Firefox freezes, Facebook and IE engaging!
I don't like Forums. But, I've tried everything mentioned and Firefox still freezes horribly when I have multiple Facebook tabs open. I also find it highly unusual that Firefox keeps starting Internet Explorer & Internet Explorer 32. Could have something to do with it freezing all the time. To recover where I am, I use my Task Manager to "End Process" so the same tabs will open when I start Firefox again. I also kill those versions of IE it is opening, because I'm certainly not starting those programs. Why? This has been going on for at least a year now. I frequently have at least 5 or 6 tabs open, and the more I open, the faster this thing freezes. Forget having 4 Facebook tabs open with tabs open for other sites; it freezes within 5 minutes. I'm all over the internet, so there's good reason I have multiple tabs open.
Firefox is becoming as bad as Internet Explorer was ... which won't run right on my computer anymore. No, I'm absolutely not going to Windows 10; I'm on Windows 7 Ultimate. Wish I could submit a support-ticket over this stuff, but can't seem to find a way to do that anymore, either. UGH!
All Replies (8)
The FB news feed is a voracious consumer of memory in Firefox, with its endless loading design. However, unless you are scrolling way down in the tab, it shouldn't be too bad.
King Ray said
I also find it highly unusual that Firefox keeps starting Internet Explorer & Internet Explorer 32. ... This has been going on for at least a year now.
That seems very suspicious. What is opening in the IE windows? Is it always the same kind of content or ??
Have you ever tested in Firefox's Safe Mode? In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement? (More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode)
I'm not even looking at my Newsfeet, but I operate very fast in those tabs because I type very fast. I'm all over Facebook doing things. I have 32gb of RAM on this machine, and why would Firefox use anything else? If it's pulling from my hard-drive first, then shame on Firefox! I've got enough RAM that it shouldn't be swapping first.
Those IE programs aren't actually open. They are started by Firefox in the background. Like I said, if you READ, I do not use IE, and I'm not opening that browser; Firefox is starting them.
Using Firefox in Safemode is NOT an option and disabling Add-ons is not a solution. So what if it runs correctly in Safemode? That doesn't solve what it's doing in normal mode! Disabling everything means everything you mentioned is causing the problem. You need to be more specific than "disabling everything". That isn't trouble-shooting. And, if Add-ons are causing the problem, don't you think one would disabled them one at a time, versus starting Firefox without all of them? Ummmmmmm...
I forgot to mention this article before: Firefox hangs or is not responding - How to fix.
King Ray said
I have 32gb of RAM on this machine, and why would Firefox use anything else? If it's pulling from my hard-drive first, then shame on Firefox! I've got enough RAM that it shouldn't be swapping first.
32-bit Firefox can't use more than about 2.5GB of RAM. If you want to use more memory -- I can't guarantee it would help -- see: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox.
Those IE programs aren't actually open. They are started by Firefox in the background. Like I said, if you READ, I do not use IE, and I'm not opening that browser; Firefox is starting them.
When you say "in the background" do you mean there is NOT a visible window launched?
How are you determining that Firefox is starting IE? Do you use a tool like Microsoft/Sysinternals' Process Explorer to determine that there is a parent-child relationship between Firefox and iexplore.exe or another IE-related process?
In the Windows 7 Task Manager, Processes tab, please add the Command Line column. Is there anything interesting on the command line for the mystery IE processes, such as a URL, that might shed more light?
Using Firefox in Safemode is NOT an option and disabling Add-ons is not a solution. So what if it runs correctly in Safemode? That doesn't solve what it's doing in normal mode! Disabling everything means everything you mentioned is causing the problem. You need to be more specific than "disabling everything". That isn't trouble-shooting. And, if Add-ons are causing the problem, don't you think one would disabled them one at a time, versus starting Firefox without all of them? Ummmmmmm...
You could look at it from another perspective: rather than individually changing 16 things and restarting Firefox a dozen times for perhaps zero gain, you could do a single test first to see whether any of them is relevant at all. But it's your choice.
Will try 64-bit Firefox, since my O.S. is a 64-bit operating system; Windows 7 Ultimate.
Yes, that is correct. No IE visible windows are open, I check the processes running on my machine, and because I'm moving really fast, I do not know when Firefox is starting them, but it is. The only time I see those processes running, with my task manager, is after Firefox has been started and running for a while. How long of a while? I have no idea. I can't switch back and forth and see exactly when Firefox is starting those processes.
Finally, yes, I will change things 1 at a time. It is never a good idea to trouble-shoot by disabling everything at once. I used to be in software tech-support, and that is troubleshooting 101 stuff (LOL).
64-bit version of Firefox isn't any better. UGH! I'm going to stop responding to this post so maybe I can get other suggestions from another volunteer? Again, wish I could submit a trouble-ticket, because all this trouble-shooting is wasting my time, and my time is valuable. Sigh.
...... and so you started a new thread :
Yes, I started a new one. Couldn't find this one, so I started another one. After I did that, I figured out how to find my old threads. Sorry!
King Ray said
Yes, I started a new one. Couldn't find this one, so I started another one. After I did that, I figured out how to find my old threads. Sorry!
Well, at least you figured something out today - yay !