Chrome takes a little getting used to, stick with it because it really is faster than the others
Why does Firefox keep crashing
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
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Chrome takes a little getting used to, stick with it because it really is faster than the others
I use IE when absolutely necessary, FF as my default browser, and uninstalled Chrome because it was so unstable I couldn't work with it.
Standards! Why can't we have standards!?
Seriously, though, I just updated to FF 3.5.4, and it seems to be doing okay, although I've been having more difficulty with Firefox lately, which is annoying, since my only real alternatives are IE and Chrome.
J.
Interesting how different peoples' experiences can be. I have never had a notable problem with Chrome's stability. I guess that is part of why it is good to have options. Different setups lead to different results.
Well, I finally lost patience with Firefox, and have decided to give Google Chrome a chance this weekend.
Not sure about some aspects of Chrome - the mp3 handling via QT is very suspect, and I'm having to use my iGoogle account to arrange my podcast subscriptions, but I'll get used to it. But it is fast - very fast - and the memory footprint so far is nowhere near as bad as Firefox. And it imported all my Firefox bookmarks, passwords and search engines easily - although I don't know how to select between them quickly without having to go to Settings.
I haven't ruled out going back to Opera, either. I had a go with version 10.01 of Opera, and it was really fast as anything, the download manager was just as I remembered it, even the old navigation bar was back to the old style, with a modern sheen. The search function was cumbersome to apply, though, and importing bookmarks was not possible at first glance, although I was glad to see Opera Mail handle my podcasts well again, and the mp3 download management can bypass QT (thankfully) - and the mouse gestures, the best of any browser I've used, were still there. The tab management, while nowhere near as good as Firefox's Tab Mix Plus, was something to get used to again, but having used Chrome for an hour, this isn't a problem.
So it seems I'm now torn between Opera and Chrome so far. And I haven't touched Safari or IE8 yet.
UPDATE: I have been using Opera for an hour and a half now. Sorting out the passwords again is a pain but a necessary evil I suppose, and the custom searches will come in time as and when I need them. Yet now I can't honestly say I miss Firefox right now. The memory footprint is even smaller than Chrome, and so far I haven't had any of the freezing problems that previous Opera versions gave me on my last computer.
It'll take me a bit longer to fully shake the thing down, but for now, it looks like I'll be sticking with Opera for a bit longer. We'll see how the weekend goes.
Not sure about some aspects of Chrome - the mp3 handling via QT is very suspect, and I'm having to use my iGoogle account to arrange my podcast subscriptions, but I'll get used to it. But it is fast - very fast - and the memory footprint so far is nowhere near as bad as Firefox. And it imported all my Firefox bookmarks, passwords and search engines easily - although I don't know how to select between them quickly without having to go to Settings.
I haven't ruled out going back to Opera, either. I had a go with version 10.01 of Opera, and it was really fast as anything, the download manager was just as I remembered it, even the old navigation bar was back to the old style, with a modern sheen. The search function was cumbersome to apply, though, and importing bookmarks was not possible at first glance, although I was glad to see Opera Mail handle my podcasts well again, and the mp3 download management can bypass QT (thankfully) - and the mouse gestures, the best of any browser I've used, were still there. The tab management, while nowhere near as good as Firefox's Tab Mix Plus, was something to get used to again, but having used Chrome for an hour, this isn't a problem.
So it seems I'm now torn between Opera and Chrome so far. And I haven't touched Safari or IE8 yet.
UPDATE: I have been using Opera for an hour and a half now. Sorting out the passwords again is a pain but a necessary evil I suppose, and the custom searches will come in time as and when I need them. Yet now I can't honestly say I miss Firefox right now. The memory footprint is even smaller than Chrome, and so far I haven't had any of the freezing problems that previous Opera versions gave me on my last computer.
It'll take me a bit longer to fully shake the thing down, but for now, it looks like I'll be sticking with Opera for a bit longer. We'll see how the weekend goes.
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The main problem I've been having for the past few days is that CPU use hits 100% for anywhere between five and twenty minutes when I exit Firefox. I Googled the problem, but all I got is that it's a known bug and Mozilla aren't doing anything about it as of yet or offering advice on how to fix it.
Some say that it's a Java thing, some say that disabling certain extensions can cure it. But nobody knows for sure.
My own workaround is to leave FF running continuously, and to periodically use a RAM utility to free up any memory that it's been hogging.
Some say that it's a Java thing, some say that disabling certain extensions can cure it. But nobody knows for sure.
My own workaround is to leave FF running continuously, and to periodically use a RAM utility to free up any memory that it's been hogging.
Firefox 3.5.4 crashes on me a few times a day running on 64-bit Vista, but IE8 64-bit I can't recall ever crashing. However, Firefox is perfectly stable on my wife's 32-bit Vista computer, so maybe Firefox has stability issues on 64-bit Vista machines?
I've had that problem with Firefox as well - it takes a minute for Firefox to get off my system resources once I shut it down. My original workaround was to periodically shut down Firefox while I still had about 900Mb of RAM free - anything less and Firefox would start to choke things. According to Task Manager, Firefox's memory footprint can go to anything up to 1.5Gb of RAM. So far, Opera is taking up a mere 95Mb.
The final straw was when Firefox froze badly and then crashed while trying out the BBC website's Formula 1 section, specifically the track guide to the Yas Marina for this weekend's Abu Dhabi GP.
Firefox is losing its fans 
Anyway if some of are still trying to make it work then try out this nifty little program called Speedyfox. Firefox 3+ started using SQLite databases and these tend to bloat overtime and cause delays.
Download the program and run it, Firefox should be much faster now.
And here's a guide to speeding up Firefox
Anyway if some of are still trying to make it work then try out this nifty little program called Speedyfox. Firefox 3+ started using SQLite databases and these tend to bloat overtime and cause delays.
Download the program and run it, Firefox should be much faster now.
And here's a guide to speeding up Firefox
Hmm, I don't think so. I've been running Windows 7 x64 in various forms for the past year and I've never had trouble with Firefox crashing, although Windows 7 could have better compatibility for x86 apps, I suppose.
I also don't have memory problems running FF (3.5.4), I normally use 1 window with 3-7 tabs open at a time and it never seems to take up more than 200MB. I wonder is it due to the way that I browse?
I always go back to my homepage when I'm finished on a webpage, I don't keep on going and building up a large history on one tab. I can see how that might cause memory to be built up over a day.
Hmm, I don't think so. I've been running Windows 7 x64 in various forms for the past year and I've never had trouble with Firefox crashing, although Windows 7 could have better compatibility for x86 apps, I suppose.
I also don't have memory problems running FF (3.5.4), I normally use 1 window with 3-7 tabs open at a time and it never seems to take up more than 200MB. I wonder is it due to the way that I browse?
I thought it might be due to the way I browse too, which is why I tried to close all tabs, restrict open tabs to the first few pages or so, and clear my closed tabs list. Nothing beneficial happened, and Firefox still gorged on 1.5Gb of available RAM.
Try something not mainstream. The mainstream browsers are both feature packed and correspondingly resource hungry.
I'm currently giving Camino a whirl. It has a few kinks, such as the cursor drawn in the wrong place as I type this very sentence, but all things considered, it's the quickest browser I've used. It scrolls nice aswell. I like a browser that scrolls nice. Firefox doesn't.
I'm currently giving Camino a whirl. It has a few kinks, such as the cursor drawn in the wrong place as I type this very sentence, but all things considered, it's the quickest browser I've used. It scrolls nice aswell. I like a browser that scrolls nice. Firefox doesn't.
^^ Well so far, Opera is probably (still) the least mainstream of the Big Five, and having gone back to it last night, it's working fine - scrolling, browsing, searching is all much better and less bloated than Firefox. I didn't like the later versions of Opera 9.xx, but version 10 seems to be doing the business right now.
I started off in Opera, so it feels like a bit of a homecoming for me.
I started off in Opera, so it feels like a bit of a homecoming for me.
That's very odd, but from what I've heard over the years it seems like my experience is the exception rather than the rule. Currently Firefox is using around 160-170MB with four tabs open, and my computer is using a total of 960MB from 4GB. With a few more programs open it might get as high as 1500MB in total, but it never seems to get higher unless I'm playing a game.
Hmm, I don't think so. I've been running Windows 7 x64 in various forms for the past year and I've never had trouble with Firefox crashing, although Windows 7 could have better compatibility for x86 apps, I suppose.
I also don't have memory problems running FF (3.5.4), I normally use 1 window with 3-7 tabs open at a time and it never seems to take up more than 200MB. I wonder is it due to the way that I browse?
I thought it might be due to the way I browse too, which is why I tried to close all tabs, restrict open tabs to the first few pages or so, and clear my closed tabs list. Nothing beneficial happened, and Firefox still gorged on 1.5Gb of available RAM.
1.5GB is absolutely absurd
Even the Mozilla documentation says that memory usage on Windows should only go as high as 150mb.
I checked MozillaZine and I came across this
Apparently Firefox is built to use more memory on systems with more ram, this is probably one of the reasons why it bloats your system so much.
I agree with the complaints about Firefox's memory issues, but for what it's worth, it's only a problem during start up (and my rig is about 4 years old with the newest parts being around 2 years).
As it stands, from the FF 3.6 beta 1, it runs pretty nicely.
As it stands, from the FF 3.6 beta 1, it runs pretty nicely.
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