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

when I open Firefox my task manager says there is 14 of them open and it bogged down my syster so I couldn't work.

  • 1 reply
  • 0 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

tell me why when I start Firefox my task manager shows anywhere from 14 to 18 of Firefox running and my system is so bogged down I can't work. I've tried waiting thinking it was possibly updating but it didn't change. not a lot of sense to use a browser that eats up my time and system and won't let me work. I have run my Norton scans, and utility program, but nothing seems to help. And its not the cookies.

tell me why when I start Firefox my task manager shows anywhere from 14 to 18 of Firefox running and my system is so bogged down I can't work. I've tried waiting thinking it was possibly updating but it didn't change. not a lot of sense to use a browser that eats up my time and system and won't let me work. I have run my Norton scans, and utility program, but nothing seems to help. And its not the cookies.

All Replies (1)

more options

It is quite normal to see more Firefox processes running.

  • process for the main Firefox thread (user interface)
  • one or more content processes
    you see more content processes when Fission is enabled
  • process for the compositor thread
  • process for extensions
  • process for WebRender when this feature is enabled

There are several toolkit.aboutProcesses prefs on the about:config page to show more info. You can find the current multi-process state on the Troubleshooting Information page (about:support).

  • "Help -> Troubleshooting Information"
    "Application Basics":<be>Multiprocess Windows and Fission Windows
    "Remote Processes" (Web Content)

You can check the about:memory and about:processes pages for info about all processes. See also the about:unloads page for info about the tabs.

Having more content processes than in the past is because Fission is enabled by default in current releases. Fission is about a new site isolation architecture in Firefox and you will see more Firefox processes running than before.

You can find the current Fission state on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page (search for Fission).

You can control Fission via fission.autostart on the about:config page, true to enable and false to turn it off.

  • about:config => fission.autostart = false

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. On the warning page, you can click "Accept the Risk and Continue" to open about:config.