Why does Firefox take so long to Quit?
I'm running Firefox 27.0.1 (although this problem goes back I think to at least 25.0.1) on MacOS 10.9.1 (Mavericks). Every so often I run into a problem (for example, Firefox failing to load webpages when I've just changed my internet connection from, say, Ethernet on company-internal LAN to WiFi on external network) that I can only fix by quitting and restarting Firefox. You'd think when you ask an application to exit it would do that quickly, but not Firefox. I find it takes so long to quit that I usually Force Quit it instead.
What is it doing, and can it be made to exit more expeditiously?
Thanks, --Steve
All Replies (8)
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.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
Note that plugins aren't affected by Safe mode.
I note that the time it takes for Firefox to exit seems to depend on how much state it has accumulated (or perhaps how much memory it has allocated). It took 13 seconds for the Firefox instance I started this morning and had worked with all day to exit. It took 7 seconds for a Firefox I started and then Quit without doing any work to exit. I just started Firefox in Safe Mode per your instructions but I'll have to work with it for a few weeks and let it build up state before exiting it and seeing how long it takes to exit. Of course, if Safe Mode adversely interferes with my productivity, I will have to abort this experiment.
(I must admit I feel vulnerable with NoScript, Flashblock, and WOT disabled.)
Modified by Steve Chessin
Okay, so I started Firefox in Safe Mode. I was on my home WiFi and started a VPN connection to my company's intranet. WIth the VPN connection made, I then attempted to login to the intranet. Firefox had trouble loading the login page so I Quit it. While the Firefox window disappeared immediately, the Firefox process itself took about 36 seconds to exit. (I note it had accumulated about 950MB of real memory before I Quit it.) So I don't think my extensions are the problem.
Are you using "Clear history when Firefox closes" to clear any data?
- Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history": [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" > Settings
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Clear+Recent+History
No, it's set to "Remember history." (My productivity would be severely affected otherwise!)
Firefox isn't trying to free() all the memory it had malloc()ed before exiting, is it?
I have the same issue with Firefox 27.01 on Windows 8.1 Pro - the Firefox process still runs for a prolonged time after the window disappears. I am using 'Clear history when Firefox closes' but it should not take so long to clear Firefox history.
Are you clearing the cookies as part of "Clear history when Firefox closes"?
If that is the case then try to exclude the cookies and let the cookies expire when you close Firefox instead.
To see all History and Cookie settings, choose:
- Tools > Options > Privacy > Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history"
I am not clearing cookies as part of "Clear history when Firefox closes".