Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Even after running in Safe mode Firefox is too slow ,why?

  • 2 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by ddspain

more options

I am using the latest version 22 of Firefox. I have tried running in Safe Mode I am running on Vista Home 32bit 2Gb RAM It seems to be using an average of at least 200mb of memory more when not in Safe Mode However it is still using loads of memory and CPU - twice as much as Internet Explorer. I don't know why, but I am going to have to leave Firefox if it continues, as too much for my PC.

I am using the latest version 22 of Firefox. I have tried running in Safe Mode I am running on Vista Home 32bit 2Gb RAM It seems to be using an average of at least 200mb of memory more when not in Safe Mode However it is still using loads of memory and CPU - twice as much as Internet Explorer. I don't know why, but I am going to have to leave Firefox if it continues, as too much for my PC.

Chosen solution

It will not hurt to do the following (appologies, if done already):

1. Plug-in Check:

Please check if all your plugins are up-to-date. To do this, go to the Mozilla Plugin Check site.

Once you're there, the site will check if all your plugins have the latest versions. If you see plugins in the list that have a yellow Update button or a red Update now button, please update these immediately.

To do so, please click each red or yellow button. Then you should see a site that allows you to download the latest version. Double-click the downloaded file to start the installation and follow the steps mentioned in the installation procedure.

2. Reset Firefox to ex-factory

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.

Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Let us know if this fixed your problems.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

It will not hurt to do the following (appologies, if done already):

1. Plug-in Check:

Please check if all your plugins are up-to-date. To do this, go to the Mozilla Plugin Check site.

Once you're there, the site will check if all your plugins have the latest versions. If you see plugins in the list that have a yellow Update button or a red Update now button, please update these immediately.

To do so, please click each red or yellow button. Then you should see a site that allows you to download the latest version. Double-click the downloaded file to start the installation and follow the steps mentioned in the installation procedure.

2. Reset Firefox to ex-factory

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

  1. Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
  3. Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
  4. Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.

Further information can be found in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

Let us know if this fixed your problems.

more options

Thanks this definitely helped a lot. However I still think it is a bit heavy on memory and CPU usage, which seems to increase the longer it is running for some reason. I will stick with it for now and see how it goes.