ef-9b5a22eafe30}

       Speed Dial
       0.9.5
       true
       {64161300-e22b-11db-8314-0800200c9a66}

       WOT
       20100503
       true
        

       Tab Mix Plus
       0.3.8.3
       true
        

       UnMHT
       5.6.0
       true
        

       Java Console
       6.0.20
       true
        

       Java Quick Starter
       1.0
       true
       jqs@sun.com

       TinEye Reverse Image Search
       0.7.1
       false
       tineye@ideeinc.com

       OptimizeGoogle
       0.78.1
       false
       optimizegoogle@optimizegoogle.com

       BetterPrivacy
       1.47.4
       true
        

 Modified Preferences

     Name

     Value

       accessibility.typeaheadfind
       true

       accessibility.typeaheadfind.casesensitive
       1

       accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar
       0

       browser.history_expire_days.mirror
       180

       browser.history_expire_days_min
       1

       browser.places.importBookmarksHTML
       false

       browser.places.importDefaults
       false

       browser.places.leftPaneFolderId
       -1

       browser.places.migratePostDataAnnotations
       false

       browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion
       2

       browser.places.updateRecentTagsUri
       false

       browser.startup.homepage
       http://www.hotmail.com/

       browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone
       rv:1.9.2.3

       dom.disable_window_flip
       false

       dom.disable_window_open_feature.status
       false

       dom.disable_window_status_change
       false

       dom.max_chrome_script_run_time
       0

       dom.max_script_run_time
       1800

       extensions.lastAppVersion
       3.6.3

       font.name.serif.x-western
       MS Serif

       general.useragent.extra.betterprivacy

       general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet
       ( .NET CLR 3.5.30729)

       keyword.enabled
       false

       network.cookie.prefsMigrated
       true

       print.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.print_bgimages
       false

       print.print_command

       print.print_downloadfonts
       false

       print.print_evenpages
       true

       print.print_in_color
       true

       print.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.print_oddpages
       true

       print.print_orientation
       0

       print.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.print_paper_data
       0

       print.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.print_paper_size_type
       1

       print.print_paper_size_unit
       0

       print.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.print_printer
       Microsoft Office Document Image Writer

       print.print_reversed
       false

       print.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.print_to_file
       false

       print.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_bgimages
       false

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_command

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_downloadfonts
       false

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_edge_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_edge_left
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_edge_right
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_edge_top
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_evenpages
       true

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_footercenter

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_footerleft
       &PT

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_footerright
       &D

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_headercenter

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_headerleft
       &T

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_headerright
       &U

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_in_color
       true

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_oddpages
       true

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_orientation
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_paper_data
       1

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_paper_size_type
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_paper_size_unit
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_reversed
       false

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_to_file
       false

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.printer_Adobe_PDF.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_bgimages
       false

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_command

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_downloadfonts
       false

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_edge_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_edge_left
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_edge_right
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_edge_top
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_evenpages
       true

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_footercenter

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_footerleft
       &PT

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_footerright
       &D

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_headercenter

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_headerleft
       &T

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_headerright
       &U

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_in_color
       true

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_oddpages
       true

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_orientation
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_paper_data
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_paper_size_type
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_paper_size_unit
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_reversed
       false

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_to_file
       false

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.printer_Microsoft_Office_Document_Image_Writer.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_bgcolor
       false

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_bgimages
       false

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_command

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_downloadfonts
       true

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_edge_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_edge_left
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_edge_right
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_edge_top
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_evenpages
       true

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_footercenter

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_footerleft
       &PT

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_footerright
       &D

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_headercenter

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_headerleft
       &T

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_headerright
       &U

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_in_color
       true

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_margin_bottom
       0.5

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_margin_left
       0.5

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_margin_right
       0.5

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_margin_top
       0.5

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_oddpages
       true

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_orientation
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_pagedelay
       500

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_paper_data
       1

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_paper_height
       11.00

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_paper_size_type
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_paper_size_unit
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_paper_width
       8.50

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_reversed
       false

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_scaling
       1.00

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_shrink_to_fit
       true

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_to_file
       false

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_unwriteable_margin_left
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_unwriteable_margin_right
       0

       print.printer_Nitro_PDF_Creator.print_unwriteable_margin_top
       0

       privacy.clearOnShutdown.cache
       false

       privacy.clearOnShutdown.offlineApps
       true

       privacy.cpd.extensions-sessionmanager
       false

       privacy.cpd.extensions-tabmix
       false

       privacy.item.extensions-privacyplus
       true

       privacy.item.offlineApps
       true

       privacy.item.sessions
       false

       privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs
       true

       privacy.sanitize.promptOnSanitize
       false

       privacy.sanitize.sanitizeOnShutdown
       true

       privacy.sanitize.timeSpan
       0

       security.OCSP.disable_button.managecrl
       false

       security.disable_button.openCertManager
       false

       security.disable_button.openDeviceManager
       false

       security.warn_viewing_mixed
       false

Did you re-enable your extensions? According to your troubleshooting info, many of your extensions are enabled.

Uninstalling will not remove your data. Your data is kept in a separate location from the program folder. See Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data

To get rid of the Nitro_PDF_Creator preferences, type about:config in the Location bar and press Enter . The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear. Click I'll be careful, I promise! , to continue to the about:config page.

Anywhere you see a Nitro_PDF_Creator preference, right-click on it and select Reset.

Tell me if any of those work.

Hi Chris,

Well the Reset tip worked and this time i did not see the Adobe_PDF and Nitro_PDF related entries when i clicked on Help > Troubleshooting Information.

However and interestingly when i did the about:config thing, it listed all the add-ons (or if you prefer to use the word extension) I have ever tried. And guess what? 90% of them are no longer in use and have been uninstalled a long time back. Why are entries for uninstalled add-ons/extensions still being kept?

Will await your reply to the above.

Chris, how can I do a CLEAN installation of FireFox and get rid of all the junk? You say that "Uninstalling will not remove your data. Your data is kept in a separate location from the program folder." Well if I uninstall FireFox and delete the whole folder %APPDATA%\Mozilla (which as per the KB articles should result in deleting the Profile i.e. %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\), wouldn't that solve the problem? In this case (and if you think this will work), would you like to share some tips regarding what to backup and how to restore it (things like my general preferences, passwords, etc.)

Now coming to the original problem: If you read my earlier reply, I explained that I re-enabled the extensions 'cause FireFox was still taking pretty much the same memory and the time to load even when I had the extensions disabled.

Thanks for your help so far and hope that we can nail this down.

You can use this to reset all preferences and remove prefs from older extensions that are no longer used. "Reset all user preferences to Firefox defaults" on the Safe mode start window - See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Resetting_preferences --- You can create a new profile if you want to start over without keeping any old data. See [[Basic Troubleshooting|#Make_a_new_profile|Basic Troubleshooting:Make a new profile]]

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

Thanks for the reply cor-el. I just took the easy way out. Backed up stuff using FeBe, Uninstalled FireFox, Deleted all folders related to FireFox, Restored the extensions and saved passwords.... FireFox is still taking close to 90 MB at start up.

Here's a tip: Test it along the way. Create a new profile, then see if the problem still exists. If not, start restoring data one item at a time. Each time, see if the problem still exists.

Are you opening any pages on startup? 90 MB memory usage is not very much, but it should be less with no pages opening and with all extensions disabled.

You shouldn't (re)install any extension if you want to check the memory usage by Firefox. If you use FEBE to restore the extensions and other files then you can easily get the problem back if your extensions are causing it.

The 90 MB is when FireFox starts with an empty page.

Yes I did use FeBe to restore only some of the Add-ins. I guess I'll leave it here since have already put in too much time trying to solve this.

Thanks to both of you (Chris and cor-el) for all the help. I hope the new version of FireFox (whenever it comes out) will address the slow start-up and memory leak problem.

Sincerely.