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

FF37 hogs resources OS X 10.10 Retina MacBook Pro (early 2015)

more options

Recently purchased a retina MacBook Pro and installed clean versions of all software.

Have previously used Firefox as my main web browser (iMac, OS X 10.10) but on the rMBP FF37 is hogging system CPU resources and causing machine to run hot and slow.

Video is very choppy, fans run full speed, not a happy machine.

Safari on same websites causes no issues, limited CPU taken up, does not run hot, video streams perfectly.

Have tried disabling all add-ins yet still get the issue.

Any ideas, or am I doomed to using Safari?

Recently purchased a retina MacBook Pro and installed clean versions of all software. Have previously used Firefox as my main web browser (iMac, OS X 10.10) but on the rMBP FF37 is hogging system CPU resources and causing machine to run hot and slow. Video is very choppy, fans run full speed, not a happy machine. Safari on same websites causes no issues, limited CPU taken up, does not run hot, video streams perfectly. Have tried disabling all add-ins yet still get the issue. Any ideas, or am I doomed to using Safari?

All Replies (1)

more options

Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

  • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

SafeMode-Fx35

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.