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Firefox began running slow after deleting my history. I tried a new profile, reinstalling, and finally did a fresh install of windows. Now I have the same issue

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  • Last reply by jrickett

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I've tried everything I can think of, even reinstalling windows to correct the issue. Nothing fixes the problem. It all began after clearing the browser cache. Text appears atleast 15 seconds after I begin typing, pages take a long time to load, if I click something, it takes 15 seconds to show any response. If Firefox is on the screen, the mouse moves slower. Everything worked perfect right up until I cleared the browser cache. Anyone have any ideas?

I've tried everything I can think of, even reinstalling windows to correct the issue. Nothing fixes the problem. It all began after clearing the browser cache. Text appears atleast 15 seconds after I begin typing, pages take a long time to load, if I click something, it takes 15 seconds to show any response. If Firefox is on the screen, the mouse moves slower. Everything worked perfect right up until I cleared the browser cache. Anyone have any ideas?

Chosen solution

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database file in the Firefox profile folder.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window
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And I forgot to add chrome and ie work perfect, everything else works perfect, only firefox has the issue. I thought a fresh install of windows would have to fix the issue, and I'm at a total loss how the issue could persist through a reinstallation of windows 7

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Chosen Solution

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database file in the Firefox profile folder.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window
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Thank you it appears it was the hardware acceleration feature causing the issue. Must have been turned on when I cleared all my settings. Odd that it was never an issue when I first installed though.

Any idea why this happens/ what the purpose of hardware acceleration is?