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Firefox Stable/Beta EXTREMELY Slow Firefox Develop Has ZERO ISSUES

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I had Firefox 51.x (I am not certain if it was 51.0.1 51.0.2 or 51.0.3) installed on a system using Windows 10 Professional 64-bit. I figured since it was several month outdated I would backup my bookmarks, uninstall Firefox, delete the profile I had for Firefox 51, checked BOTH C:\Program Files AND C:\Program Files (x86) directories on the hard drive to make sure it was not there, then I pressed Windows + R to open Run and then typed in the box %AppData% and then deleted the profile I had for Firefox 51 Stable, download the full version of 57.0.2 64-bit (English (US) 37MB from Firefox website), and installed it. I tried using it on and off since then and it has been IMPOSSIBLE to use. If I have no more than 3 tabs open at any given time it runs slower than snails. Any action you do on a website (e.g. Scrolling on the page/clicking in a search box so the cursor can appear so I can type something and when the cursor does appear start typing something and not seeing anything show in the box and then not knowing if you have typed anything in there at all and if I did them wonder if I made any typos when typing in the box/switching between tabs) took FOREVER to be done. I got things done faster in Internet Explorer 11 (which I will use if I have to) than I could with this version of Firefox and this is on the stable channel of it. I did not have this issue when using Firefox 51 32-bit on the stable channel. Also last week when I noticed these issues I downloaded the full version of Firefox 58 from the Beta Channel from Firefox (English (US) approximately 39MB). Then I installed it to a different directory in C:\Program Files in Windows so Firefox Stable and Beta would be in different installation directories and would not interfere with each other. Then I went to the icon on the desktop for Firefox Stable, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Stable and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Stable so I would know it's for the Stable release of Firefox. After I got into Firefox 57.0.2 (Stable channel) I closed it and then then looked at all the processes in Task Manager to make sure Firefox was no longer running. Then I went to the icon on the desktop for Firefox Beta, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox Beta\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Beta and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Beta so I would know it's for the Beta release of Firefox. Then I went on into Firefox Beta and started using it. The things I was trying to do in the 3 tabs in Firefox stable release I tried to do in Firefox Beta using 3 tabs there. Firefox Beta was only a TAD faster than the stable version, but not by much. I had the same issues with Beta that I did with Firefox Stable. Then for fun I went to Firefox again and went to their Develop (Alpha) channel to download it (English (US) approximately 39.3MB). Then I went to install it making certain to install it in a different directory than the other 2 Firefox channels I have installed. After that I found the icon on the desktop for Firefox Developer, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox Developer\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Developer and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Developer so I would know it's for the Developer release of Firefox. Then I went on into Firefox Developer and started using it. The things I was trying to do in the 3 tabs at the same time in Firefox Stable I tried doing those same things in 3 different tabs at the same time in Firefox Developer. That channel worked how Firefox Stable is supposed to work. I had no issues using Firefox Developer. I kept those 3 tabs opened and went on to something else while still n Firefox Developer and the next thing I know I not only had the 3 tabs opened when trying to recreate what I was doing in Firefox Stable but I also had 4 more tabs opened for a total of 7 opened tabs. I could go from one tab to another (did matter if I wanted the tab on either side of the one I was currently on or a tab that was 3-4 tabs away from the one I was currently on) in the amount of time it should take to switch between tabs. The speed that Firefox Developer was running is the speed that Firefox Stable should be running and Stable AND Beta is NOT doing this. I have to go to Developer (which is basically Alpha) to get this speed. There are certain things I need to do in a web browser (i.e. pay bills, anything that I need a secure connection for, etc.) and I need to do that with Stable not Developer since Developer is not a finished/final release of the browser.

Do I need to go back to Firefox 57 32-bit or Firefox 52 ESR to get a working version of Firefox.

I had Firefox 51.x (I am not certain if it was 51.0.1 51.0.2 or 51.0.3) installed on a system using Windows 10 Professional 64-bit. I figured since it was several month outdated I would backup my bookmarks, uninstall Firefox, delete the profile I had for Firefox 51, checked BOTH C:\Program Files AND C:\Program Files (x86) directories on the hard drive to make sure it was not there, then I pressed Windows + R to open Run and then typed in the box %AppData% and then deleted the profile I had for Firefox 51 Stable, download the full version of 57.0.2 64-bit (English (US) 37MB from Firefox website), and installed it. I tried using it on and off since then and it has been IMPOSSIBLE to use. If I have no more than 3 tabs open at any given time it runs slower than snails. Any action you do on a website (e.g. Scrolling on the page/clicking in a search box so the cursor can appear so I can type something and when the cursor does appear start typing something and not seeing anything show in the box and then not knowing if you have typed anything in there at all and if I did them wonder if I made any typos when typing in the box/switching between tabs) took FOREVER to be done. I got things done faster in Internet Explorer 11 (which I will use if I have to) than I could with this version of Firefox and this is on the stable channel of it. I did not have this issue when using Firefox 51 32-bit on the stable channel. Also last week when I noticed these issues I downloaded the full version of Firefox 58 from the Beta Channel from Firefox (English (US) approximately 39MB). Then I installed it to a different directory in C:\Program Files in Windows so Firefox Stable and Beta would be in different installation directories and would not interfere with each other. Then I went to the icon on the desktop for Firefox Stable, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Stable and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Stable so I would know it's for the Stable release of Firefox. After I got into Firefox 57.0.2 (Stable channel) I closed it and then then looked at all the processes in Task Manager to make sure Firefox was no longer running. Then I went to the icon on the desktop for Firefox Beta, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox Beta\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Beta and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Beta so I would know it's for the Beta release of Firefox. Then I went on into Firefox Beta and started using it. The things I was trying to do in the 3 tabs in Firefox stable release I tried to do in Firefox Beta using 3 tabs there. Firefox Beta was only a TAD faster than the stable version, but not by much. I had the same issues with Beta that I did with Firefox Stable. Then for fun I went to Firefox again and went to their Develop (Alpha) channel to download it (English (US) approximately 39.3MB). Then I went to install it making certain to install it in a different directory than the other 2 Firefox channels I have installed. After that I found the icon on the desktop for Firefox Developer, right-clicked on it, clicked on properties, where it had "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox Developer\firefox.exe" I clicked at the end of it and pressed the space bar ONCE, then put in -P, then clicked on apply, and then clicked on OK. Then I double-clicked on the icon for Firefox Developer and the profile manager opened. Then I chose the option to create a new profile and named it Developer so I would know it's for the Developer release of Firefox. Then I went on into Firefox Developer and started using it. The things I was trying to do in the 3 tabs at the same time in Firefox Stable I tried doing those same things in 3 different tabs at the same time in Firefox Developer. That channel worked how Firefox Stable is supposed to work. I had no issues using Firefox Developer. I kept those 3 tabs opened and went on to something else while still n Firefox Developer and the next thing I know I not only had the 3 tabs opened when trying to recreate what I was doing in Firefox Stable but I also had 4 more tabs opened for a total of 7 opened tabs. I could go from one tab to another (did matter if I wanted the tab on either side of the one I was currently on or a tab that was 3-4 tabs away from the one I was currently on) in the amount of time it should take to switch between tabs. The speed that Firefox Developer was running is the speed that Firefox Stable should be running and Stable AND Beta is NOT doing this. I have to go to Developer (which is basically Alpha) to get this speed. There are certain things I need to do in a web browser (i.e. pay bills, anything that I need a secure connection for, etc.) and I need to do that with Stable not Developer since Developer is not a finished/final release of the browser. Do I need to go back to Firefox 57 32-bit or Firefox 52 ESR to get a working version of Firefox.

Modified by SthrnDixieCwgrl

All Replies (20)

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Ok, am just going to deal with what I see. Please do come back if missed something.

Excessive ram/cpu usage 57+ Release Version 64bit This is it.....................fixed.

Please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser.

Monitor in Task Manager. Should stay below 2 gigs. If excessive then do below and monitor and change if need to...Test and go up again , go back down, it will eventually get a zone you and it can live with.

Go to the 3 Bar Menu then Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything (can put back hardware acceleration after and monitor) . change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please. ___________________________________________________________ fyi: Developer, I have it installed also runs well, do not use it enough as stable release works fine. Developer has a compatibility mode at the end of the install and it makes a separate profile inside the Profile folder but imports the bookmarks over and that's it. It also makes a Separate Folder to install to in C:\Programs

Ok that should fix unless have a install issue which brings you back for it.

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

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I am going to stop you right there. I am not using Firefox version 3. I never said I was using that version ESPECIALLY when that version was released about 9 1/2 years ago. I don't think this is going to work for me. I need a solution that works with Firefox 57 NOT Firefox 3.

Pkshadow said

Ok, am just going to deal with what I see. Please do come back if missed something. Excessive ram/cpu usage 57+ Release Version 64bit This is it.....................fixed. Please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser. Monitor in Task Manager. Should stay below 2 gigs. If excessive then do below and monitor and change if need to...Test and go up again , go back down, it will eventually get a zone you and it can live with. Go to the 3 Bar Menu then Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything (can put back hardware acceleration after and monitor) . change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please. ___________________________________________________________ fyi: Developer, I have it installed also runs well, do not use it enough as stable release works fine. Developer has a compatibility mode at the end of the install and it makes a separate profile inside the Profile folder but imports the bookmarks over and that's it. It also makes a Separate Folder to install to in C:\Programs Ok that should fix unless have a install issue which brings you back for it. Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
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SthrnDixieCwgrl said

I am not using Firefox version 3. Pkshadow said
Please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser.

No one is using Firefox 3. There's a hyphen missing: "3-Bar Menu".


The Developer Edition is based on Beta but has a different theme. I'm surprised you found such a huge difference, and I don't know why that would be.

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You misread unfortunately 3 Bar Menu is located to the far right of the browser : https://www.howtogeek.com/333110/how-to-customize-firefox-quantum-and-remove-the-white-space-around-the-title-bar/

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

Modified by Shadow110

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After I open the browser it takes 5-10 minutes to do anything with it. If I want to click in the address bar so I can put I can put in a website address i have to wait several minutes for the cursor to appear. Then when it does I start typing even though nothing shows up because I have to wait several minutes to see what I typed to make sure I didn't spell it wrong. It's worse with using any menu option. I also went to that website you gave me (I had to use Internet Explorer 11 since I wanted to see the website today and not next week. I still cannot find that menu in Firefox. It seems I do not have it.

Pkshadow said

You misread unfortunately 3 Bar Menu is located to the far right of the browser : https://www.howtogeek.com/333110/how-to-customize-firefox-quantum-and-remove-the-white-space-around-the-title-bar/ Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
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3 Horizontal Bars very far right of browser.

fyi: the 3 Dots in the Address Bar is a Menu.

The above URL has a picture and location of it.

Failing that. Please mouse to top of the browser to a blank space and Right Click, Click Menu Bar. From the Menu Bar --> Tools --> Options --> Privacy and Security under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser.

Go to Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything (can put back hardware acceleration after and monitor) . change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please

There are no instructions clearer for doing this.

If you fail to do this please think about : Going back : unfortunately 56.0.2 and below is no longer safe to use for every day use do to secuity issues, but 52.5.3 ESR. It will continue to get security updates until May 2018, and you can download and install it from this page: *https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/ Note : Legacy Extensions will be deleted or removed in any version update after May 2018.

You should make a backup of your Profile before going back and just because:

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

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Pic of browser and the yellow circle is over the 3 Bar http://pkshadow.com/ff/3bar.zip

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I right clicked and on the words menu bar and it took the menu bar out of the browser.

Pkshadow said

3 Horizontal Bars very far right of browser. fyi: the 3 Dots in the Address Bar is a Menu. The above URL has a picture and location of it. Failing that. Please mouse to top of the browser to a blank space and Right Click, Click Menu Bar. From the Menu Bar --> Tools --> Options --> Privacy and Security under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser. Go to Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything (can put back hardware acceleration after and monitor) . change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please There are no instructions clearer for doing this. If you fail to do this please think about : Going back : unfortunately 56.0.2 and below is no longer safe to use for every day use do to secuity issues, but 52.5.3 ESR. It will continue to get security updates until May 2018, and you can download and install it from this page: *https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/ Note : Legacy Extensions will be deleted or removed in any version update after May 2018. You should make a backup of your Profile before going back and just because: Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
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SthrnDixieCwgrl said

I right clicked and on the words menu bar and it took the menu bar out of the browser.

It's a toggle, so repeat the process to turn it back on.

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Repeating what I have said and not saying anything else is not helpful.

jscher2000 said

SthrnDixieCwgrl said
I right clicked and on the words menu bar and it took the menu bar out of the browser.
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Is your browser not showing my last reply in full?

https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1197108#answer-1057029

My comment was "It's a toggle, so repeat the process to turn it back on."

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I put a mark next to Prevent Accessability Services. Then I got a message to restart Firefox and I clicked the option to restart the browser. It restarted and opened back up.

Then I went to Options > General > Performance and Use recommended performance settings is selected. I deselected it and was not certain what to do. I saw that Use hardware acceleration when available was selected and Content process limit is set to 4 (default). I was not certain to do with this so I reselected Use recommended performance settings and left it that way since I was not certain what I was doing.

jscher2000 said

Is your browser not showing my last reply in full? https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1197108#answer-1057029 My comment was "It's a toggle, so repeat the process to turn it back on."
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You can not hop around like this. Please finish i Answer and report back on the results then move to another. I will re-post from before, it is step by step.

please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser.

Monitor in Task Manager. Should stay below 2 gigs. If excessive then do below and monitor and change if need to...Test and go up again , go back down, it will eventually get a zone you and it can live with.

Go to the 3 Bar Menu then Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything. change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please.

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

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When I close out of Firefox the best I can get for RAM is 3.9GB used out of 16GB. I was also told by Windows that Firefox is draining my battery a lot. I might need a new browser if Firefox is going to do this to my battery.


Pkshadow said

You can not hop around like this. Please finish i Answer and report back on the results then move to another. I will re-post from before, it is step by step. please : go to the Firefox 3 Bar Menu --> Options --> Privacy & Security panel and under Permissions check (put a tick in the box) the setting to Prevent Accessibility Services from accessing your browser. Monitor in Task Manager. Should stay below 2 gigs. If excessive then do below and monitor and change if need to...Test and go up again , go back down, it will eventually get a zone you and it can live with. Go to the 3 Bar Menu then Options --> General --> Performance and untick everything. change the recommended size lower then see how it runs. Note: 1 = No Multiprocessor = slow again. Try 2 Restart Firefox after making these changes please. Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
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Did you turn off Accessibility by putting a Tick in the box ?

Did you change the Processor to 2 as was suggested.

Please report back that you have completed the steps. When you do not we have no idea what you have done.

If you have not completed the steps then we and you are wasting each others time.

Please report back properly. Thank You.

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I am not repeating the answer for the first part since I already answered that 6 hours ago.

I did that to that second part already.

Pkshadow said

Did you turn off Accessibility by putting a Tick in the box ? Did you change the Processor to 2 as was suggested. Please report back that you have completed the steps. When you do not we have no idea what you have done. If you have not completed the steps then we and you are wasting each others time. Please report back properly. Thank You.
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Given that you already installed Dev Edition which does not show the issue for you (and you obviously know what you are doing), would you be willing to test some previous Dev Edition / Nightly versions in order to find a range and trace recent bugs that may have been fixed meanwhile?

You can find various Nightly .zip files for Windows here by month that you can extract in any folder, then launch the .exe file with -P and a chosen profile. I would start with the one(s) close to the Beta release date, such as from here and here, then from e.g. a week after, then back a few days when the issue goes away etc. until you found the exact day. Be sure to use the 64-bit version.

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I have Developer and Nightly installed only to do simple things when Stable decides to not work such as a simple Google search and things like that

Tonnes said

Given that you already installed Dev Edition which does not show the issue for you (and you obviously know what you are doing), would you be willing to test some previous Dev Edition / Nightly versions in order to find a range and trace recent bugs that may have been fixed meanwhile? You can find various Nightly .zip files for Windows here by month that you can extract in any folder, then launch the .exe file with -P and a chosen profile. I would start with the one(s) close to the Beta release date, such as from here and here, then from e.g. a week after, then back a few days when the issue goes away etc. until you found the exact day. Be sure to use the 64-bit version.
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Very well, but you managed to set these versions up, which I consider a little harder than running a Nightly from a .zip file. :)

If you found Dev Edition has no issues, the point is just to find the first Nightly version that fixed it without getting through the (un)install process each time, and you are the one who should test for the issue. Downloading and launching a zip version should cost less than 2 minutes, testing several of them to find the range may take 15. My other option would be to just wait until the issue gets fixed, but knowing it occurs in Beta, that won’t help you or others getting it fixed in / uplifted to 58 if needed.

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I didn't that Nightly ( firefox-59.0a1.en-US.win64.installer.exe ) was considered a .zip file. If this is a ".zip" file then why is it that I double-clicked on it and followed the onscreen instructions to do a custom install so I could choose the directory to put it in and then let it finish installing it on its own. Can you do that with a .zip file. If you can then let me know how.

I installed all 4 channels the same way just making certain that they are in different directories. There were ZERO .zip files involved. They were all .exe files I downloaded.

Stable - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/

Beta - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/beta/all/

Developer - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/developer/all/

Nightly - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/nightly/all/

I don't think you can get .zip files from here,

Tonnes said

Very well, but you managed to set these versions up, which I consider a little harder than running a Nightly from a .zip file. :) If you found Dev Edition has no issues, the point is just to find the first Nightly version that fixed it without getting through the (un)install process each time, and you are the one who should test for the issue. Downloading and launching a zip version should cost less than 2 minutes, testing several of them to find the range may take 15. My other option would be to just wait until the issue gets fixed, but knowing it occurs in Beta, that won’t help you or others getting it fixed in / uplifted to 58 if needed.
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