Whirlpool

I installed 3.5 and while the new features it offers are great, it still hasn't:

1) improved my 30 second cold start-up time (It takes approx 30 seconds to start up when I first boot my PC),

2) Fixed the hard drive thrashing problem – every time Firefox loads (This has happened from version 3.0 till now and including 3.5), I can hear my hard drive clicking/grinding/whatever you want to call it, intermittently. The hard drive light blinks on and off in a rhythmic pattern – this is clearly not a normal way for an application to load.

This thrashing goes on for about 5-10 seconds, then stops.

Can anyone offer me advice on fixing either of these problems?

Addons In Use:

KeyScrambler Personal
Adblock Plus
Flashblock Plus
Add to Search Bar
Facebook Video
Img Like Opera
StumbleUpon

kovh writes...

Can anyone offer me advice on fixing either of these problems?

I'd try clearing your Cache and making sure you only have a Max of 5 tabs open in your Case. Does this issue happen in Firefox safe Mode (with all Add-ons disabled) and how many tabs do you have open when you load FF?

Also could you please post your systems specs.

Tried clearing cache, I never start FF with open tabs.

Tried out Safe Mode, long startup time and hard drive thrashing was the same.

P4 3GHZ, 1GB RAM, Win XP SP2.

Thanks for your help Jimster. Appreciated :D

Jimster writes...

please post your systems specs

yes please post away....

As old fashioned as it sounds, have you done a defrag recently? What brand of Anti Virus do you have?

I only use one addon – Ad Block Plus. No thrashing going on here.

kovh writes...

Can anyone offer me advice on fixing either of these problems?

reduce the size of your firefox cache.

My cache is already small; 50MB.

Yep, done a defrag.

I use Avast! Anti Virus.

My cache is 5MB

kovh writes...

This thrashing goes on for about 5-10 seconds, then stops.

Can anyone offer me advice on fixing either of these problems?

Addons In Use:

KeyScrambler Personal
Adblock Plus
Flashblock Plus
Add to Search Bar
Facebook Video
Img Like Opera
StumbleUpon

Disable all the addons and the anti virus and then enable them one by one to see if any of them are causing the thrashing.
I would start with disabling /enabling the anti virus first between re-boots before the addons.

.

kovh writes...

Can anyone offer me advice on fixing either of these problems?

have you tried a fresh install?

i also have a question about 3.5. i downloaded it and my add-on "AdBlock" doesnt work anymore. it says that it isnt compatible. is that only my computer or is AdBlock not compatible with 3.5 yet?/will it ever be?

Are you sure it is Firefox causing this, and not something else? Or is it Vista?

jay_1618 writes...

i downloaded it and my add-on "AdBlock" doesnt work anymore. it says that it isnt compatible. is that only my computer or is AdBlock not compatible with 3.5 yet?/will it ever be?

Adblock Plus certainly works with 3.5. Not sure about Adblock though

Protocol writes...

Are you sure it is Firefox causing this, and not something else? Or is it Vista?Are you sure it is Firefox causing this, and not something else? Or is it Vista?

His computer is running XP SP3

Firefox is just a slow starter it seems. It takes 15-20 seconds to start on my laptop, and that has one of the faster 7200 rpm laptop drives it in. I don't want to imagine it on a 5400rpm or 4200rpm laptop drive.

rugger writes...

His computer is running XP SP3

Sorry. I missed that.

Jimster writes...

making sure you only have a Max of 5 tabs open in your Case.

I usually have around 20 open tabs but have had over 100 tabs open, and I usually just save them and reopen them all on next load. Its gets a little boggy but handles it quite well actually.

Mr Miyagi writes...

I usually have around 20 open tabs

Same here. I open the same tabs every time I open too, I was just thinking in the OPs case this could be putting a lot of Stress on this Computer.

jay_1618 writes...

add-on "AdBlock" doesnt work

because 3.5 is new you will find that many add-ons will not work until the dev releases a new version designed to work with 3.5

that is why I am not upgrading, I remeber having problems with 3 and add-ons, fasterfox is still not available with 3.0 and that just sucks.

jay_1618 writes...

add-on "AdBlock" doesnt work anymore

Use AdBlock Plus, AdBlock was stopped in 2004. see: http://adblockplus.org/en/faq_project#adblock

^^ or that is the problem this time, but you still will find add-ons that don't work until they are updated

chansthename writes...

hey are updated

They better start updating Sage it won't work with FF 3.5 plus it has not been updated since 2007.

You could try "Firefox Preloader 1.0 build 366"

What is your machine?

FF 3.5 loads up cold in 3.5 seconds for me (I have about 30 addons).

Using mid range PC: quad core E8200 9800gx+ 1 terra wd black & stuff, nothing terribly fancy & OS = WIn 7 this is my machine + my dog http://users.tpg.com.au/venganza/index.html/

Works like a charm, so either you have a real slow arse PC, or something is rotten in Denmark.

I have never had anything "thrash" like that. I am a Linux guy, normally I run Mandriva most of the time, rest of the time XP (games) Only installed Win7 day or two ago, and it rocks hard over Vista rubbish, is now my main Win OS...

Even with my P4 which I used until I got the machines you see in pictures (if you followed link) I never had "thrashing" with FF at all, something is terribly wrong if your CPU is even halfway decent my friend. If we were talking "Crysis" or some other heavy duty game I could understand, a web browser should not be overloading any reasonably moderm machine, heck like I said my P4 ran fast as crap for surfing & stuff, just could not run games in hi-res.

Your addons look ok btw

Try Nightly Tester Tool to override version compatibility for your add-ons. It works a treat.

http://www.oxymoronical.com/web/firefox/nightly

kovh writes...

2) Fixed the hard drive thrashing problem – every time Firefox loads (This has happened from version 3.0 till now and including 3.5), I can hear my hard drive clicking/grinding/whatever you want to call it, intermittently. The hard drive light blinks on and off in a rhythmic pattern – this is clearly not a normal way for an application to load. I have the same problem as well with hard drive thrashing & I have tried everything I can think of but no luck what so ever & that's why I have returned to using Flock browser.

How about trying the Portable version of Firefox?

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable

Not log writes...

How about trying the Portable version of Firefox?

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable Can that be used on a Win XP system as I always thought that those kinds of apps were for portable devices only.

Just a suggestion that I'm sure has been addressed/looked at – I find that FF used to thrash my hard drive on startup where I had a lot of cookies/cache/temp files, etc. I now remove everything using CCleaner at the end of every session, and I must admit that it is much better after a cleanup. For example, FF takes 4 seconds to start up on my old Compaq Evo N610c running XP (SP3). I also have Spyware Doctor and AV, which goes ape-sh*t when there are a lot of cookies, as it checks every file that FF uses, the more – the harder it works.

Just an observation, and my 2c worth.

I have just updated to FF 3.5, and it's running nicely...

Disk thrashing can be caused by large number of live bookmarks too.

Also, there's a known problem with Google Toolbar which seems to save webpage screenshots in bookmarks file, blowing it to hundreds of megabytes. Removing Google Toolbar does not fix it because that junk data isn't deleted.

Finally, both bookmark file and phishing database might be seriously fragmented – they grow slowly so OS' fragmentation protections (delayed commits etc) are completely ineffective.

sysKin writes...

Disk thrashing can be caused by large number of live bookmarks too. Well I think that's what my problem is but the thing is I need all my live bookmarks as I work in the media & require the news feeds, I guess I'm better off using flock as it tends to have the feature of a built in RSS feed reader & users OPML as it's format for feeds.

V1king writes...

where I had a lot of cookies/cache/temp files, etc.

nope, I just cleared my cache and temp files and it made no difference.

sysKin writes...

Disk thrashing can be caused by large number of live bookmarks too.

I haven't got any live bookmarks or Google Toolbar.

VenGanZa writes...

& OS = WIn 7

Perhaps it's an XP thing? No-one I know of has the FF thrashing problem when running Vista or 7 – who knows...

kovh writes...

nope, I just cleared my cache and temp files and it made no difference.

Remove the cookies. Go to Tools -> Options -> Privacy tab -> Show Cookies – to see how many cookies are stored. You can remove them all from here. In prev version there was an option under Tools to remove private data, but cookies were never selected by default. Needs to be done manually...... Give that a try.

BTW, I am running XP SP3 on an old laptop....

Yep, tried that too. Cleared everything to no effect.

Just to clarify I have XP SP2.

I don't know if this helps, but it helped me quite a lot.

Go into internet explorer and empty the cache in that. For some reason, it can cause firefox to start slowly

rugger writes...

Go into internet explorer and empty the cache in that. For some reason, it can cause firefox to start slowly

Yes it's a problem that surfaced yesterday – its random number generator, in an attempt to seed itself with something unpredictable, is scanning several windows folders including temp and temporary internet files. It was a horrible decision imho, but let's not go into mozilla bashing right now because it's not helpful lol.

Good news is that it was solved today.

Everyone with slow startup, please do this. Download https://build.mozilla.org/tryserver-builds/bzbarsky@mozilla.com-try-cb6f5c8eca67/try-cb6f5c8eca67-win32.zip

...and see if it fixes the problem.
The build is off current firefox 3.5.1 code state, which means it includes large number of fixes that will be released as part of 3.5.1, and it also includes two extra fixes: one that solves this "seed myself with disk state" problem, and one that made random number generator seed itself twice (!).

sysKin writes...

Yes it's a problem that surfaced yesterday – its random number generator, in an attempt to seed itself with something unpredictable, is scanning several windows folders including temp and temporary internet files. It was a horrible decision imho, but let's not go into mozilla bashing right now because it's not helpful lol.

Someone NEEDs to be slapped for it .... as all that is NOT random data lol

Severly and repetatively

OK, if anyone has downloaded and installed the fix that sysKin has suggested, I'd be interested to hear results.

Thanks for that info sysKin

Just found info concerning a security flaw in Firefox 3.5... have a read:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=119195

Then follow the link to "Brian Krebs' post" for instructions...it's a work-around until Mozilla come up with a fix.

wow i tried it and made major improvement , no longer waiting pages to load, now i am happy with firefox 3.5, other wise back 3.11..

ty for tip peeps

don

V1king writes...

OK, if anyone has downloaded and installed the fix that sysKin has suggested, I'd be interested to hear results.

OK! I'll play dumb ............... how do you go about installing the fix sysKin?
Anybody?

Do a search for urlclassifier3.sqlite and urlclassifier2.sqlite files and note how big they are.

In some cases those files can grow absurdly large and could cause major slowdowns.

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=661382&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Here I turn off FF's inbuilt security and delete both files which are recreated and stay at a default size of 32kb when not used.

Not saying anyone should do the same but I rely on other security and don't need FF's inbuilt.

subyroo writes...

OK! I'll play dumb ............... how do you go about installing the fix sysKin?
Anybody?

COPY PASTE IN FIREFOX FOLDER, do back up first,just in case,

don

Firefox 3.5.1 is out now, download it here:

http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.5.1&os=win&lang=en-US

kovh writes...

Firefox 3.5.1 is out now, download it here:

http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.5.1&os=win〈=en-US

Thanks for the heads-up kovh, and Mozilla were quick to fill the hole on that vulnerability and solve the slow start up people were having.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218500486

Not sure what happened or what has changed, but when I read above that 3.5.1 was out I thought it strange that I haven't been told an update was available.

I go to Help menu and see "Install downloaded Updates"!

What's changed for it to not tell me an update is available?

mce writes...

What's changed for it to not tell me an update is available?

The new update is probably not in the update system yet

rugger writes...

The new update is probably not in the update system yet

Under the Help menu, "Check for Updates" had already been replaced with something like "Install downloaded Update", so it (Fx) had automagically found it.

mce writes...

What's changed for it to not tell me an update is available?

I spotted the tiny message (XP) in the lower right corner where the FF-update icon appeared asking me to install.

3.5.1 no issues so far (XP) and loads under 5 seconds – nice job!

mce writes...

I go to Help menu and see "Install downloaded Updates"!

You have a default setting and in this setting, firefox doesn't tell you update is available, it just applies it.

If you closed firefox and started it again it would apply itself.

I've upgraded to 3.5.1 expecting the initial start time to improve dramatically however, it's moved from around 30 seconds pre 3.5.1 to 20 seconds post.

To ensure this wasn't just a one-off, my machine was re-booted from scratch several times. Once initially loaded however, there is noticeable browsing speed improvement so I'm grateful for that and also, any load-time gain is a good step forward.

does anyone else get random hangs that last for about 10 seconds? Ive been getting them since before 3.5. I've tried running in safe mode without addons, clearing cache and reinstalling firefox. Even had to reformat the computer (for another reason) and it still persists. This happens in both vista and 7. I was just putting up with it before until my mate came over and saw it happen and said it happens to him aswell. Seriously considering switching to chrome if I cant fix it

mattsull writes...

does anyone else get random hangs that last for about 10 seconds?

Yep

• MarƒoX • writes...

I've upgraded to 3.5.1 expecting the initial start time to improve dramatically however, it's moved from around 30 seconds pre 3.5.1 to 20 seconds post.

Hi mate, you're currently in a best position to help everyone by pinpointing the reason. If you're interested in being a hero ;) do this:

- get process monitor: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx
- make sure firefox is closed
- start process monitor
- do filter -> filter -> process is -> firefox.exe
- start firefox
- do file – save

This will produce a very detailed timeline of disk activity (and also registry activity) of firefox starting. I'm very sure a lot of mozilla people would love to see it. I'd be interested too :)

llama009 writes...

Yep

Thats good to know ... i guess. You'd think Mozilla would do something about it by now. Bloody annoying

3.5.1 – excellent – proper load times again!

Update seems okay here, start up was 7 seconds with 3.5 , now less than 5 seconds with 3.5.1, I have a non default theme and 25 plus extensions (some forced with Tester Tools).

Running Vista Ultimate on a htpc with just 2 gig of ram and Amd cpu. So nothing special hardware wise seems to be the issue. I have blocked both my machines updating to IE8 seeing I never use IE at all.

3.5.1 seems to like failing while loading WP pages for me.

Anyone else getting this problem?

Ziggy. writes...

3.5.1 seems to like failing while loading WP pages for me.

Anyone else getting this problem?

WP is fine here for me.

Fine for me as well

Oh well, seems to be fine now anyway. =X

Ziggy. writes...

Oh well, seems to be fine now anyway. =X

Maybe you're referring to this? /forum-replies.cfm?t=1244137

It was a WP problem, not Firefox problem.

Aha, that was exactly it ;)

*sigh* Firefox crashes again. Looks like this issue still hasn't being fixed yet.

Zohann writes...

*sigh* Firefox crashes again. Looks like this issue still hasn't being fixed yet.

Any crash ID you can share? You can get them by going to about:crashes

Zohann writes...

*sigh* Firefox crashes again. Looks like this issue still hasn't being fixed yet.

Maybe your one of them people that bloat their browser with 123123123123 addons.

Ehh I only have 2 add ons installed.

sysKin writes...

Any crash ID you can share? You can get them by going to about:crashes

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it.

I have FF3.5 and 4 add-ons plus I usually have 6 tabs and it doesn't crash on me since i installed it....

P4 1.6 XP home SP3 HP 2140 laptop

My 3.51 is still crashing, but it appears to be random, the last one was "EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION"
I only have 1 addon – Net usage item for monitoring my isp downloads.

llama009 writes...

Yep

Was just over at another mates and same thing happening to them. WTF soon as set up a decent way to block ads on chrome I'm done with firefox. Its just ridiculous that this is happening on such a wide scale for so long and Mozilla havent done anything to fix it.

BTW it locked up while writing this

mattsull writes...

Its just ridiculous that this is happening on such a wide scale for so long and Mozilla havent done anything to fix it.

I'm not even aware of anyone filing this as a mozilla bug.

Seriously, fixes don't happen out of nowhere. Someone who suffers from it needs to report it and someone who suffers from it needs to find a reason.

subyroo writes...

and solve the slow start up people were having.

Hasn't solved my problem I'm afraid. The 30-second start-up time, the hard drive grinding – nothing's changed :( darn it.

kovh writes...

Hasn't solved my problem I'm afraid. The 30-second start-up time, the hard drive grinding – nothing's changed darn it.

I wouldn't blame FF for that or expect a fix from them as it's not a common or general problem for everyone.
My start-up is around 2.5 sec and no any other problems mentioned in this thread.
I'm sorry for you guys but whatever problem you have it must be your system.

Denzel writes...

3.5.1 – excellent – proper load times again!

+1. better than 3.5.

jaja23 writes...

+1. better than 3.5.

no, its 0.0.1+ better then 3.5 (sorry, couldn't help myself :P )

drAgon writes...

I'm sorry for you guys but whatever problem you have it must be your system.

I somewhow doubt it.

I've seen people at universities and public libraries have exactly the same issue when starting up Firefox – I watch the slow startup time, I see the hard drive light blinking on an off, on and off, grinding away.

Something's gotta give eventually. Maybe there are too few people experiencing this problem for Mozilla to bother investigating.

Just a question...
When opening a new tab... Is there an option for it to auto-display your homepage instead of a blank page. There is an option in IE. But can't find one in Firefox 3.5.

I know it's just a matter of clicking the home icon but would be a little more convenient.

Lovac writes...

Just a question...
When opening a new tab... Is there an option for it to auto-display your homepage instead of a blank page. There is an option in IE. But can't find one in Firefox 3.5.

There is an add-on that will allow you to do that, but IMO you shouldn't need to have to go that road.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/777

I just had notification that FF 3.0.1.2 was available for d/load, but when I went to the site, was directed to d/load 3.5.

I tried that awhile back and it was sooooo sloooow and took ages to load a page so I uninstalled it and went back to 3.0.1.1

I don't have any add ons and haven't noticed a problem with the current version, so will stick with it, I think!

subyroo writes...

There is an add-on that will allow you to do that, but IMO you shouldn't need to have to go that road.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/777

Excellent. Thanks for that :)