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Firefox: Is it just me? :/

R

rmwebs

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 6, 2007
3,140
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I've recently (when I say recently I mean in the last 4~6 months) noticed that Firefox is a lot slower than it used to be.

I run it on a C2D White 24" iMac, and a new (Got it on launch day last year) Unibody 15" MBP.

Basically, I will find that pages 'lag' when loading. Firefox will just completely lock up, and the beachball starts spinning. It lasts all of 2-3 seconds but its still not supposed to happen.

I'm a software engineer so I know the standard stuff you'd expect to do; Disabling all addons, checking activity monitor, trying a fresh install, new profile, etc.

Is it just me thats noticing these things? Had anyone else grown to the point where they are seriously considering going back to Safari (or *shudder* Camino).

I've used FF for years but since 3.0 came out I've grown an increasing hatred for it, which is not like me at all...I used to absolutely LOVE Firefox. It just seems like they are leaving us Mac'ies behind, or neglecting us :/

Anyone else experiencing issue....or am I alone? :confused:
 
You aren't alone. Firefox 3.0 is often complained about for being slow. Have you downloaded 3.5? That seems a lot quicker on my Windows laptop. Mozilla were advertising the speed increase quite aggressively before launch.
 
LouisBlack said:
You aren't alone. Firefox 3.0 is often complained about for being slow. Have you downloaded 3.5? That seems a lot quicker on my Windows laptop. Mozilla were advertising the speed increase quite aggressively before launch.
Click to expand...

Yeah, dowloaded 3.5 a few days ago...I've noticed a small improvement, but I still get a lot of lagging :/
 
rmwebs said:
Yeah, dowloaded 3.5 a few days ago...I've noticed a small improvement, but I still get a lot of lagging :/
Click to expand...

the slow down of firefox might be related to many issues, you can try clear cache and cookies, disable and re-enable addons one by one and see of any addon causes the problem.

Its also possible the network experienced problems, you can simply test it by try your firefox in a different network environment.

Its also very likely that through the years, some problems have accumulated and grew within firefox's profile, in which case, a new profile WILL help.

To do so, check here: a new profile

FEBE can help you to transfer important addons, passwords, bookmarks items.

Just a word to the ranter who provide zero help to OP: I consider this is a good part of firefox, we can get a fresh start anytime we want, not like bundled browsers, when problems strike, it becomes difficult to fix. And to accuse firefox being bloated, one might want to check how big safari is nowadays first.
 
Cromulent said:
Yeah, Firefox is just getting really bloated nowadays. It was a breath of fresh air to go back to Safari.
Click to expand...

Firefox is only as bloated as you make it with extensions. Then it depends on what you're using because I'm running 32 extensions at last count in Firefox 3.5 and it's far snappier on my mid-2007 iMac than is Safari 4.0.2 (speaking of bloat!).
 
For me, Safari loads instantly.

FF 3.5 on the other hand is quite slow. It takes about 5-10 seconds to load. Not to mention webpages take longer to load.
 
Ooooooohh, fantastic. Not just me then :D. I loved FF when I first took it on board. Now... I am beginning to hate it too. Safari may well get me back. I've tried the same problem solving steps as you guys have to no avail. I was wondering if it was my old software as it's completely chronic when any CS2 is open in the background even freezing completely. However, having been diligent about quitting any CS2 before running FF, I find even then, swapping from Finder to FF takes an age. Wondered if it's an issue that I'm still on 10.4(.11). It's good to know it's not just me. Safari... my old friend. Oh dear, Firebug's so useful... oh, hum, Firebug for Safari anyone?
 
Firefox 3.5 has been fairly quick for me, no beachballs while loading pages.

It does take a while to start, so I usually leave it open.
 
To clarify... FF is fine once it's awake (in focus). Loading pages - cool. It's when you're swapping from Finder back to FF, or other software. Takes forever, so Dreamweaver - p...r...e...v..i...e...w i...n.. f.....f.....f....f... oh, forget it.
 
Nothing wrong with using both! i use foxmarks to keep my bookmarks updated between apps, so it's pretty convenient. I agree that Safari wins on speed, but I have some extensions that I like in Firefox, and it's nice having the same browser functionality on my OS X and Ubuntu machines. Plus using both you can leave them logged into different google accounts, etc.

Surfing with like 20 pages open, tab-switching, window-switching, and app-switching like an air traffic controller... good stuff. Satisfies my ADD.
 
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