Firefox glitches

[Sportster]

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tbh Mozilla has really dropped the ball with Firefox. Not all of it is their fault but they really should be going back to their roots and concentrate on stability, security and speed...what they were best at. I was a Firefox user up until just over a year ago. I'm afraid Google Chrome is just so much faster and much more stable just now. Surprised you found it to be a memory hog. Even an old P4 with 2Gb DDR2 RAM should run ok. IE is still as disastrous as it always has been even after Microsoft re-branded it as Edge.lol Depending on your set up Chrome may have had some add-ons running you probably wouldn't need. McAfee AV for one has a Chrome add-on that it installs and runs without even asking. May be worth checking if you re-install and give it another go.

As for fixing Firefox issues...err, I wish you luck if you want to try. The glitches, errors and performance hit that Firefox has been plagued with for a while are many and the number of variables that have been impacting it is absurd. As I said, Mozilla really dropped the ball. Could be a while before they pick it up again.

Sorry I couldn't be more help

 

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Hopefully it does work better for you on the newer spec. Win 7 does have much more goin on than XP did but it's also more efficient at how it runs programs.

As for your comment about the upgrade message for Windows 10, you can get rid of that if you want. It's part of an optional update that would have been installed (KB3035583) Uninstall it and the message should go away. I'd advise you search for "how to remove upgrade to windows 10 message from windows 7/8" and read more into it before you give it a try. I've found several sites explaining it but not sure how mods/admin would react if I start pumping up links for you.lol I'd also mention I don't know how proficient you are on computers so to be safe I'll advise you not to click any of the "click here to fix..." links you may come across on those pages. The pages are safe, the advertisements?...not so much.

 

[Judge]

I have Firefox 44.0.2, but lately I have noticed some weird glitches. The first thing I've noticed is sometimes when I try to open it, a page will open but there will be nothing. It's like a totally blank Google page with nothing whatsoever.

The next glitch is it seems to take an unusually long amount of time for it to load when it does load. It just seems sluggish.

My computer is old, I guess, but it's better than my previous one. I'm using Windows 7 and update often (avoiding the annoying Windows 10 advertisement). The hardware specs are:

Pentium 4 3.00 GHz
2.00 GB RAM
320 GB HDD

So, is there anyone else having a similar problem or any ideas what's going on? I used Google Chrome for a while, but found it to be a memory hog and didn't perform as I expected. Internet Explorer just sucks, as most sites I visit won't even work on it.

Hmmm. I've experienced none of those problems running Windows 7 with Firefox 44.0.2. But I run 8 Gigs of RAM on system I built more than 2 years ago. Considered the "sweet spot" for memory with this OS. Frankly I wouldn't even consider trying to run Windows 7 with any less than 4 Gigs of RAM.

One thing I learned in working in software, were how aggressive developers continually crafted their products to work best on state-of-the-art hardware platforms. Your system may technically be able to run Firefox, but that doesn't mean optimally. Eventually continually upgraded software run with older hardware will catch up and usually not for the better.

You might consider some other alternative browsers which take limited hardware resources into account:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-web-browser-lightweight.htm

 

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Hmmm. I've experienced none of those problems running Windows 7 with Firefox 44.0.2. But I run 8 Gigs of RAM on system I built more than 2 years ago. Considered the "sweet spot" for memory with this OS. Frankly I wouldn't even consider trying to run Windows 7 with any less than 4 Gigs of RAM.

One thing I learned in working in software, were how aggressive developers continually crafted their products to work best on state-of-the-art hardware platforms. Your system may technically be able to run Firefox, but that doesn't mean optimally. Eventually continually upgraded software run with older hardware will catch up and usually not for the better.

You might consider some other alternative browsers which take limited hardware resources into account:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-web-browser-lightweight.htm

There are many issues with Firefox...most of which Mozilla even struggle to explain. My rig is Core i5, 16Gb DDR3, 120Gb SSD 2Tb HDD, 760Ti gamers series 4GbGDDR5 GPU and has always had issue with Firefox. When it works it's reasonably quick and responsive. When it doesn't it hangs, refuses to load pages and gives false positive alerts to my av. Even more random is when I boot up I've no idea if it'll work or not. Just totally random so I gave up on it.

On Microsoft's tactics, they are desperate to completely phase out XP and all related techs. Windows Vista(poop) Win 7 and Win 8 all still have some of that tech in them. So they are trying everything to get people off it and on to Win 10. The other reason is the sneaky market research they get to pull unless you know how to shut of the monitoring.lol

 

[Judge]

There are many issues with Firefox...most of which Mozilla even struggle to explain. My rig is Core i5, 16Gb DDR3, 120Gb SSD 2Tb HDD, 760Ti gamers series 4GbGDDR5 GPU and has always had issue with Firefox. When it works it's reasonably quick and responsive. When it doesn't it hangs, refuses to load pages and gives false positive alerts to my av. Even more random is when I boot up I've no idea if it'll work or not. Just totally random so I gave up on it.

Interesting. Sounds somewhat similar to my hardware specs. Quad Core i5 3.4 GHZ CPU, Gigabyte GTX 650Ti GPU and a Samsung 256 GB SSD. 8 gigs of DDR3 RAM. And an ASUS motherboard and Intel chipset. Yet I have no such issues with Firefox presently. All sessions involve purging my caches, history and most cookies upon exit.

 

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Interesting. Sounds somewhat similar to my hardware specs. Quad Core i5 3.4 GHZ CPU, Gigabyte GTX 650Ti GPU and a Samsung 256 GB SSD. 8 gigs of DDR3 RAM. And an ASUS motherboard and Intel chipset. Yet I have no such issues with Firefox presently. All sessions involve purging my caches, history and most cookies upon exit.

Exactly.lol there are times Firefox will work just fine...not quite as punchy as it used to be in the good ole days but working. Then next session I boot up it's just nope!lol Went through all sorts of configs, clearing cache, history and cookies and no difference. Can't find any conflicts with software, drivers, firmware, chipset or hardware configs. It just is has random mood swings sometimes and even Mozilla don't have an answer.

 

[Judge]

Maybe I just lead a charmed life. Nope...that ain't it either.

But I do know the blank issue that effects select users is an issue that transcends several past versions of Firefox as well. So whatever it may be it's been around a while. I can only say that my Windows 7 experience has been better than XP...utterly uneventful to my surprise having waited to upgrade the OS for so long. Go figure.

Have you guys considered running a program like "Hijack This" just for the hell of it? Try to rule out malware and BHOs your anti virus programs may not be picking up. After all, such programs are not all created equal...

 

[eonbus]

firefox has been security flawed ever since they stopped concentrating on their bug loads. do they care no. its free because its non profit. so firefox is free for any computer running. even linux.

 

[Judge]

I've not heard of "Hijack This." I use Malwarebytes and MS Security Essentials; both came with the computer when I bought it.

It's a specialty freeware program that addresses things like hostile browser helper objects. It's been around for a long time. Whatever one uses, keep in mind that not all security programs are created equal.

 

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Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check it out since I want to be as protected as possible . . . and practical considering my machine.

I'd consider supplementing MS security with something like Avast or AVG. Both are free to use anti virus. Avast even has a site advisor similar to McAfee. Think AVG has too but been a while since I used it. MS security isn't bad as a firewall as the chances of a direct attack on your machine are tiny. As anti virus it's not really up to the task. Avast and AVG have far better chance of catching something before it even lands on your system. The big names like McAfee do provide slightly better protection but the difference is more how quick they are at reacting and updating to new threats that pop up.

I usually advise for average home user Avast and AVG free does grand. For people more active buying and selling on-line, so regular card transactions, consider paying for AV or make sure your bank is on the ball to protect your cards. And if your a business especially with other peoples details pay for the added protection.

Have you guys considered running a program like "Hijack This" just for the hell of it? Try to rule out malware and BHOs your anti virus programs may not be picking up. After all, such programs are not all created equal...

I've used Hijack This a lot in the past. Good program This time though my issues with Firefox was on a fresh build machine that started life with Win 7 installed. I have made the move to Windows 10 as soon as the guides came out to shut off the market research and monitoring crap they have going on. I have to say, Win 10 is actually very good. Start menu takes a bit of getting used to but it's like a punchy Windows 7. Still didn't sort Firefox(trying to stay on topic.lol) and Win 10 has it's random issues on other peoples machines too. When I built my rig I built a 2nd for a friend to almost identical spec. Only difference is his is 2Gb GPU and 8Gb DDR3 RAM and could I get Windows 10 to play ball with it?!lmao

It's like my Granpa used to say "keep it stupid simple!" that's NOT what OS and software devs are doing these days.lol

 

[Judge]

Well, I miss windows 98. That was the last OS That made sense to me.

For sure. I was just on Win 98SE an hour ago. Still a good, solid and fast platform. Hums with one gig of ram.

 

[Andrew206]

I've had Firefox pages take a long time to load. It's frustrating. I have Windows 10 on my computer.

 

[Judge]

Wow, I didn't even know there was a copy of it still around. Did you ever have Windows ME? It was so bad that once a month I had to format my hard drive, reload everything, and start over. I never kept any data whatsoever on it, because I knew it was going to crash at any minute.

I made sure to steer clear of Windows ME just as I did Windows Vista. Waited some time before advancing to Windows XP, and I waited even longer to go to Windows 7. I won't be anyone's beta tester...lol.

 

[StephF]

Its fine on my machine, using Win 10. Mind you I have a lot of RAM

 

[Judge]

It came on an eMachine I bought. Little did I know that I had purchased the worst of everything.

True. eMachines are notorious for using poor quality hardware components, regardless of the operating system used. Another reason why I build all my own computers.

 

[Judge]

That's for sure. The modem gave out, so I took it to a computer supply store to see about a new one. The guy in the store started to laugh when he saw it. It must have been the cheapest one available.

Electrical storms have been know to take out unprotected eMachine components en masse.

Very evident at places like Best Buy, etc. where employees see angry customers coming in droves all for the same reason.