100 % CPU usage makes Firefox unusable :-(

schapel · Post by **schapel** » September 9th, 2007, 4:30 pm

The memory usage looks normal.

The CPU at 99% could be normal, or could be a problem. It is normal when you have a tab open with Flash animations on it. It's a problem if it happens all the time no matter what you do. You will want to read this Knowledge Base article and follow its advice: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_CPU_usage

RBofWonder · Post by **RBofWonder** » September 9th, 2007, 5:51 pm

I checked Windows System Properties and under the Advanced tab, I chose Performance settings and switched to "Adjust for best Performance".
I also disabled some of the extensions I have as recommended and both of those actions did make a big difference in CPU performance. I'll continue to monitor with just Firefox (I'm using Opera also at the moment). Thanks for the advice and link.

RB

Stormy1 · Post by **Stormy1** » September 9th, 2007, 6:20 pm

James wrote:
Stormy1 wrote:I have sorted my problem now, simply downloaded and installed the last version of Firefox which comes with google toolbar and that version imported all my original settings, and I've had no problems since

The official versions of Firefox has never had the Google toolbar from Google bundled with it as you probably downloaded the old Firefox 2.0 (Firefox 2.0.0.6 is last one) from a (outdated) unofficial source which had the Google Toolbar bundled with it.

Get Firefox from www.mozilla.com

I found it at Cnet when comparing browsers. The version of Firefox I'm using may be old but it's working perfectly (even after getting rid of google toolbar). I had tried downloading from mozilla.com but the download was corrupted so didn't want to waste my time trying again.
I'm happy with the version of the browser I have now - no problems with excessive CPU usage and it seems to be working a lot faster too.

mkengel2 · Post by **mkengel2** » September 9th, 2007, 9:44 pm

[quote="schapel"]The CPU at 99% could be normal, or could be a problem. It is normal when you have a tab open with Flash animations on it. It's a problem if it happens all the time no matter what you do. You will want to read this Knowledge Base article and follow its advice: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_CPU_usage[/quote]

100% CPU means in the heat of the summer that the fan of my laptop is always running - which is annoying.

I am using a lot of programs and none of them needs 100% of the CPU so often as FF - why only FF ?
If I want to use another program, I better shut down FF.

I am following this discussion (100% CPU) and the other one (use of memory) quite a while.
My impression is that some people don't realize that with these two problems (even if many say it is no problem) people will stop using Firefox.

Instead of adding new features, I think, the programming community - to which I am grateful for FF - should focus on resolving these things first.

Thanks

freeadlists · Post by **freeadlists** » September 10th, 2007, 1:42 am

I'm running a marquee on my site. Every time I use FireFox with the site, the CPU usage goes up promptly. When I use MSIE 6.0 or better, the CPU usage is negligible. My developer says it a known problem with Mozilla-based products. I like FireFox but this little issue is annoying. Also, I noticed problems with reading some XML feeds that MSIE doesn't have. I reported these issues via the "Report Broken Web Site" dialog box about 4 weeks ago...heard nothing but I didn't really expect to.

Post by **trolly** » September 10th, 2007, 1:56 am

@freeadlists:
Answered here: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=583547

Moose513 · Post by **Moose513** » September 10th, 2007, 7:22 am

I have been having this problem too. Any website I go to and firefox freezes up and goes up to 100 percent usage and I haven't added any extentions or anything.

schapel · Post by **schapel** » September 10th, 2007, 3:07 pm

mkengel2 wrote:I am using a lot of programs and none of them needs 100% of the CPU so often as FF - why only FF ?

I have no idea. <i>You</i> are the one who will have to tell <i>us</i> what the problem is, as you are the one experiencing the problem. Remember that very few people see this symptom, and most of those people easily resolve it by following the advice in the article. Did you try all of the suggestions in the Knowledge Base article? http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_CPU_usage

schapel · Post by **schapel** » September 10th, 2007, 3:07 pm

Moose513 wrote:I have been having this problem too. Any website I go to and firefox freezes up and goes up to 100 percent usage and I haven't added any extentions or anything.

Again, try the suggestions in the article http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_CPU_usage

Moose513 · Post by **Moose513** » September 10th, 2007, 4:55 pm

schapel wrote:
Moose513 wrote:I have been having this problem too. Any website I go to and firefox freezes up and goes up to 100 percent usage and I haven't added any extentions or anything.

Again, try the suggestions in the article http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_CPU_usage

I did and I am having the same problem.

schapel · Post by **schapel** » September 10th, 2007, 6:15 pm

Moose513 wrote:I did and I am having the same problem.

Then I suggest you give us more information to go on. Otherwise, there is nothing anyone can do.

Moose513 · Post by **Moose513** » September 10th, 2007, 7:10 pm

schapel wrote:
Moose513 wrote:I did and I am having the same problem.

Then I suggest you give us more information to go on. Otherwise, there is nothing anyone can do.

I am running XP, I am using 2.0.0.6 . I thought it might just be a problem with that version so I reinstalled to 2.0.0.3 and it was doing the same thing. Anywebiste I go to, it stalls and becomes unuseable and freezes for a 10 seconds. I deleted the prefetch files and that didn't help. I am not using any extensions, and it happens whether my computer is just starting up or comes out of standby. I am not using any special settings on windows or anything.

edit: I tried it in safe mode and it is doing the same thing too. It happens towards the end when it is loading a page. theCPU useage spikes to 99-100 and the program freezes.

schapel · Post by **schapel** » September 11th, 2007, 3:38 am

You'll also want to try disabling hardware acceleration. After that, you want to also see the article http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs as suggested at the end. Another easy fix to try is to create a new profile http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Manag ... ew_profile

massacre · Post by **massacre** » September 12th, 2007, 8:40 am

I'm a long time Firefox user and have remained current on the 2.0 line since it came out. I noticed the same CPU problem just a few days ago. After disabling flash, updating flash and removing IE Tab, I started one by one killing off tabs to see if there was an offending site (I have about 15 tabs for my Home setup). After I killed off MSNBC.com the CPU dropped. I did some more experimenting and removing that tab has made my system get back to normal. I will say this: The problem ONLY showed up a few days ago. My system rebooted after my employer pushed an update, so that may be part of it too. I've had MSNBC.com on my tabs for quite a while with no issues until a few days ago.

VanillaMozilla · September 12th, 2007, 11:45 am

massacre wrote:The problem ONLY showed up a few days ago. ...I've had MSNBC.com on my tabs for quite a while with no issues until a few days ago.

And does MSNBC always give you the same Web page, or does it change?

The relevant link has been posted 5 times on the previous page. Please work through it carefully before you post back, but ask if you get stuck.