Plugin-container issues

[debeech]

Nightly 47.0a1 (2016-01-28)
WIN 7 64 bit 4 GB ram Nightly running in dual processor 64 bit mode.
The current version running, loaded today, cured probably the worst memory usage I have seen to date.
Some thoughts on the container memory problem.
Over the last months there have been days when the plugin-container.exe process runs 2 processes and has taken up more than 1.6 GByte of memory within 3 minutes of starting. This is when on web sites that are intensive graphics and with a number of flash advert's running.
On certain web sites Nightly can become unusable within 5 to 10 minutes requiring a re-start to clear the containers.
And then after an update all returns to a moderate memory usage, like today.
It seems that a lot of the data, graphics, video etc, the process is trying to handle in memory, could easily be written to disk in a temp file rather than trying to hold it all in memory. IE the container would be more of a database of content on the disk and URL's rather than holding all the data.

Obviously I could increase the memory but this is a dirty way of compensating for a problem.

[patrickjdempsey]

Well then do what everyone else does who's tired of flash ads slowing down their computer and injecting malware.... use an adblocker.

And adding memory isn't the dirty way to do anything. The internet as a whole is VASTLY more complicated and has higher resource requirements than when your machine was released. Video content has especially gone insane. I find that on my machines I can no longer reliably watch videos on sites with HTML5 players because many of them do not offer lower-resolution options. It's all going fullscreen HD or go home these days.

It is also certainly possible that you are having other memory-related problems like bad extensions with memory leaks, so you might want to try Safe Mode before convincing yourself that Flash is your only problem. Memory problems suddenly stopping after an Firefox update is typically a sign that a bad extension has been disabled during the update.

[Josa]

Did you try Options -> Privacy -> Use Tracking Protection: Always ?
I'm using this instead of ABP. Nightly uses less memory and blocks almost the same thing (at least visually).

[Romani]

Sorry to tell you, but to run 64bit mode AND have ONLY 4GB of RAM is ridiculous. One of the MAIN reasons to use 64bit is not only to comply nowadays practices (like more and more software runs only in 64bit mode just because developers dont compile 32bit version even if they can) but to be able to use MORE then 4Gb of RAM. For example my rig have 14GB of RAM and that no way a "really lot" of RAM because i know peoples with 32 GB and even more of that and we talking not about servers here.
Basically increasing RAM is one of cheapest and easiest ways to increase performance if you have such option. Will not say it solves all problems, for example too CPU or GPU hungry app will still be slow with even dozens of free GB, but there is virtually no reason to not use MORE RAM

[lithopsian]

A memory leak is still a memory leak. Firefox has them and they seem to be getting worse. Adding more RAM isn't really the solution, just a stopgap until you can find some better software. I have more RAM than I've ever had before and have to restart Firefox more often too.

As for Flash, well your best bet is just not to use it. Absolutely it should be blocked except for isolated cases you simply can't live without. And I mean block the plugin, don't just rely on an adblocker to reject some content. Flash isn't controlled (in any meaningful way) by Firefox, Flash itself is buggy and risky, and the software it runs could have been written by anyone anywhere with no review of quality or safety.

[debeech]

Thanks for the tip Josa, this made some difference. Will play with this later.

Patrick
I Like NIGHTLY and will continue to use it but this plugin container problem, which has been going on for some time, is a problem.
Today after an update it climbed to 2.1 GByte memory usage after 15 minutes.
I have no add-ones, no extensions and 3 basic plugins.
IE 11 unfortunately gives no problems of this sort.
(I hate to complement M.S. on anything.)
I appreciate that Nightly is experimental which is the whole point of making the point about the containers.
Just noted there is another update waiting to load.

[Omega X]

Welcome to Nightly. These things happen. File a bug if you're sure.

[patrickjdempsey]

Patrick
I Like NIGHTLY and will continue to use it but this plugin container problem, which has been going on for some time, is a problem.

My comments were made when you hijacked someone else's thread in Release who was running XP. So if my comments seem strange, that's why. But either way, running Nightly means you should EXPECT things to change all the time... that's the name of the game and if you don't like it, then you need to run something else. And comparing the stability of the bleeding-edge testing version of Firefox to a stable version of IE released over 2 years ago is preposterous.

[Grantius]

Hey Debeech what happens when you go to about:memory and hit report?