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Firefox is taking 10-15 times as long to load a page compared to other browsers.

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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Firefox is running slow across all sites. I've followed all the troubleshooting steps with any significant improvement. Running in safe mode has no effect on the speed. Pages take 10 to 15 times as long to load compared to Chrome and (the new) Edge. I've included the troubleshooting results from the help menu. I've been experiencing a slowdown for several months, but it's gotten so severe I find myself using Firefox less and less. I've used Firefox forever and don;t wish to give up on it, but the slow response it really becoming a problem. I hope you can help

Firefox is running slow across all sites. I've followed all the troubleshooting steps with any significant improvement. Running in safe mode has no effect on the speed. Pages take 10 to 15 times as long to load compared to Chrome and (the new) Edge. I've included the troubleshooting results from the help menu. I've been experiencing a slowdown for several months, but it's gotten so severe I find myself using Firefox less and less. I've used Firefox forever and don;t wish to give up on it, but the slow response it really becoming a problem. I hope you can help

Chosen solution

I'm glad to hear that it improved things. You can try to do a Refresh but, some people have problems with it when they have an issue in their profile.

To recover specific data, copy these files, with Firefox closed, from the previous profile folder to the current profile folder.

  • Keyword: copy. Moving files risks loss of data.

Go to Menu -> Help -> Troubleshooting Infoemation under Applications, next to Profile Folder, click the Open Folder button.

(Or, Win key+R enter %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles select OK. The path is C:\\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles)

The files that you want to copy/paste for info are:

Bookmarks and History: places.sqlite Bookmark Backups: compressed .jsonlz4 in the bookmarkbackups folder Cookies: cookies.sqlite Autocomplete Form Data: formhistory.sqlite Passwords: logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) (if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db) Certificates: cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates (if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db) Spell Checker Dictionary: persdict.dat Permissions: permissions.sqlite and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data Open Tabs and Pinned Tabs: sessionstore.jsonlz4 (also see the sessionstore-backups folder)

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Hi bobg2u1, Try creating a "Test" Profile:

Type (or paste) about:profiles in the address bar and press Enter. You will see at least one Profile which says: Profile: Default User (or default-release) - This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted. That is the Profile with all of your data. Just above that, click Create A New Profile. A Profile Wizard will open. Go through the steps naming the Profile anything that you want, except Default User, of course. Below the new profile click Launch Profile In New Browser

In the first window, under Profile: Default User (or default-release), select Set As Default Profile. When you launch Firefox again, it will open your Default Profile. Close that window.

See if performance improves in the "New "profile.

(The New Profile won't interfere with anything or use any resources. You can leave it if you ever want to Test something again, or, you can Remove it later.)

Also, maybe related, you should check to update your graphics driver.

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Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support to see if that has effect in case security software is causing problems.

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RobertJ said

Hi bobg2u1, Try creating a "Test" Profile: Type (or paste) about:profiles in the address bar and press Enter. You will see at least one Profile which says: Profile: Default User (or default-release) - This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted. That is the Profile with all of your data. Just above that, click Create A New Profile. A Profile Wizard will open. Go through the steps naming the Profile anything that you want, except Default User, of course. Below the new profile click Launch Profile In New Browser In the first window, under Profile: Default User (or default-release), select Set As Default Profile. When you launch Firefox again, it will open your Default Profile. Close that window. See if performance improves in the "New "profile. (The New Profile won't interfere with anything or use any resources. You can leave it if you ever want to Test something again, or, you can Remove it later.) Also, maybe related, you should check to update your graphics driver.
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Hi, the new profile did indeed speed things up considerably. 'm not sure how to proceed. I'm guessing I start copying files from the old profile to the new. I want to move the minimum over since clearly something is amiss in the default profile. I assume I copy from the root directory (not the local directory). I know I want my passwords. I'm not sure what else is really required. Can you please provide some guidance? Regards, Bob

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Chosen Solution

I'm glad to hear that it improved things. You can try to do a Refresh but, some people have problems with it when they have an issue in their profile.

To recover specific data, copy these files, with Firefox closed, from the previous profile folder to the current profile folder.

  • Keyword: copy. Moving files risks loss of data.

Go to Menu -> Help -> Troubleshooting Infoemation under Applications, next to Profile Folder, click the Open Folder button.

(Or, Win key+R enter %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles select OK. The path is C:\\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles)

The files that you want to copy/paste for info are:

Bookmarks and History: places.sqlite Bookmark Backups: compressed .jsonlz4 in the bookmarkbackups folder Cookies: cookies.sqlite Autocomplete Form Data: formhistory.sqlite Passwords: logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) (if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db) Certificates: cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates (if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db) Spell Checker Dictionary: persdict.dat Permissions: permissions.sqlite and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data Open Tabs and Pinned Tabs: sessionstore.jsonlz4 (also see the sessionstore-backups folder)

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Did you check for issues with places.sqlite in the old profile ?

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder.

  • use "Verify Integrity" button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

In case errors are reported with "Verify Integrity" close and restart Firefox and retry.

There can also be issues with with sessionstore files, so check the file size of various files you copy to the new profile. There can also be issues with files in the secondary location used for the disk cache that can cause a slow response, you wouldn't normally copy files in this location.

Some have reported issues caused by DoH (DNS over HTTPS) being enabled (your System Details list shows you have the extension that is used to roll out this feature).