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Firefox Quantum 57.0 taking up 667 MB RAM and it is really disappointing. How to stop memory leak in new version of FF? HELP!

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  • Last reply by safemanusa

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I'm running Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit with i3 core processor and having 6 GB RAM installed. I browse normally with 6-7 tabs open at a time, and I download a new version of Firefox 57.0 Quantum on existing FF 56.0 with default add-ons. I casually browsed two websites today which was (GSMarena.com and Facebook.com) with disabled notifications, however, I saw memory and CPU peak in task manager and shocked to see Firefox using total 667 MB for just 2 tabs and 90% CPU usage, and it didn't stopped even after. When I closed the Facebook tab, the memory came down to 179 MB .

I couldn't take screenshots of above session and I cleared cookies and ran the session in Private mode the results were very much similar consumed total 620.16 MB RAM.

Please help me in this case! Suggestion and tips welcome! Thanks.

I'm running Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit with i3 core processor and having 6 GB RAM installed. I browse normally with 6-7 tabs open at a time, and I download a new version of Firefox 57.0 Quantum on existing FF 56.0 with default add-ons. I casually browsed two websites today which was (GSMarena.com and Facebook.com) with disabled notifications, however, I saw memory and CPU peak in task manager and shocked to see Firefox using total 667 MB for just 2 tabs and 90% CPU usage, and it didn't stopped even after. When I closed the Facebook tab, the memory came down to 179 MB . I couldn't take screenshots of above session and I cleared cookies and ran the session in Private mode the results were very much similar consumed total 620.16 MB RAM. Please help me in this case! Suggestion and tips welcome! Thanks.
Attached screenshots

Modified by user1421731

Chosen solution

Hi venkee017 - Perhaps this explanation of what is new with Firefox 57 will help explain why you see a constant background of processes running with only a couple of tabs open. This is significantly different than earlier versions to increase the overall speed of the browser. I hope this helps explain what you are seeing. If I can be of further assistance please let me know.

FIrefox will have 2-4 processes running in the background and this is normal, it is the new "Electroysis", these processes don't increase due to the amount of tabs open, but each process handles different elements of Firefox IE: The GUI, the page renderer, displaying images ect, so each website is running on multiple processes at the same time unlike Chrome where they are on a single process.

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All Replies (17)

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Hello,

The Refresh feature (called "Reset" in older Firefox versions) can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies, and other essential information.

Note: When you use this feature, you will lose any extensions, toolbar customizations, and some preferences. See the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article for more information.

To Refresh Firefox:

  1. Open the Troubleshooting Information page using one of these methods:
    • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click help Help-29 and select Troubleshooting Information. A new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.
    • If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.
  2. At the top right corner of the page, you should see a button that says "Refresh Firefox" ("Reset Firefox" in older Firefox versions). Click on it.
  3. Firefox will close. After the refresh process is completed, Firefox will show a window with the information that is imported.
  4. Click Finish and Firefox will reopen.

Did this fix the problem? Please report back to us!

Thank you.

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Mkll said

Hello, The Refresh feature (called "Reset" in older Firefox versions) can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies, and other essential information. Note: When you use this feature, you will lose any extensions, toolbar customizations, and some preferences. See the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article for more information. To Refresh Firefox:
  1. Open the Troubleshooting Information page using one of these methods:
    • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click help Help-29 and select Troubleshooting Information. A new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.
    • If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.
  2. At the top right corner of the page, you should see a button that says "Refresh Firefox" ("Reset Firefox" in older Firefox versions). Click on it.
  3. Firefox will close. After the refresh process is completed, Firefox will show a window with the information that is imported.
  4. Click Finish and Firefox will reopen.
Did this fix the problem? Please report back to us! Thank you.

Here is the attached photo below.

I followed the same steps above and you can see the result by examining the screenshot.

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It didn't helped with refreshing Firefox and started the same session with tabs in safe mode. No luck! :(

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Hello, try turning off e10's or multi-process - please note that it'll be a bit slower if you do this, but it'll save you memory. To do so - goto about:config and then search for the pref browser.tabs.remote.autostart -- double click to set it to false. Then restart your Firefox.

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Mkll said

Hello, try turning off e10's or multi-process - please note that it'll be a bit slower if you do this, but it'll save you memory. To do so - goto about:config and then search for the pref browser.tabs.remote.autostart -- double click to set it to false. Then restart your Firefox.

I have already set to False earlier when using FF 56 version ( browser.tabs.remote.autostart & browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2), default addons removed and plugins set to 'Never activate'. Even, I reset everything and same issue occurred. It seems memory leak issue in new version 57.0 isn't fixed yet. I will try one or two times more. :(

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Have you tried Disabling Hardware Acceleration?

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Mkll said

Have you tried Disabling Hardware Acceleration?

YES. I did.

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Mkil, have you checked the attached screenshot above?

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667Mb of RAM really isn't all that much RAM usage in 64bit Firefox, especially with webpages like GSMarena.com and Facebook.com - both of which load additional data as the user gets to the bottom of the page. Firefox won't release RAM when pages like that are still loaded, but will release some (but not all) when a page like that is closed.

With GSMarena.com the "additional loading" was blocked by uBlock Origin for me, I couldn't get any more of the page to load once I scrolled to the of the page section that initially loaded. Once I disabled uBlock Origin the page did load additional articles when I got to the bottom of the initial load.

As far as how much RAM Firefox will use, that depends upon how much RAM is installed - the basic factor. Then it will use as much as it "feels comfortable using", with consideration for other running applications.

There is no hard limit for RAM usage.

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Mkll said

Let's try installing ublock Origin and umatrix to block scripts and ads. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/umatrix/

Thanks for sharing it. I tried to download but got a error "the add-ons could not be downloaded because of connection failure."

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the-edmeister said

667Mb of RAM really isn't all that much RAM usage in 64bit Firefox, especially with webpages like GSMarena.com and Facebook.com - both of which load additional data as the user gets to the bottom of the page. Firefox won't release RAM when pages like that are still loaded, but will release some (but not all) when a page like that is closed. With GSMarena.com the "additional loading" was blocked by uBlock Origin for me, I couldn't get any more of the page to load once I scrolled to the of the page section that initially loaded. Once I disabled uBlock Origin the page did load additional articles when I got to the bottom of the initial load. As far as how much RAM Firefox will use, that depends upon how much RAM is installed - the basic factor. Then it will use as much as it "feels comfortable using", with consideration for other running applications. There is no hard limit for RAM usage.

Have you gone through attached screenshot above?

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venkee017 said

Mkll said
Hello, try turning off e10's or multi-process - please note that it'll be a bit slower if you do this, but it'll save you memory. To do so - goto about:config and then search for the pref browser.tabs.remote.autostart -- double click to set it to false. Then restart your Firefox.

I have already set to False earlier when using FF 56 version ( browser.tabs.remote.autostart & browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2), default addons removed and plugins set to 'Never activate'. Even, I reset everything and same issue occurred. It seems memory leak issue in new version 57.0 isn't fixed yet. I will try one or two times more. :(

Modified by user1421731

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venkee017 said

venkee017 said
Mkll said
Hello, try turning off e10's or multi-process - please note that it'll be a bit slower if you do this, but it'll save you memory. To do so - goto about:config and then search for the pref browser.tabs.remote.autostart -- double click to set it to false. Then restart your Firefox.

I have already set to False earlier when using FF 56 version ( browser.tabs.remote.autostart & browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2), default addons removed and plugins set to 'Never activate'. Even, I reset everything and same issue occurred. It seems memory leak issue in new version 57.0 isn't fixed yet. I will try one or two times more. :(

I followed the above steps, and I see something good so far in memory section. I attached another screenshot for the follow up.

GOING WORSE!! >:(

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Mkll said

Have you tried Disabling Hardware Acceleration?

YES Nothing happens :'(

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Hello Mozilla Team,

Can anybody give a accurate solution for this?? I am sick and tired of doing the steps, nothing happens. the last option is simply Uninstalling 'memory sucker' browser.

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Chosen Solution

Hi venkee017 - Perhaps this explanation of what is new with Firefox 57 will help explain why you see a constant background of processes running with only a couple of tabs open. This is significantly different than earlier versions to increase the overall speed of the browser. I hope this helps explain what you are seeing. If I can be of further assistance please let me know.

FIrefox will have 2-4 processes running in the background and this is normal, it is the new "Electroysis", these processes don't increase due to the amount of tabs open, but each process handles different elements of Firefox IE: The GUI, the page renderer, displaying images ect, so each website is running on multiple processes at the same time unlike Chrome where they are on a single process.