firefox using to much ram

i have the newest version of firefox and many many times sometimes after an hour sometimes after 5 minutes of using firefox my comp slows to a crawl and usually audio im listening to freezes up.i go to the task manager to see whats going on and it's always firefox using massive amount of ram even when i've only got one single window open. if i end firefox through there suddenly everything works again since all the ram is now free.just wondering if there was any reason firefox would suddenly **** up all my resources like that and if there was anything i could do to fix it.i have emailed mozilla 3 times and have not got a response or been able to find any help anywhere else.just very curious to know whats causing this as it makes me really not want to use this program anymore.

 

Do you by any chance have the Skype extension (it apparently gets installed automatically if you install Skype)? I was having experiences where my computer would come to a crawl, and when I took a look in Task Manager, I saw that Firefox was using 98-99% of CPU--sometimes even when I didn't think I had it open! I poked around on the Internet and found a number of people with somewhat similar experiences, and many of them pointed to the Skype extension as the culprit. I disabled the extension, and I've not had the problem since then. The extension is totally useless for me anyway, so I'll probably remove it completely, so that it won't get reinstalled with each FF upgrade.

I don't know whether your problem is caused by a Skype extension, but I thought I'd pass along my experience FWIW.

 

If I remember correctly, from my past experience with older versions, if you minimize Firefox then maximize it the memory usage will decrease and then stay stable. It is one reason why I stopped using Firefox.

 

thanks guys,especially cybernaut as i do indeed have that skype extension that i never use.getting rid of it right now thanks for the help!!!

 

I don't have the Skype extention, but I found out that Firefox3.5.1 used between 66-83 CPU. It had been taking forever to load, with seven add-ons, and two tabs. The memory usage starts at 135 MB, decreasing with time, and usage to 85-90 MB.
I will see how it does being minimized, and disablig most or all add-ons. I will, also, compare it with 3.0.x, which is my default.

 

Sadly this doesn't work w/ FF 3.0.13
It does reduce memory usage initially, but then it creeps right back up to where it started.
Dang it!

 

This is why I went back to FF 3.0.13 (from FF 3.5.1).

 

Any word on FF 3.5.2?
I saw the thread on it, but only one comment from a user.

 

3.5.2 is just as bad as any of the other versions. 127 MB usage, with three tabs, and 10 add-ons.

 

Perhaps there's something else going on here... On my system a steady 88Mb and FF 3.5.2 running for several hours a day with 1-5 tabs but admitedly only 2 addons (AVG safe search and Java Quick Starter)

Similar results from previous versions.

 

It's probably just you!

 

My mum always said I was special

 

She was only TOO right!
But then, you're special to us also - in a good way.
Have a good day buddy.
Oops, that's evening where you are.

 

I'm curious to know whether or not getting rid of the skype extension helped. Before I got my new computer (dunno what was wrong w/my old one), I wouldn't be able to run any big programs whatsoever, or my computer would stop responding...meaning I could move my mouse and click things, but the computer wouldn't recognize it. Also, the hum of my hard drive(or so I believe) would halt and start a sequence of clicking sounds for a short time before my computer would start responding again. Anyway, I'm sure you'd know if you had this problem. But i was only able to run IE from my old computer. Hope the skype thing helped though.

 

Wondering how much RAM that computer had, and what speed the chip was?

 

Hold the phone.
In FF 3.0.13 I've got 27 tabs open and a couple add-ons and it ***** up about 245MB. What's up w/ this?

 

As far as I know multiple tabs contribute to high "rammage ". Why 27 tabs open. Are they all needed?

 

There you go Westside, asking me a logical question!
Probably not, but I'm lazy, so if I open something and don't finish w/ it I just let it lie there. Had one open for a couple wks until last night when I finally placed the order (spare battery for my MP3 player). I've got pgs w/ articles I haven't finished, my photo site, stock charts, weather, you name it.

 

Chas,
I was overusing my tabs, but it is not necessary to keep all tabs open.I keep the most used sites in my bookmark toolbar, which has a >> dropdown for more sites. I have 14 folders and about as many individual bookmarks. I have no problem opening one to replace the other. I can, always go back. With FF3.0.13 I use only about 81MB.

 

Someone's never been to TV Tropes. A humorous illustration of the phenomenon.

A screen shot of the phenomenon (url= doesn't seem to work right for this one): tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soomanypagesssss2.jpg