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Firefox lagging and hanging

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  • 43 ní àwọn ìṣòro yìí
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  • Èsì tí ó kẹ́hìn lọ́wọ́ Aerodactyl

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I'm having this problem with Firefox, I can't load up pages, watch videos, save images or anything else properly. It always hangs for some seconds, sometimes getting the "not responding" added to the window name.

I already tried everything I found on the support pages: cleared cookies, tried safe mode, tried with a new profile, disabled plugins, reinstalled Firefox, disabled hardware acceleration, resetted settings, cleared sessionrestore, scanned for viruses, checked the firewall, cleared download list, checked the hard disk for errors (got none), and other stuff I forgot. Results? None. It's all the same.

If I try using Internet Explorer, on the other hand, I get no hangs at all, so I don't think it's a hardware problem.

What else is left for me to try? Please, these hangs are getting on my nerves.

(and sorry for the troubleshooting information being in Portuguese, I don't know how to change it to english without translating it myself)

I'm having this problem with Firefox, I can't load up pages, watch videos, save images or anything else properly. It always hangs for some seconds, sometimes getting the "not responding" added to the window name. I already tried everything I found on the support pages: cleared cookies, tried safe mode, tried with a new profile, disabled plugins, reinstalled Firefox, disabled hardware acceleration, resetted settings, cleared sessionrestore, scanned for viruses, checked the firewall, cleared download list, checked the hard disk for errors (got none), and other stuff I forgot. Results? None. It's all the same. If I try using Internet Explorer, on the other hand, I get no hangs at all, so I don't think it's a hardware problem. What else is left for me to try? Please, these hangs are getting on my nerves. (and sorry for the troubleshooting information being in Portuguese, I don't know how to change it to english without translating it myself)

All Replies (20)

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Hi Aerodactyl,

Have you looked at our performance troubleshooting section? There is a lot of good information in there that should help.

Hopefully this helps!

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I had tried most of those already, but the others are about Firefox consuming too much memory and CPU. I've got 8GB RAM and an I5, so Firefox can take up as much as it feels like, seriously.

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...Anyone? Please?

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Anyone there?

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Guys? Seriously.

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First, "anyone please" isn't very specific, it doesn't give us any clue about what your question is. Maybe that's why people don't answer.

Second, when I did click to read your question it just said "Private Message", so I couldn't see your question.

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The reason of slow scrolling and lagging entire system every few seconds in Firefox 10.0.2 is that it cannot use hardware acceleration of graphics card when you use dual monitor mode and one display has different settings than second one (ie. 16-bit color depth and 32-bit color depth). Only firefox has such a 'feature' while another programs has no problems with such settings. Maybe that is your problem too?

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I have only 1 monitor.

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Please, people, I still need help.

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Aerodactyl, sorry about the delay in response. Remember that SUMO is primarily staffed by volunteers, and sometimes questions fall through the cracks.

Now, for your performance issue, it can be a bit tricky. Figuring out what causes Firefox to slow down is sometimes a process of elimination, so I'll be happy to work you through it, but please keep in mind it might take a few steps. It'll be important that you do everything I post so we can make sure it isn't something external causing issues.

First, Try to start Firefox in Safe mode. This mode disables all extensions, user customizations, hardware acceleration, etc. temporarily for diagnostic and troubleshooting. If Firefox works fine in Safe Mode, then this is likely an add-on issue. Restart Firefox in normal mode, then type "About:addons" (without the quotes) in the address bar. Disable your extensions one by one, restarting Firefox between each one, until you find the trouble maker. Once you do, you can disable that add-on and report the issue to that add-on's developer.

Run all Windows Updates, install all needed service packs, etc.

Update your graphics driver (Firefox uses your graphics card for some rendering, and an out of date graphics card driver can cause problems. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-upgrade-my-graphics-drivers.

Update all your plugins (Flash, Java, etc.): http://www.mozilla.org/plugincheck/.

Download and Install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, run a full Scan. http://www.malwarebytes.org/. This helps check that there are no viruses on your computer causing issues. You can uninstall this program after you clean off any infections.

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Which security software (firewall, anti-virus) do you have?

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Thanks for the answer, Tylerdowner. I tried Safe Mode but it still hangs at times. There were a few Windows Updates left, so I ran them too. I already had updated my graphics driver a few days ago. Silverlight was the only out-of-date plugin and I already run MalwareBytes often. Well... It's still lagging and hanging.

Cor-el, I use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (the free version) and Windows standard firewall.

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Please read https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Managing-profiles, create a fresh profile, and start up into it. See if you still experience hangs.

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Alright, something odd's going on here, before creating a new profile. Firefox isn't hanging anymore, just slowing down. It happened just after I ran CCleaner, which I do often, so that's strange.

So, in this new condition of no more hangings, creating a new profile does eliminate that lag I still feel on my standard profile. What could that mean?

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So, if I read you correctly a new profile works perfectly? Then in that case, your old one is corrupted. If you read Recovering important data from an old profile, it will explain how to transfer data from your old profile to your new one.

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I have followed all the recommended steps w/little to no change except for the step recommended for the graphics driver. I have a VIA Chrome 9 HCI GP Family and apparently the manufacturer isn't one of the 3 manufacturers listed in the graphics troubleshooting help section, so I have no idea how to determine if it's possible to upgrade the driver (I don't know who the manufacturer is).

When I checked troubleshooting information neither WGL & GPU accelerated windows could be used because of "unresolved driver issues" or "blocked driver" issues. I don't know how to upgrade the graphics driver (see above) I also tried to find a graphics driver upgrade through Windows update, as suggested, but couldn't find anything useful (I use XP, I think MS doesn't want to deal much w/XP users).

XP is set for me to be notified of any/all updates, security packs, etc and as far as I know, my system is updated in that respect. Checked all add-ons, etc.

The dragging, hanging, etc., problem has been worsening.

I have AVG for security/firewall (updated dated, scans at least 1x/day) and the free version of Malwarebytes anti-malware, although I usually run the quick scan. I can try running the full scan although I've already spent a fair amount of time on trying to resolve this problem.

Opera sometimes works faster/better then FF when I've experimented w/switching from FF to Opera when FF starts getting really slow & hanging.

I haven't tried creating a new profile yet & am reluctant to do so.


Oh, & running in safe mode meant FF 11.0 ran when it had stopped completely (couldn't find any web page etc.) but it still ran very slowly.

Ti ṣàtúnṣe nípa azure

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Try creating a new profile just to test with. Your old one won't be touched, but then we can see if possibly your old profile is corrupted. If it is, we can repair that.

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I agrees with you Tylerdowner about "Please read https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Managing-profiles, create a fresh profile, and start up into it. See if you still experience hangs."

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