Firefox randomly starts eating tons of CPU causing lagging and freezing

Firefox V.35 on Windows 7 64 bit
Ok, idk what has gotten into Firefox the last few updates, but it has become incredibly SLOW and laggy. It does NOT matter how many times I clear cache, it has no effect on this. I can be browsing any page.. and at random I will notice the scrolling start freezing every 1 second or so and it gets SLOW and choppy. Typing during this time is just as bad and lags a LOT. I will open Task Manager and notice firefox.exe using 30-70% CPU. CPU usage will keep jumping UP and DOWN .. back and forth. This will keep happening for almost a minute or more. It will stop for awhile then pick up shortly after repeating the same thing over again making browsing horribly slow. It doesn't matter what page I'm on, it still will do this. It doesn't matter if I close tabs, that doesn't help. (yes I have disabled ALL plugins and addons to see if it would help and it does not).
I thought Adobe Flash was the problem, but I was wrong as I had disabled the Flash plugin to see if it would do anything. On another note, Flash also runs SLOW and choppy compared to other web browsers running the same thing, namely ... facebook games. The FPS is ...well.. CHOPPY. I disabled plugin_container.exe and that just made it worse and firefox more unstable.
Anyways, this machine is a laptop and has 4GB of RAM. Everything else on it runs nice and fast, even other web browsers...... except firefox. What's going on with this browser lately? Whatever they did in the last few updates really screwed it up. I since went to using Opera because of how bad it was.

''user1192079 [[#answer-707733|said]]''
<blockquote>
''Bruce0375 [[#question-1053385|said]]''
<blockquote>
Firefox V.35 on Windows 7 64 bit
Ok, idk what has gotten into Firefox the last few updates, but it has become incredibly SLOW and laggy. It does NOT matter how many times I clear cache, it has no effect on this. I can be browsing any page.. and at random I will notice the scrolling start freezing every 1 second or so and it gets SLOW and choppy. Typing during this time is just as bad and lags a LOT. I will open Task Manager and notice firefox.exe using 30-70% CPU. CPU usage will keep jumping UP and DOWN .. back and forth. This will keep happening for almost a minute or more. It will stop for awhile then pick up shortly after repeating the same thing over again making browsing horribly slow. It doesn't matter what page I'm on, it still will do this. It doesn't matter if I close tabs, that doesn't help. (yes I have disabled ALL plugins and addons to see if it would help and it does not).
I thought Adobe Flash was the problem, but I was wrong as I had disabled the Flash plugin to see if it would do anything. On another note, Flash also runs SLOW and choppy compared to other web browsers running the same thing, namely ... facebook games. The FPS is ...well.. CHOPPY. I disabled plugin_container.exe and that just made it worse and firefox more unstable.
Anyways, this machine is a laptop and has 4GB of RAM. Everything else on it runs nice and fast, even other web browsers...... except firefox. What's going on with this browser lately? Whatever they did in the last few updates really screwed it up. I since went to using Opera because of how bad it was.
</blockquote>
This isn't firefox problem, its your crappy internet :)
</blockquote>
My internet is fine. As Istated, it works fine on other browsers, just not Firefox.
''jscher2000 [[#answer-707790|said]]''
<blockquote>
Could you run Firefox in its '''Safe Mode''' for a while as a test? That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox that can be troublesome on some systems. More info: [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues using Safe Mode]].
You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
* "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
* Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
Not all add-ons are disabled: Flash and other plugins still run
After Firefox shuts down, a small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (''not'' Reset).
Notice any difference over time?
Also, you might want to supplement your regular security software with some of the '''scanning/cleaning tools''' listed in our support article: [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]]. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.
</blockquote>
I ran in safe mode, problem went away mostly. Restarted FF normally and it still seems ok. If it's one of the Add-ons.. idk which one it is because it isn't acting up right now. The Add-ons that I have are , Adblock Plus, Dark Backgrounds Switcher, Easier Youtube Video Downloader, Keyconfig , RightToClick, User Agent Overrider.
The last 3 I usually keep disabled.

Similar Messages

Why my Firefox keeps lagging and freezing when scrolling on Facebook?

When scrolling through Facebook it keeps lagging and freezing for a few seconds, and when it happens it says "Connecting..." on the tab title. It keeps happening while I'm scrolling in the Facebook page, and if I leave the tab with Facebook working all Firefox looks a little laggy.
I've tried some possible solutions here in the support but it keeps happening.
It doesn't happen with others browser, such as Chrome.

Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.
* Clear the Cache and
* Remove Cookies<br> '''''Warning ! ! '' This will log you out of sites you're logged in to.'''
Type '''about:preferences'''<Enter> in the address bar.
* '''Cookies;''' Select '''Privacy.''' Under '''History,''' select Firefox will '''Use Custom Settings.''' Press the button on the right side called '''Show Cookies.''' Use the search bar to look for the site. Note; There may be more than one entry. Remove '''All''' of them.
* '''Cache;''' Select '''Advanced > Network.''' Across from '''Cached Web Content,''' Press '''Clear Now.'''
If there is still a problem,
'''[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-using-safe-mode Start Firefox in Safe Mode]''' {web link}
While you are in safe mode;
Type '''about:preferences#advanced'''<Enter> in the address bar.
Under '''Advanced,''' Select '''General.'''
Look for and turn off '''Use Hardware Acceleration'''.
Poke around safe web sites. Are there any problems?
Then restart.

Firefox lags and freezes several times in an hour - How to fix?

I've read up on the forums and nothing seems to be describing what I'm experiencing with Firefox.
The last 3-4 days I've had several instances where Firefox lags or completely freezes up when switching between tabs. It will still somewhat work but it's ridiculously slow.
For example, it WILL eventually go to that tab, but it will take a minute, and then nothing on the page will work for a minute, so on and so on. Sometimes a black screen will appear where the text should be. Sometimes it stays black, sometimes the page eventually loads. It was only one website so I thought maybe that page was having issues until today when it started happening on several other websites.
It's happening quite often and it's driving me crazy. I only had an error message once, early on when this started. Since then it just seems to lag and freeze, lag and freeze, over and over without giving me an error message until I get fed up and close out of it. Upon start up again, it works fine for a bit.
I don't use any toolbars. I updated Windows and my drivers. Computer has been restarted several times since this started.
I'd appreciate any suggestions!

Hello EMA1, try to run [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-using-safe-mode firefox in safe mode], works ?
If firefox in safe mode has the same behavior then, try to boot your win 8 computer in [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2809468/en-us Windows Safe Mode with network support] and check firefox again. Any luck ?
thank you

How do I set Firefox to start on login in full screen mode and permanently disable the tool bars?

I am trying to set up a touch screen windows 7 lenovo desktop for use by older users with no prior experiance of PC's. I would like Firefox to start on login and open in full screen mode, with all toolbars disabled. Is this possible? and if so how do I go about doing this?

If you close Firefox 4 while in full screen mode then the browser should start in full screen mode the next time. That setting is stored in localstore.rdf in the [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox Firefox Profile Folder].
If you want to prevent toolbars from opening if you hover to the top then hide the full-screen-toggler with code in userChrome.css
Add code to userChrome.css below the @namespace line.
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/userChrome.css
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Editing_configuration
* ChromEdit Plus: http://webdesigns.ms11.net/chromeditp.html
<pre><nowiki>@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */
#fullscr-toggler { display:none !important; }
</nowiki></pre>

Avast users: Help does your Firefox v13 lag and freeze?

I recently spoke personally with several people last week all of who are Firefox users but only few of them have Avast and of those few people there all experiencing the same problems that I have.

I also found info that you should check that your firefox plug-ins are up-to-date and I disabled all those which didnt have an update in the last year - Firefox runs faster as a result

What causes Firefox to start so slowly? I removed v5 and reloaded v6. Still no difference

Chrome and IE9 start up instantly. This is a 64 bit windows 7 pro Dell

After further testing I am convinced that it is the flash plugin that is causing the issue. I should have known. But why? How on earth can flash have anything to do with USB?

My start up tone doesn't work, trackpad and keyboard do not work consistently. I get a drop down menu when I try to click on something

Out of nowhere my keyboard locked, trackpad didn't work and start up chime stopped working. Then, I got drop down menus when I tried to click on something, and now my computer is working fine. In a while it will happen all over again. How can the keyboard work fine and then stop? Then be fine again. I am not technically inclined, so please help. I have a MacBook Air. Thanks

To add a Pinterest icon to your Home Screen do the followiing:
In Safari:
Go to the Pinterest Website - http://pinterest.com
Touch the Share icon at the top (looks like a box with an arrow coming out)
Touch Add to Home Screen

I participated in a webinar and now every time I start Firefox it says it can't restore previous session and freezes. Restarting computer didn't help. what to do? using mac OS 10.5.8

I am unable to access anything in firefox , just get the spinning wheel and have to force quit.

Sounds like you are having kernel panics - usually hardware related:
What is a Kernel Panic?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1392?viewlocale=en_US
and
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/technotes/tn2002/tn2063.html
More details here:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
Useful article on how to avoid and eliminate kernel panics here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10344626-263.html?tag=mfiredir

Firefox 37 Beta on Windows 8.1 has lag and stuttering when scrolling

I just recently got a new laptop, and since the minute I've installed firefox on it there has been lag when scrolling webpages. It seems to start off not too badly, with there being some stuttering when I first open firefox, however it seems like the longer I'm browsing the worse it gets, to the point where sometimes I'll start scrolling and then a second later firefox will just jump to the bottom of the page. Internet Explorer and Chrome both have perfectly smooth scrolling.
I've tried numerous things to fix it already, this is some of the stuff I can remember trying:
-Turning off hardware acceleration and smooth scrolling
-Starting in safe mode
-Complete reinstall with new profile
-Updating graphics card and intel drivers
Specs of the new laptop:
Core i7
GTX 970M
16Gb RAM

When I was trying different versions of Firefox to see if they all had the scrolling problem, I made sure to try 36, 38, and even 31.5 ESL portable. They all have the scrolling problem when my laptop is unplugged. However, when I tried Tor just to see what would happen - bingo! Perfectly smooth scrolling once more. This is especially weird as Tor uses 31.5.3 ESL as a base...
This made me think that it could potentially be a plugin, as Tor doesn't have any plugins installed other than Flash. However, after first disabling, then manually removing, every plugin that was listed in about:plugins the problem continues to persist.
Any idea why Tor would work flawlessly while every other version of firefox suffers the scrolling issue? I couldn't seem to remove the OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Cisco Systems, plugin. Is it possible to remove it in order to see if it is causing the problem?

Firefox lags and freezes for a few seconds every time I want to load a new page or open a new tab

This just started a couple weeks ago, I've tried disabling numerous add-ons and updating plugins but to no avail.

Disabling hardware acceleration seemed to solve the problem. Thank you all very much, but before I close this thread as solved, I've always had that feature enabled to the best of my knowledge. Why did it suddenly cause problems?

Timecapsule causes lags and unresponsiveness in iTunes and VLC

Hi, I don't know whether this is really a problem of my TC, so I'd even like some hints on diagnostics...
However, I have TC for two months (the new 2 TB one) and just recently I noticed that videos on VLC are sometimes getting scrambled and paused (you know, when the picture freezes and then moves to another one seconds later accompanied by big black areas and small squares). I thought that this was a problem with update of VLC and I tried to set a bigger buffer for streaming. However, the program then becomes unresponsive. Just now I noticed that similar problem is happening even with iTunes and files that I have stored on TC (I double-click a song, have to wait, and after 3 - 5 secs it starts to play).
To be honest, I don't know whether this was happening right after I bought TC, because I left my favorite tracks on my MacBook. Also, after buying a TC, I upgraded to Mavericks, so a lot of things have changed for me.
I also haven't find any similar issues with TC on the internet (being a non-english speaker, it could just be my bad choice of keywords)
Before I blame everything on TC and will have to use my warranty, do you know whether this is an issue of TC? Can I do some diagnostics first? Or use any other program? Could this be a software issue?
Thank you a lot

"TC hard disk is designed to spin down at the earliest opportunity" - is this something that could be overridden?
No, the TC is not a NAS.. there is no controls whatsoever.
"will take several seconds to spin up.. so when you select a song" - that I understand, however, this is happening also on skipping to the next when the disk should be already active, no?
If the computer is caching and enough of the song is sent the disk will spin down. That is exactly how it is designed. It is for Time Machine backups not streaming media.
I unfortunatelly cannot play anything over ethernet (my MB Air does not have an input), so I am talking about playing from WiFi, but I'll try to borrow a computer
Buy a thunderbolt to ethernet adapter.. apple sell them very cheap now.
So my question mostly is - something was OK, now it is not, is it a problem of updated VLC (and iTunes' lag is just normal) or is it a problem of TC and should I have it replaced?
Did it work on Mavericks.. if you think back was it actually working before you upgraded to Mavericks and then stopped because that makes a lot of sense. Mavericks and the TC do not get along at all well.
You need to do some testing..
But first of all, reset the TC to factory..
Setup with all short names, no spaces and pure alphanumeric.
Give 5ghz wireless a different name.. make sure the speed of connection with TC is full for your version MBA.. ie if it AC make sure you have AC.. if it is earlier version make sure you get full 450mbps.
During a transfer make sure the speed does not drop off significantly.. it will drop but should not be a huge amount.
Otherwise it is just the wrong equipment for the job. Plug a simple usb drive into the Air and it will all work as it should.

Early 2008 iMac won't start up. Goes to apple logo and freezes

Early 2008 iMac won't start up. Goes to the apple logo but it has a couple of yellowish stripes on it. Then the whole screen gets the stripes and it freezes. Does the same thing using another start up drive or a recovery drive. Running Maverics. Help!

I work at an Authorized Apple Reseller and we are having the same problem with one of our showfloor models.
Model: iMac 21.5" (Brand New Core i3, etc)
Problem Description: When you press the power button, you hear the Apple chime and the screen turns on. Instead of booting normally, the screen shows the Apple logo, a spinning 'loading' circle (I call it a ferris wheel), and a loading bar below that. Typically the loading bar is for an EFI Firmware update, but I don't remember updating the iMac recently. Anyways, the loading bar moves once, starts over, and then the iMac shuts down.
Possibly Related Issue: Several days leading up to this issue, the computer was very noisy. It sounded like the hard drive was working overtime on indexing or something, but it ran fine and spotlight wasn't even indexing at all. I walked by it yesterday and noticed it wasn't on. I pushed the power button, and the problem it has now started.
I will keep searching the forum for a solution, but I have a feeling this is a hardware issue that will need to be serviced by Apple.
Sidenote: If anyone has any experience contacting apple as an Apple Reseller about repairing a computer before the warranty starts, any advice would be greatly appreciated

Firefox wont start "XPCOM" message pops up, need my user and passwords!!??

My window 7 wasn't starting up properly so I did a system restore and now firefox wont start a message pops up stating "XPCOM" and I googled it and everything is telling to reinstall Firefox. I don't wont to reinstall it just yet because I need my passwords and username back. I cant find a solution on the forums either, or if there is I haven't found it or I simply didn't understood the solution itself. Please get back to me asap
thank you!

This usually happens because of a failed Firefox update that left you with a mixture of old and updated files in the Firefox program folder.
Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.
*Download the full Firefox installer and save the file to the desktop<br>https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.
*Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions.
Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.
*(32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
*(64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"
*It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.
If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Clean_reinstall

Skype increasing lagging and using too much CPU

Hello,
Since Oct 15 which is approximately when I was upgraded to version 6.9(517) I have noticed that Skype has been lagging very badly. It starts as very tiny lags and eventually over an hour or two the lagging increases to 4-6 second lags. The person on the other end will be talking and in mid sentence Skype will stop (freeze up), the timer on the call will halt, and in 4-6 seconds I will hear the other half of the sentence. While all this was happening I noticed while I was running the "top" command on the command line that my CPU usage would spike anywhere from 60% to more than 100% on Skype. The lagging and freezing would happen approximately every 20 seconds or so. I also noticed when trying to hang up the call and having the other person call me back that even the "ring tone" that is played when a call comes in was lagged and froze in the middle only to resume a few seconds later. It seems the over usage of the CPU might be the culprit but I'm not sure. I've tried everything from resetting the router, reinstalling Skype, clearing out my User/Application/Preferences/com.skype.skype.plist and also the shared.xml in the Application Support/Skype directory. Oh, also once the lagging gets very bad I am unable to close Skype without force closing it. Anyone have any suggestions? This only started a few days ago and prior to that I have zero issues with Skype on a Mac.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I've been spreading the word since my friend found out a solution!
A friend of mine in IT googled and it so far it seems to have eliminated the constant lag I've been getting every 20-30 seconds.
Here it goes:
Close skype completely.
Type in your spotlight: Terminal (black box looking icon)
Press enter then type in exactly:
cd ~/Library/caches/
Press enter again and then type in exactly:
sudo rm -d -v -r com.skype.skype
WARNING: It will give you a notice of caution that it could delete files, stay calm, all is good (I panicked too), then it'll ask you to type in your password (this refers to your actual mac password: the one you use to make changes to programs, give permission for installations, etc.)
Following the entering of your password there will be a giant wall of text, tons of code that you will not understand. Wait till this finishes (stops) and close terminal. Then proceed to re-open skype. Problem should be fixed! Ta-da!
Be sure to check activity monitor to compare your now normal % CPU levels to the abnormal ones that you were having before !
Goodluck and please let me know if it helps!

Why does C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\IAM\Bin\asghost.exe run continually at almost 50% CPU use whenever Firefox is started

Every time I start Firefox 8.0 the following programs runs continuously, i.e. Why does C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\IAM\Bin\asghost.exe run continually at almost 50% CPU use whenever Firefox is started?

Start your '''Computer''' in safe mode. Then start Firefox. Try '''Safe''' web sites.
'''[http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;<br>Free Online Encyclopedia]'''
Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.
You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:
* [http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/default.aspx Microsoft Safety Scanner]
* [http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/ MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware]
* [http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/disinfection/5350 Anti-Rootkit Utility - TDSSKiller]
* [http://general-changelog-team.fr/en/downloads/viewdownload/20-outils-de-xplode/2-adwcleaner AdwCleaner] (for more info, see this [http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/ alternate AdwCleaner download page])
* [http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/ Hitman Pro]
* [http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/ ESET Online Scanner]
[http://windows.microsoft.com/MSE Microsoft Security Essentials] is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.
Further information can be found in the [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]] article.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Firefox randomly starts eating tons of CPU causing lagging and freezing

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for