Firefox slow to start and computer slow to shut down

[machomer]

When ever I open Firefox after I bootup my mbp, it takes a while before it actually opens. The Firefox icon in the dock has the "white orb" below it, so it is open, but it takes maybe a inute for firefox to actually appear on the screen.

I'm also seeing at times, it takes more than 2 mins for the entire computer to shutdown. All windows close and the rainbow beach umbrella appears for a while and the computer then shuts down.

I'm not sure if the two are related. Any suggestions?

 

[hughvane]

When ever I open Firefox after I bootup my mbp, it takes a while before it actually opens. The Firefox icon in the dock has the "white orb" below it, so it is open, but it takes maybe a minute for firefox to actually appear on the screen.
I'm also seeing at times, it takes more than 2 mins for the entire computer to shutdown. All windows close and the rainbow beach umbrella appears for a while and the computer then shuts down.

Slow shutdown is usually related to hardware. Things to check include ejecting all external devices (if any). Secondly, it's probably time to run a hardware check using Disk Utility > Verify Disk > Repair Disk (if necessary). I'd also suggest that it's time to do some backups (to an external drive if possible).

Firefox is a hungry animal, and a major criticism of it is how slow it can be to get out of bed, let alone get started. FFox likes plenty of RAM too, so maybe that needs checking. You can do that via System Profiler. It may be that one of the RAM sticks in your MBP is going or has gone belly up.

 

[machomer]

Slow shutdown is usually related to hardware. Things to check include ejecting all external devices (if any). Secondly, it's probably time to run a hardware check using Disk Utility > Verify Disk > Repair Disk (if necessary). I'd also suggest that it's time to do some backups (to an external drive if possible).

Firefox is a hungry animal, and a major criticism of it is how slow it can be to get out of bed, let alone get started. FFox likes plenty of RAM too, so maybe that needs checking. You can do that via System Profiler. It may be that one of the RAM sticks in your MBP is going or has gone belly up.

I upgraded my RAM from 2 GB to 4GB. The "About This Mac" shows 4 GB. How do I check if the RAM is working properly?

I am going to try the Verify disk. Any idea how long that takes? Is it similar to the Disk Defrag in windows?

 

[hughvane]

I upgraded my RAM from 2 GB to 4GB. The "About This Mac" shows 4 GB. How do I check if the RAM is working properly?

An application called MemTest http://www.memtestosx.org/joomla/index.php

I am going to try the Verify disk. Any idea how long that takes? Is it similar to the Disk Defrag in windows?

Two ways to run the hardware test:
1. From Disk Utility on your computer > Utilities
but better ..
2. From the System disk(s) that came with your computer (I think they're grey coloured). Boot your MBP from Disk 1 and then run Disk Utilities from the disk, not your hard drive.

How long does it take? Probably less than 10 minutes.

No, it's nothing like Defrag in Windows. Defragmenting is not needed under OS X.

If nothing untoward is found with your hardware, then it's time to run Onyx, which is a free System utility http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html. It's keeps your OS X tidy and running smoothly, highly recommended.