Firefox doesn't close but hangs in the background after closing it using up excessive memory up to 2gb.

Question

When Firefox 8 loses connection to certain websites and I have to close it from the lower taskbar, it hangs in the background on task manager using excessive memory even after it is closed. I have seen it use up to 2gb of memory while closed but still hanging in the background in task manager. My computer slows down and when I try to open another browser window the little loading icon goes around and around so I check to see what is making it so slow. It is always firefox 8 hanging in the background using memory. I have 8gb of ddr2 memory on this 64 bit computer it shouldn't be slowing down because of a browser bug but it does.

Answer 1

From what I have been reading from other posts on this forum, the
issue may be caused by the clear history settings.
Press the '''<Alt>''' or '''<F10>''' key to bring up the tool bar.
Followed by;
Windows; '''Tools > Options'''
Linux; '''Edit > Preferences'''
Mac; ''application name'' '''> Preferences'''
Then '''Privacy'''.
The button next to '''History''', select '''Use Custom Settings'''.
At the bottom of the page, turn on '''Clear History When Firefox Closes.'''
At the far right, press the '''Settings''' button. Turn on ONLY '''Cache''' and
'''Form And Search History''' leaving the others off.
This is not a cure but will make it easier if Firefox locks up.
'''https://support.mozilla.org/questions/997866?esab=a&s=&r=1&as=s''' {web link}