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Memory Leak problem

  • 24 iimpendulo
  • 24 inale ngxaki
  • 10 views
  • Impendulo yokugqibela ngu user633449

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At version 10 the memory leak issue is even 10 times worse. Please fix that issue I do not want to abadom firefox because of this issue, but I can't work any more. I must close the browser every 30 minutes in order to keep the memory usage in a logical level.

At version 10 the memory leak issue is even 10 times worse. Please fix that issue I do not want to abadom firefox because of this issue, but I can't work any more. I must close the browser every 30 minutes in order to keep the memory usage in a logical level.

All Replies (20)

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Hi abalasis,
Sorry you are having problems. There are many things that affect Firefox, and the amount of memory used, including which sites and what software extensions are in use.

Try Firefox in

Using about:memory (key that in to the location bar) should help you track down the problem

Please post back please with more information about:

  • What you see as a problem ?
    and how you are using Firefox when the problem occurs ?
  • What leads you to the conclusion there is a memory leak ?
    how do you diagnose this issue ?
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I am really fed up with Firefox. Every time you issue a new release, you promise it will be quicker and use less memory. It does the opposite always. Having just surfed to the Google web page, Firefox speeds up its memory consumtion to over 250.000 k, so anything added on top of that just adds more and more memory consuption to amazing 500.000 k (youtube). This is absolutely ridiculous. The attached file shows Firefox performance with just your Support page opened. Do you consider this as "normal"?

Can't you just create a new, simple, lite version so we can once and for all end all this endless discussion of high memory consumption without having to change all my PC configuration (like graphic cards, acceleration, etc)? What do you put in the programme that needs so much memory? What are you copying from my computer? What data are you collecting that makes such absurd performance?

I am really fed up, I trusted you each time you promise less memory leak and consumption but I don't anymore.

I miss my old simple Netscape!!!!

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Have you tried Safe Mode?

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Safemode as I understand it basically disables all plugins and add ons... which make Firefox not worth using! I did try it and the problem did not go away.

I also have trouble opening GMAIL with Firefox, it invariably asks me to use "basic Html" (with which I loose most GMAIL automation options) and this only happens with Firefox, not with Explorer or Chrome...

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Safe Mode is just to temporarily see if third-party extensions or settings are interfering with Firefox's normal operation.

Try creating a new profile (your old one will be perfectly fine) and see if Firefox runs any better there. It is possible that yours is corrupted. Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles can help you do this.

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Ok Thanks a lot! I will try this tomorrow and let you know! Again thanks for your great interest and help!! cheers!

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Firefox 10.0.2 - Safety Mode - only page opened: Google.com

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If you type "about:memory" into the address bar, press Enter, what do you have under "Explicit Allocations", the first number? If you scroll to the bottom, and hit minimize memory usage, does that number change?

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Yes, it changed from 133.50 MB to 114.29 MB

As I moved to this page and went back to about:memory it went up again to 128 MB

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128Mb is really quite low. I've got 169Mb right now with 5 tabs open, so you are doing well I think :) Is the memory usage causing a problem for you? There is a team working on improving and reducing memory usage in Firefox (the memshrink team https://wiki.mozilla.org/Performance/MemShrink), and each time a new version of Firefox is released, there are typically several memory improvements in it (Firefox 12 has 1 or 2 I think). So you can expect to see memory usage gradually decrease each time a new version is released.

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Thanks again for your great interest ! Yes, memory usage is being a big problem as it goes up continuously till Windows freezes - usually when it reaches 500 MB or close to that! And it happens very, very often after about 2 hours use... each time a new release comes out I pray the problem will be solved but it hasn't been in 10 releases... anyway, I may give Firefox a rest for a while and come back soon to try new versions!

Thanks again and best regards!

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From what was said above I was understanding you were not having major problems. May I suggest you try a test. If it gets close to freezing within 2 hours spend a couple of hours and make notes of what is happening.

  1. use about memory, make a note of the results at each stage
    • you may wish to paste them into a text document so you may easily refer to them and if necessary quote them
  2. once firefox has started with whatever minimal add-ons or plugins are required running and your five tabs open.
    • it would be best to do this in safe mode (or do problems only occur when you use video for instance)
    1. after the first 10 minutes of use
    2. after the first hour
    3. after the first hour and after you have used the buttons at the bottom of about:memory to minimise memory use
    4. after two hours.

What we need to find out is why you have problems and what is causing them so some additional info would help. (It would be best if you start your own thread by asking a question and provide this information
- follow links and prompts from https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/que.../new
- mention in this thread if you ask your own question )

  • how much RAM have you got on your computer
    if you have less than 1MB and your integrated video is using some of that then Firefox using 1/2MB may well slow things down)
  • How much freespace have you got on your hard disk drive
    • in total ?
    • as a percentage or fraction ?
  • How much RAM have you got on your computer ?
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I too continue to experience memory leaks. I had high hopes for Ver 14. At first, it showed very little use of memory. But, after several days with only 8 add-ons installed, memory usage varies between 12-40%. Chrome, on the other hand, with the same add-ons, consistently shows about 2% usage.

Ilungisiwe ngu AMCarter3

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Version 14 is worse than ever.

I have just installed version 15 beta, which is touted as fixing the memory issues. Will report back here to let you all know how it goes.

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Just for the record, Firefox 14 with normal usage ends up using around 1.5Gb of RAM on my notebook (HP/Windows 7, 64 bit, 4GB RAM) and begins to white out (not responding). The only extension I use is Firebug and it does this whether I have Firebug running or not.

That's just outrageous!

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Well so far so good. After seven hours Firefox 15 memory usage is sitting around 1/2 Gb. Thats still excessive but a lot better than I was getting with Firefox 14.

Lets see how it looks in the morning (I leave my computer running).

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After almost a day of running Firefox 15 with the way I normally work its currently sitting on 0.78Gb of RAM ..... so far it appears to be somewhat of an improvement, but still excessively high usage.... a few days of work will give a better picture.

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Second day of normal usage, Firefox 15 is now using 1.175 GB of RAM - so nothing has changed, its still a dog. The only extra I use is Firebug, which most of the time is switched off.

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Well folks, after six days of running Firefox 15 and numerous restarts, I am sad to report that Firefox is WORSE than ever. Insane memory usage!

Try to scroll a web page and it locks up. Hover over an element with a "title" tag and you will see a "cursor wait" ..... regular white outs.

Firefox belongs in the dustbin - the developers have no interest in fixing it and their repeated claims that the problem is extensions or add-ons is a crock.

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I'm running FF ver. 15.0 on OS 10.8.1 (Mtn Lion) on a brand new Macbook Pro and it's working fine. Memory consumption is averaging 3-8% most of the time with the normal surges when it starts or has to do some heavy lifting. My only issue is the routine spinning wheel that halts all user activity fairly often while it processes whatever it has to. It does not freeze anymore and runs quite fast on my

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