Mozilla Firefox eats memory - what to do? Firefox Memory Optimization

A web browser is a gateway to access the global Internet. The network is growing exponentially, and users notice huge transformations in the software, however, over time, Firefox eats memory as before. This is especially noticeable when several additional tabs open, the browser begins to slow down the entire operating system.

Fortunately, this can be fixed, but first you need to check the memory usage in Firefox. Why enter "cache / Device = memory" in the address bar and press Enter. The browser will display the current number of entries, the maximum size of the repositories used and inactive.

Causes of Bad Memory

Mozilla increases the number of functions over time and, therefore, when Firefox eats memory, the number of system resources increases dramatically. Even if you add only a few extensions out of the 1000 available, the browser will begin to consume hundreds of megabytes of memory and take up large amounts of disk space. The latter circumstance will immediately affect the loading of pages, which will take a lot of time, since the opening speed will drop.

This fairly common failure is caused by database fragmentation. This phenomenon is especially noticeable when the browser remains open for several hours, the consumed memory reaches several gigabytes and higher, which happens even with only a few tabs open. This phenomenon demonstrates the problem of long-term memory leak, and the real way to limit the memory of Firefox is to ensure the compactness of the used SQLite databases. It becomes fragmented, and its optimization reduces reading and writing time.

The main reasons affecting congestion are:

1. Crowded session history.
2. Extensions and applications.
3. Firefox add-ons.
4. Plugins
5. Settings, tabs, and local storage size.

To cope with the problem quickly, there is a fairly simple solution, everything can be done using add-ons called Memory Fox. This software is written in the excellent language lho, so it will automatically manage memory usage from Firefox so that it is not wasteful for the computer. It constantly monitors the memory when the user leaves the tab inactive and it is in standby mode. Suppose, for example, that 5 tabs are open, and only 1-2 are viewed, then the memory on another tab that is “idle” will be cleared by the program, which means that the browser will feel easy.

Reducing Session History

The browser.sessionhistory.max_entries parameter sets the limit ratio in the browser history, that is, the maximum number of URLs that can be navigated using the "Back / Forward" buttons. The default value is 50. Usually, users do not browse more than 5 websites, and there is no need to save a larger number, since in this case Firefox takes up a lot of RAM. Installation Order:

1. Open a browser.
2. Enter about: config in the browser line.
3. Press CTRL + F and find browser.sessionhistory.max_entries.
4. Double-click on 50 or another set value and change it to 5 or something else.
5. Restart the browser.
6. To reduce the memory consumption of Firefox for a more recent version, you can use a different configuration - sessionhistory.max_total_viewers, which also sets the limit for caching “bfcache” (fast rewind / fast forward). The default number is 1 and is calculated based on available memory. By setting it to 0, not a single page will be saved in it, and when assigned to 5, 5 pages will be saved.

Disabling Extensions

Using fewer extensions, the user can get a real increase in productivity. Leaving all unnecessary topics in the browser, the conditions are created under which Firefox eats memory. When an extension may be needed only in the future and is not currently used at all, it is possible to disable it, which also reduces the memory load. In addition, you must constantly update them to the latest version.

Extension disable sequence:

1. Press the "Menu" and "Settings" button.
2. Go to "Extensions". A list opens.
3. Click "Disable" next to the desired one and restart the browser.

According to user reviews, many had memory problems after working with Firefox add-ons: Ghostery, Skype Click to Call, Greasemonkey and dictionaries. If these extensions are used, it is recommended that you disable them.

Setting default themes

Many users like to customize Firefox with new themes. Although some of them look visually impressive, they can consume too much memory. To resolve this problem, it is recommended that you return to the themes that were installed by default and check if memory growth was prevented. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Menu”.
2. Enter the “Appearance” tab and make sure that the theme is fixed to “Default”.
3. Restart the browser and check if everything is working correctly.

In addition to extensions, some plugins also cause memory crashes in Firefox. To fix the problem, you need to disable them. To do this, carry out the following actions:

1. Press “Menu” and “Add-ons”.
2. Open the tab "Plugins" and "Properties", set: "Never activate" for a specific plugin, reboot.
3. After the reboot, check whether the problem persists or if Firefox is still eating memory. If it is not resolved, then you need to turn off the second and then, by analogy, the following plugins.
4. After finding an application that causes memory crashes, you must connect all the plugins back, except for the problem one.
5. If you want to use this particular plug-in, you can try updating it to the latest version and see if the failure is fixed.

Flash hardware acceleration test

Using a large amount of memory can also occur due to the acceleration of the Flash hardware, and this failure is also easily fixed. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open page with Flash video.
2. Click the video player and "Settings" in the menu.
3. Click the icon in the lower left corner and open the screen panel.
4. Select the Enable hardware acceleration checkbox.
5. After that, be sure to check if the problem is resolved.

When Mozilla Firefox eats memory, you can temporarily fix the crash by restarting the browser. Some users report that memory usage may increase if the application runs for extended periods of time, so this solution will be beneficial in any case. Do not forget to close unused tabs. Each open tab increases the amount of memory that Firefox uses. If more than ten tabs are open, the user will probably encounter problems.

Application selection and memory features

Firefox consumes a lot of memory due to applications that can be quite demanding on PC resources, so it is recommended that you close any large programs, especially those running in the background. By doing this, the user will not only free up memory, but also improve performance. Firefox makes it easy to analyze memory usage.

This process is quite simple; you can do this by following these steps:

1. In the Firefox address bar, enter about: memory and go to this page.
2. On it, you can view detailed reports on memory usage and get a reserve for free. To do this, click the "Minimize memory usage" button in the "Free memory" section.
3. You can solve this problem by using the RAMBack extension.

Change browser settings

Incorrect configuration is another reason why Mozilla Firefox is eating a lot of memory. According to user advice, it is easy to reduce memory consumption in the browser simply by changing its settings. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Enter about: config on the line.
2. After warning, select the option to continue.
3. A list of parameters appears, you need to change them as follows: browser.cache.memory.capacity to 0, disable browser.tabs.animate, browser.sessionstore.max_concurrent_tabs - 0.
4. After making the changes, restart Firefox and check if the problem is resolved.

Certain web content can also be quite resource intensive, and you need to hide it to prevent memory leaks. According to users, Flash content and some scripts can be quite complex in terms of resources, so it’s better to disable them. If Firefox eats a lot of memory, you need to use third-party extensions. To block Flash content, you can use the Flashblock extension.

As for scripts, the NoScript extension will allow you to choose scripts to disable on certain sites. After disabling their use, Firefox's memory should improve. It should be borne in mind that disabling some scripts can affect the operation of a number of websites, therefore, carefully choose which scripts to turn off.

Minimize Firefox

When a new page loads, Firefox caches the data, so there is no need to reload it to display. By default, this parameter is set to -1 for browser.cache.memory.capacity and a number that can be easily determined by going to Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network / Cache for browser.cache.disk.proacity. And check that browser.cache.memory.enable and browser.cache.disk.enable are set to True. Both browser.cache.disk.enable and browser.cache.memory.enable are set to False.

You can reduce memory by changing just one parameter. Sequencing:

1. Launch a browser.
2. Enter: config and then Enter.
3. In the pop-up window, type config.trim_on_minimize and click Next.
4. Select “True” and press “Enter”.
5. Restart Firefox.

Changing the sessionhistory function

According to experts, if Firefox eats all the memory and hangs, you can fix the problem simply by changing the sessionhistory. To do this, do the following:

1. In an open browser, enter about: config.
2. When the page opens, enter browser.sessionhistory.max_entries in the search at the top.
3. Double-click browser.sessionhistory.max_entries in the list of results and enter the number 5. Click OK to save the changes.
4. Restart the browser and check if the problem is fixed.
5. Change browser.cache.disk.proacity to limit memory.
6. By performing these steps, the performance will become slower and if it is too much, then you need to use a higher value or return to its original state.

Another useful configuration preference is browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers. Which sets a limit on the number of pages in RAM. By default, the number is 1. You can set this value to zero to not store a single page in memory, or 1 for 32 MB, 2 for 64 MB, 3 for 128 MB, etc.

Adjust cache size

Firefox saves the website version into cache, thereby reducing any future re-inclusion required to download the code. By default, you can get a maximum of 1 GB of saved cache from the Internet. This is a fairly large size of the total disk space. Firefox 8.0 had a local cache of only 256 MB by default.

This is also quite a lot, especially when the user clears personal data at the end of the session. However, if it works for a very long time, each time a second visit to the site will clog the cache. Setting sequence:

1. In the top menu, open Tools -> Options.
2. Click on the “Advanced” tab.
3. Somewhere in the middle of this menu, find “Limit cache” along with the input number, for example, 1024 MB.
4. Click “OK” and restart the browser for this to take effect.

Suspend Tab Extensions

If you want to reduce memory usage in Firefox on any platform, you can use the Suspend Tab extension. It can reduce memory consumption by pausing background tabs, and also allows you to enable their automatic stop after a certain period of time and then perform manual resumption.

After installing the Suspend extension, you can right-click and select Suspend Tab from the context menu. This will immediately clear all the memory used by this tab and put it in the background. At any time, if you need to return to this paused tab, you can right-click on it and select "Resume" from the menu. This will load the web page.

In the Suspend extension settings, you can automatically pause the background tabs after a specified period of time, by default it is 30 minutes. Suspend helps reduce the memory usage of the Firefox browser. Unlike the Memory Fox extension, which only works on Windows, it can be used on all platforms.

Debugging memory with Firemin

If there are crashes due to the braking of the computer by the browser, you can solve the problem using Firemin. This tool allows the browser to periodically reset unused memory and dramatically reduce its use. Firemin is available only for Windows and supports all versions from XP to 8.1.

This is a portable application, so there is no need to install anything on the system. You just need to extract the firemin.exe file from the downloaded archive to any folder and run. As soon as the file is launched, it places the icon in the Windows notification area and begins to monitor the process in the background. This tool will fix common computer errors, protect it from file loss, malware, hardware failure and optimize your PC for maximum performance.

Firemin is free, open source software. Works with Windows XP / Vista / 2008/7 and Windows 8 with 32, as well as with 64 bit versions of operating systems. Firefox can eat up to 150 MB at the time of launch, after the browser works for a couple more days, this will lead to the loss of approximately 800 MB of RAM. Memory leaks are to blame, and Firemin can easily fix them.

Firemin quick start:

• run in safe mode;
• apply SQLite Vacuum function for database optimization;
• use the slider to configure the memory.

If you need to configure the Firefox browser, then Firemin also has such a function. You can access the optimization section from the context menu of the Firemin taskbar by selecting “Optimize Firefox”. This allows you to enhance SQLite databases, freeing up unused space inside them.

Using the SpeedyFox Tool

Optimizing memory for the browser reduces time consumption and leaves more memory for other programs. SpeedyFox is a tool specifically designed to compress SQLite database files, which in turn will reduce the time it takes to read and write. In addition to Firefox, for which it was originally designed, SpeedyFox can now also combine databases for Chrome, Epic Browser, SRWare Iron, and Pale Moon.

It also supports Mozilla Thunderbird and Skype tools. When you run the portable executable, SpeedyFox automatically detects and downloads the default profile for each of the supported applications. Since it is very popular these days, you can also download custom profiles for portable versions of Firefox or Chrome. Procedure:

1. Click on the SpeedyFox menu bar and select “Add Custom Profile” or drag the folder into the Firefox program window, memory optimization will begin after marking the application profiles and clicking the “Optimize” button.
2. SpeedyFox will begin to compact the SQLite bases. The progress window will show which databases are optimized, as well as how much space is saved. You need to make sure that the optimized programs are not currently running or they will not be processed. The author of SpeedyFox recommends running the tool every 1-2 weeks, depending on the use of the included browsers.
3. SpeedyFox also works from the command line, and can easily be placed in the form of a shortcut or script. To do this, click “Command Prompt”, then “Copy” to copy the current command and parameters to the clipboard and put them in a batch file or shortcut on the desktop to start with a double click.

If none of the previous solutions work, you can try using a different browser, as some PCs conflict with Firefox. If the same problem occurs with other browsers, it might be worth considering upgrading RAM.