Firefox brainless huge memory usage
Hi to All I am user of firefox on several windows 10 computers, probably 7 different computers. I want to point out the huge memory usage in firefox on absolutely different computers and I want to resolve this brainless problem. At beginning, probably in 2016 I began to notice big memory usage in firefox with many of tabs opened, probably over 100... yes, 100 tabs is too much but even so, memory usage seemed inappropriate to me, especially when before it working on computers with low memory installed. I started solving huge memory usage by restarting firefox, usually killing firefox through taskmanager on windows. But about a year ago I started using Firefox on several computers for loading some pages and I programmed automations of some tasks on this pages. This tasks includes clicking on buttons on pages, entering values and loading new links, subpages.... This all always in one tab and in one firefox window and after some time, firefox on every computers start using over 3GB of memory, in one tab and one window??? It is galactic amount. Of course, processes on computers was crashing. Depending on the page, that was severed from 12 hours to several days. Therefore I started some researching in this and I tried to reduce memory usage by settings in about:config: browser.sessionstore.max_serialize_back = 0 browser.sessionstore.max_serialize_forward = 0 browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo = 0 browser.sessionstore.max_windows_undo = 0
browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers = 1 browser.sessionhistory.max_entries = 1 but this last parameter have no effect, why??? After this settings my solution working, but it is little bit breaknecking: After some steps in automation I open new tab and close prewious tab and load page again and memory usage drops from 1,5GB to approx 500MB (Due to browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo = 0) Excuse me but this behaviour is very terrible.
browser.sessionhistory.max_entries I trying to reduce to 1 but this setting have no effect (I can back to new tab page), sometimes take effect only in just running instance when I change it and number must be higher than 5 or 10? Sometimes take effect, sometimes no, but after restart firefox again without effect. Due to this nonsense memory accumulation per each one tab I want to tweak firefox on my working computer. I not need galactic number - 50!!! or even more? pages in "back button" in memory per each tab, and there are no way to reduce it without restart, only way to release memory is set browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo to 0, open new tab, and close old tab and then memory usage very drop...
Next, I searched in about:config by keyword "session" and found browser.sessionstore.cleanup.forget_closed_after default equals to 1209600000 which means 14 days... oh so galactic... Normally firefox is unusable after few days without restarting, developers recommends to restart firefox for memory free up, but default value for this option sets to this huge number? Are they kidding users or what? After all, with this setting and behaviour, it almost never applies. And how much such nonsenses does firefox still contain? I am very angry for this several-years lasting memory issue because firefox is my favourite web browser. According to what I found on the internet, developers stubbornly ignoring or refuse to find effective solution but it would be so simple. Probably only memory release button would suffice, which would remove all cached pages. But "true release/free up memory button". User would had to accept, that all back/reopen actions will be discarded. No dummy/parody button in about:memory. ooooh "minimize memory usage" which free up probably max of 15%, normally about 5% of used memory. I tried "firemin" too, but this is next parody... this rapidly decrease of memory which appears as super, but causes totally pause of processes on page and when you need do some action on page, another time is needed for reloading(wake up) the almost same amount of memory as before minimization by this program - in short, this is suitable just only for temporary minimization of memory usage, something like pause firefox.
Therefore please, Can someone really help? (Not kidding like: about:memory, firemin or other unusable "nosolutions") This problem has been consuming me for so long that I quietly started to think that the only way to resolve it is to reprogram and recompile my own firefox, but that is quite unrealistic for me.
All Replies (9)
hello jakub,
have you examined the behavior and resource consuption while in windows safemode w/networking?
You can check the Firefox Task Manager (about:performance) and about:memory pages.
Hello, From the way I write, you may notice that firefox really has a problem. But of course, I forgot to write more details. Computers which I using have cleanly installed and updated latest WIN10 and latest firefox without any extensions or addons. There is no reason for running firefox in safe mode, only that someone would recommend using firefox normally in this way? cor-el: I have tried about:memory and about:performance but these pages give a person just such empty hope, otherwise they are absolutely useless in this problem. about:memory free up only approx 5-10% ~ 0,1GB of used memory, but as I explained, see above, when I open new tab and close old tab, memory usage jumps from 1,5GB to 0,5GB... per one tab, per one window, new installed clean windows and firefox... about:performance - ? is next joke, absolutely not true informations. Accordig to this, firefox uses approx 300MB of ram but in true approx 1300MB... (probably showing only resources which is in currenly viewed pages) I googled soo much and it's sad that the same advice is everywhere, unfortunately unhelpful. This behaviour persists for at least a year, probably more years, but I wasn't sure and did have not enough observation. And again I asking: Why browser.sessionhistory.max_entries take no effect? Or this parameter not represent a value for loaded active pages in "back button" memory?
Hello Jak,
My suggestion for Safemode w/networking is only for further testing the issue(s) you are experiencing.
When we encounter issues, then the strategy to understand them and solve them is via the process of elimination.
So for example, if you modified the environment of your computer from normal mode to safe mode, then we could see if the issue exists in safe mode or not.
And if the issue did not exist in safemode, then you gain more information.
Another methodology for testing the issues is seeing if the results are similar for other browsers.
On a side note, I think webpages are more complicated these days than they were some years ago. Between ads, trackers, faulty page designs, javascripts, high dpi images, etc.., more memory resources will be consumed. I dont think its fair to blame FireFox. It doesnt control the web page content. It just presents it.
Incidentally, it comes to mind that there is another test you can try. When the webpages load up, remove their styles and see if the memory fluctuates. Menu > View > page styles > none
Hello dbben Ok, I think problem not depend on which state windows is, but I can test if problem appears in firefox's safe mode, but I thing it is no reason for test it because it is default firefox behaviour and everyone can try this and can see this behaviour. I'm not writing about a problem that only I have, but it's happening to everyone, it just doesn't appears. I understand that new age pages needs more resources, I don't stone firefox for that, but problem which I trying to explain is really significant. Again I will explain what I mean.
When I or anyone else use one tab in one window, after some (more) actions on page is RAM usage too high. On my computers with 4GB RAM it consumes RAM until some crashes. Even CPU usage is unnecessarily higher as processes in memory is accumulated. Probably because firefox remember not only links in back button but fully loaded pages with content and even running scripts... It is useless in some situations and I very surprised that this behaviour causing additional memory usage during using firefox still no one resolved. And I wonder what specifically takes up so much memory space, because even if I click the back button, the page reloads again. Even CPU usage is unnecessarily higher. Why in settings is not easy option for switch off this behaviour, or why user cannot easy adjust or reduce number of remembered pages in back button?
It is not complicated problem, it is basically trivial logical problem of possibility in settings. Such setting should be in basic settings, not in about:config, just due to modern pages and effective memory optimization. Web site technology has advanced, but basic management of them in firefox is 10 years in past. In the past, when simple pages were used, it was possible for the browser to remember tens of fully loaded pages with full content, but today it requires a lot of resources and if someone does not have at least 16 or 32GB of RAM and powerful processor, for something like that can directly to forget.
And next again: I never seen that option "browser.sessionhistory.max_entries" to take effect. This I tested on all computers where I could. Firefox has a lot of parameters and settings in about:config, but there is no description and explanation of what they are for. Yes, something is on mozillazine.org but it is significantly deprecated.
Jakubjm மூலமாக திருத்தப்பட்டது
Hello dbben Ok, I think problem not depend on which state windows is, but I can test if problem appears in firefox's safe mode, but I thing it is no reason for test it because it is default firefox behaviour and everyone can try this and can see this behaviour. I'm not writing about a problem that only I have, but it's happening to everyone, it just doesn't appears. I understand that new age pages needs more resources, I don't stone firefox for that, but problem which I trying to explain is really significant. Again I will explain what I mean.
When I or anyone else use one tab in one window, after some (more) actions on page is RAM usage too high. On my computers with 4GB RAM it consumes RAM until some crashes. Even CPU usage is unnecessarily higher as processes in memory is accumulated. Probably because firefox remember not only links in back button but fully loaded pages with content and even running scripts... It is useless in some situations and I very surprised that this behaviour causing additional memory usage during using firefox still no one resolved. And I wonder what specifically takes up so much memory space, because even if I click the back button, the page reloads again. Even CPU usage is unnecessarily higher. Why in settings is not easy option for switch off this behaviour, or why user cannot easy adjust or reduce number of remembered pages in back button?
It is not complicated problem, it is basically trivial logical problem of possibility in settings. Such setting should be in basic settings, not in about:config, just due to modern pages and effective memory optimization. Web site technology has advanced, but basic management of them in firefox is 10 years in past. In the past, when simple pages were used, it was possible for the browser to remember tens of fully loaded pages with full content, but today it requires a lot of resources and if someone does not have at least 16 or 32GB of RAM and powerful processor, for something like that can directly to forget.
And next again: I never seen that option "browser.sessionhistory.max_entries" to take effect. This I tested on all computers where I could. Firefox has a lot of parameters and settings in about:config, but there is no description and explanation of what they are for. Yes, something is on mozillazine.org but it is significantly deprecated.
I appreciate your patience and effort to figure out this issue. There may not be a fix for this because i did a test on my FF.
With one tab open to Home Depot, my memory usage was 430 megs. When I duplicated the tab 20 times, my memory usage rose to 1700 megs, ie 1.7 gigs. Now if i multiply the tabs by 10, i figured the memory used would be 17000. megs.
I dont believe its worthwhile to try to outsmart FF, at least not in this version.
But i think maybe you could downgrade to an earlier version of FF, if one had previously worked for you.
ps: i fine tuned my FF with the following:
about:config > browser.cache > browser.cache,disk.capacity
the default was 256000
but i changed it to 1256000
about:config > don.ipc.process > dom.ipc.processCount
the default was 8
but i changed it to 16
Thanks. Hmm, If it is unsolvable.... I do not believe that.. Must be a way. I miss the importance of this forum, if only users can to argue here, can a developer look at this thread? Or my problem could be resolved by "browser.sessionhistory.max_entries" or some replacement/alternative if it would works. Or is possible to completelly disable back button? I mean disable storing last pages in memory.
lets hope it can be solved.
but it would required programmers to design more code.
- -)
·´¯`·...¸>-)))º> ~dbben மூலமாக திருத்தப்பட்டது