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Firfox opens 7 versions of itself or more!!!

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  • Last reply by cor-el

Peter Riva
Peter Riva
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When I check Task Manager, there are 7 or more Firefox programs running... the other day there were 15! So today I rebooted (Firefox causes crashes and lock-up all the time) and then opened Tack Manager and then ONLY one program (besides all the programs running in the background) and the image shows you what I got! Why the hell is Firefox opening all these program clones of itself? These are NOT onscreen, but they are always in Task Manager. NOTE: The only open window shows only one tab. Now, if I close Firefox all those lines disappear. But when I reopen it, the number goes up! every time. What the heck???? I've been a supporter, used Firefox for 10+ years but may have to go to the dreaded Chrome is this continues. I can't reboot my computer every day because of Firefox - sometimes twice.

When I check Task Manager, there are 7 or more Firefox programs running... the other day there were 15! So today I rebooted (Firefox causes crashes and lock-up all the time) and then opened Tack Manager and then ONLY one program (besides all the programs running in the background) and the image shows you what I got! Why the hell is Firefox opening all these program clones of itself? These are NOT onscreen, but they are always in Task Manager. NOTE: The only open window shows only one tab. Now, if I close Firefox all those lines disappear. But when I reopen it, the number goes up! every time. What the heck???? I've been a supporter, used Firefox for 10+ years but may have to go to the dreaded Chrome is this continues. I can't reboot my computer every day because of Firefox - sometimes twice.
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cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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That is about content processes that are used to isolate tabs.

It is quite normal to see more Firefox processes running.

  • process for the main Firefox thread (user interface)
  • one or more content processes, see:
    Options/Preferences -> General -> Performance
    remove checkmark: [ ] "Use recommended performance settings"
  • process for the compositor thread
  • process for extensions
  • process for WebRender when this feature is enabled

You can find the current multi-process state on the Troubleshooting Information page (about:support).

  • "Help -> Troubleshooting Information"
    "Application Basics": Multiprocess Windows
    "Remote Processes" further down

See also the about:memory page for information about the process IDs.