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Why does Firefox take up so much RAM?

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I have been using Firefox for the past 2 years, but only recently have I noticed that Firefox is using 1 GB of RAM! It never increases or decreases and its getting very annoying now since I have barely any RAM to run zoom with (which for some reason takes up the rest of my RAM). I can't even run anything else, and thats annoying me a lot since my fan has to keep running. I can't upgrade my RAM because I use a laptop, and my laptop is under warranty and I can't afford to lose the warranty by upgrading the RAM. Is there any other way to decrease memory usage beside using about:memory and pressing the "minimize memory usage" button? Nothing happens when I press the button.

I have been using Firefox for the past 2 years, but only recently have I noticed that Firefox is using 1 GB of RAM! It never increases or decreases and its getting very annoying now since I have barely any RAM to run zoom with (which for some reason takes up the rest of my RAM). I can't even run anything else, and thats annoying me a lot since my fan has to keep running. I can't upgrade my RAM because I use a laptop, and my laptop is under warranty and I can't afford to lose the warranty by upgrading the RAM. Is there any other way to decrease memory usage beside using about:memory and pressing the "minimize memory usage" button? Nothing happens when I press the button.
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Chosen solution

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-version?cache=no Did you update Firefox to the latest version?

Version 85.0.1, first offered to Release channel users on February 5, 2021


Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


Basically, an OOM (Out Of Memory) means the system is having issues with the RAM.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-slow-how-make-it-faster

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-many-cpu-resources-how-fix

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-ram

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-hangs-or-not-responding

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-takes-long-time-start-up

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/quick-fixes-if-your-firefox-slows-down


MemTest LAST UPDATED : 12/04/2020 Could you please run a tool from http://memtest.org/ in order to check the integrity of your RAM?

You will need a thumb or disk drive to install it on.


Do you let Windows handle the page file or did you set a fixed size ? If you use a fixed size for the page file then try the former and let Windows handle the page file. How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows {web link}

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All Replies (2)

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Chosen Solution

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-version?cache=no Did you update Firefox to the latest version?

Version 85.0.1, first offered to Release channel users on February 5, 2021


Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


Basically, an OOM (Out Of Memory) means the system is having issues with the RAM.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-slow-how-make-it-faster

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-many-cpu-resources-how-fix

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-ram

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-hangs-or-not-responding

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-takes-long-time-start-up

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/quick-fixes-if-your-firefox-slows-down


MemTest LAST UPDATED : 12/04/2020 Could you please run a tool from http://memtest.org/ in order to check the integrity of your RAM?

You will need a thumb or disk drive to install it on.


Do you let Windows handle the page file or did you set a fixed size ? If you use a fixed size for the page file then try the former and let Windows handle the page file. How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows {web link}

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FredMcD said

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-version?cache=no Did you update Firefox to the latest version? Version 85.0.1, first offered to Release channel users on February 5, 2021

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


Basically, an OOM (Out Of Memory) means the system is having issues with the RAM.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-slow-how-make-it-faster

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-many-cpu-resources-how-fix

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-uses-too-much-memory-ram

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-hangs-or-not-responding

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-takes-long-time-start-up

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/quick-fixes-if-your-firefox-slows-down


MemTest LAST UPDATED : 12/04/2020 Could you please run a tool from http://memtest.org/ in order to check the integrity of your RAM?

You will need a thumb or disk drive to install it on.


Do you let Windows handle the page file or did you set a fixed size ? If you use a fixed size for the page file then try the former and let Windows handle the page file. How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows {web link}

The Safe mode thing worked, Thank you! But, HP has a program built in my laptop that checks the RAM, so I used that instead. Thank you anyway!