Reducing memory usage - Firefox: Difference between revisions

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==Restarting Firefox==
==Restarting Firefox==
If you find that Firefox's memory usage continues to grow after long periods of being open, you may want to consider periodically restarting Firefox to bring the memory usage back to reasonable levels. The [[SessionSaver]] extension allows you to close Firefox while maintaining the pages you have open.
If you find that Firefox's memory usage continues to grow after long periods of being open, you may want to consider periodically restarting Firefox to bring the memory usage back to reasonable levels. <!--The [[SessionSaver]] extension allows you to close Firefox while maintaining the pages you have open.-->


==Memory leaks==
==Memory leaks==
Memory leaks occur to some extent in Firefox. These memory leaks cause Firefox to not release memory that it is no longer using. 1.5.0.1 fixed several memory leaks. If you have not already, you should upgrade to this release.
Memory leaks occur to some extent in Firefox. These memory leaks cause Firefox to not release memory that it is no longer using. 1.5.0.1 fixed several memory leaks. If you have not already, you should upgrade to this release.


You can help to find and fix memory leaks by reading [http://www.squarefree.com/2006/01/13/memory-leak-detection-tool/ this].
[http://www.squarefree.com/2006/02/04/memory-leak-progress/ Here] is an update on memory leaks in Firefox. You can help to find and fix memory leaks by reading [http://www.squarefree.com/2006/01/13/memory-leak-detection-tool/ this].


[[Category:Firefox]]
[[Category:Firefox]]

Revision as of 19:56, 5 February 2006

For most users, Firefox doesn't use an abnormally large amount of memory. For others, however, Firefox's memory consumption is a major problem. This article discusses how to lower Firefox's memory consumption. Typical Firefox memory usage reported by Windows is around 50-100 MB, with virtual memory usage at 100-150 MB. If you experience substantially more usage than this, there may be a problem, or you may just be viewing pages with large amounts of data.

Extensions and themes

Observing memory usage while Firefox is in safe mode will tell you whether one of your extensions or themes is causing memory problems. If you find a significant reduction in memory usage, you may be able to find updates for your extensions and themes or alternative extensions and themes that use less memory. You should also review this article which discusses extension-specific problems. Failing that, uninstalling the extensions and themes is an option.

Plugins

Plugins can cause Firefox to use more memory when they're used. They may not even release the memory they took until Firefox is closed. It's a good idea to make sure you're using the most recent version of every plugin. Here's some plugin-specific information.

Download history

Memory usage can increase and Firefox can slow down or hang if the download history is allowed to accumulate [1]. Clear the download history (you may need to exit Firefox and delete the file "downloads.rdf" from the profile folder in some cases [2]) and change this setting to circumvent the problem:

  • "Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Download History -> Remove Files from the Download Manager", select: "Upon successful download".

Settings that reduce memory usage

Changing the about:config preferences below may have an effect on memory consumption but may also affect performance or reduce functionality. Read each article for the preference's effects. Each preference includes an estimate of the amount of memory that can be freed on an average (512MB RAM) system by choosing the most memory-friendly setting.

Preference Max memory freed
browser.cache.memory.capacity and browser.cache.memory.enable 22MB
browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers 20MB
config.trim_on_minimize (Windows only) all but 10MB when minimized

Restarting Firefox

If you find that Firefox's memory usage continues to grow after long periods of being open, you may want to consider periodically restarting Firefox to bring the memory usage back to reasonable levels.

Memory leaks

Memory leaks occur to some extent in Firefox. These memory leaks cause Firefox to not release memory that it is no longer using. 1.5.0.1 fixed several memory leaks. If you have not already, you should upgrade to this release.

Here is an update on memory leaks in Firefox. You can help to find and fix memory leaks by reading this.