Having browser trouble (Firefox), need help

[darkwing_duck1]

I finally got a browser besides MSN when I moved so I could drop the MSN account and save money. I dl-d Firefox, because I'd heard a lot of people say they used it and liked it.

Well, I'm having trouble with it. Even when I have a good connection to the wi-fi router where I live now, it's slow as a snail to load pages, and it's contstantly fighting with gmail (won't hardly ever load consistently). Seeing as how FF seems to be built AROUND Google and it's add ons, this seems strange.

I've looked online (when I can get on and stay on long enough), and there is lots of general talk about "fixing" the problem. Only thing is all that talk presumes that you've got experience with tweaking software settings.

Is there an EASY, simple to follow step by step process out there (or can someone come up with one) that will make Firefox load in good time consistently and stop fighting with Gmail?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

FF was not built around Google, you're thinking of Chrome.

Anyway, it looks like this is normally the result of the HTTP keep-alive setting. You can disable it by entering "about:config" in your address bar.

Search through the options and find this one: network.http.keep-alive

Set it to "false".

That should resolve the problem--at least, it appears to do so for many people experiencing slow page loads.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Thanks...I made the adjustment...now hoping it works...

 

[Brent]

Maybe you just have a poor internet connection? Do other browsers act this same way on your computer?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

darkwing is on dial-up.

 

[RobertVA]

"...so I could drop the MSN account and save money." sounds like Darkwing may have had a msn internet access dial up account.

Later in the same message Darkwing mentions more recent access through a "wi-fi router" which would normally be attached to a wired DSL, fiber optic or coax/cable broadband connection. That broadband connection might be a household account or some retail/public account like a coffee shop or library. Under most circumstances the Wi-Fi link is capable of higher speeds than the link between the router and the rest of the Internet. DSL lines might be particularly problematic if the line quality is poor (or distance to the switching office is approaching its limits).

While I can't be certain their policy has remained the same, I've been using my msn.com email address since I closed my msn access account and switched to cable Internet access several years ago. I've been using the hotmail.com web interface through Firefox for most of that time, although although Internet Explorer works well (you will have to enter the msn.com domain name as part of the log in). Note that failure to log into a non paid Hotmail account for a month or two might result in its closure.

I did notice very sluggish performance and significant hard drive activity before I upgraded my computer to 2GB main RAM. Sluggish performance accompanied by hard drive activity is often the result of a GUI operating system utilizing virtual memory (sometimes refered to as a "swap file") when the demands of the Operating system and application(s) exceed the actual electronic memory installed in the computer. This can be aggravated if many add-ons are used with Firefox. I just checked Windows task manager and saw that Firefox is using over 900 MBs of memory, so even if it was the only application running it would be making heavy use of virtual memory if I had much less than 1 1/2 GB of RAM.

I have noticed that Firefox tends to use a big percentage of the CPU cycles after it has been running for a while.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I guess it's unclear what kind of service darkwing is using now. Clue us in, dude!

Also, if you're using an old computer, performance is going to be shit no matter what browser you use.

 

[SVD]

Also, if you're using an old computer, performance is going to be shit no matter what browser you use.

Second that! my Dinosaur (1.2 ghz processor 256 MB RAM) with XP on it really became the shits for internet with these modern web pages before a virus finally ate it. Very taxing, the animated ads and other scripts especially.

Getting my new laptop Internet ready shortly thereafter took care of that, though.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

I'm on an older, but decent system for "surfing": ~500M RAM, 1.8G processor and using a wi-fi connection that the place I'm living in now offers as part of the rent (thus my closing my MSN account and planning to drop my landline phone service sometime very soon).

When the connection is up (I am at a distance from the nearest router/hub/whatever it's called), it works REALLY well (about 1/3 of the time), works ok/slowly about 1/3 of the time, and then there's the annoying 1/3 of the time that even if I get a signal, it won't let me in (won't issue an IP address or issues an invalid one). Building maintenance is aware of the situation, but says that on their end things seem to be ok.

Part of it I know is probably the distance to the hub, but when Maint was last over to look at it, he was surprised when HE couldn't connect from here either, so I have to think that there's probably a hub issue somewhere in the mix.

I tried Robert's workaround, and it seems to have helped a bit. Still having trouble, but improved over what it was.

 

[scotpens]

. . . my Dinosaur (1.2 ghz processor 256 MB RAM) with XP on it really became the shits for internet with these modern web pages before a virus finally ate it. Very taxing, the animated ads and other scripts especially.

Sometimes when I'm on an older computer or using an old version of Firefox and page loading is slow on graphics-heavy and advertising-heavy sites, I just disable JavaScript. Right now I'm posting with JavaScript turned off. The only drawback is having to type in all the HTML formatting codes manually.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It sounds like the wi-fi is likely the problem, to be honest. Even if it looks like you have a decent signal, it may not be enough to have a functional connection. They should put another access point closer to your apartment or something.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

^Don't see that happening...though there is talk about them replacing it sometime down the road with a cable modem system.

I think Google is partly the problem too. Sometimes I can bring up webpages just fine, but Gmail will NOT even activate when I click on the "inbox" link. Gmail's been acting "off" for awhile now (I was having trouble with it even on the other system).

My friend Ben has been having similar issues with Yahoo mail...is there something about 3rd party comm programs that is making them fight with browers and OSes?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I have rarely had issues with Gmail or any other online service.

What you could do, if you can swing it, is get a wireless repeater. That's likely going to have a better antenna than what's in your computer, and then you'd get a stronger signal (hopefully.) I realize that's $40 that might be better spent on something else, it's just a thought.

Are you trying to use Gmail's "fancy" mode or just the basic HTML mode? You might stick with basic HTML if it's being slow for you.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

^I already do stick with basic HTML on Google for just that reason.

I don't see getting a repeater any time soon. I had to scrape, finagle and at one point borrow just to get my wi-fi adapter.

Thanks all for the help though. I just have to keep telling myself ($21.95 less I spend each month)...

 

[FrankR]

Now do you have the same problem when you try and connect to g-mail using either internet explorer or chrome?

if you have an external antenna for your wifi, then you might be able to make a DIY parabolic reflector for it:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&q=DIY+wifi+booster&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Now do you have the same problem when you try and connect to g-mail using either internet explorer or chrome?

Gmail was acting squirrlly even on IE back when I was on dial up, but it got a lot worse when I moved.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that the wi-fi router is a part of the problem. All I can do is keep on Maintenance until they fix whatever is wrong with it (because it's more than just distance).

if you have an external antenna for your wifi, then you might be able to make a DIY parabolic reflector for it:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&q=DIY+wifi+booster&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Will wonders never cease? I don't know when or how I could do that, but it's an option to look at. Thanks for the link.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I finally got a browser besides MSN when I moved so I could drop the MSN account and save money. I dl-d Firefox, because I'd heard a lot of people say they used it and liked it.

Well, I'm having trouble with it. Even when I have a good connection to the wi-fi router where I live now, it's slow as a snail to load pages, and it's contstantly fighting with gmail (won't hardly ever load consistently). Seeing as how FF seems to be built AROUND Google and it's add ons, this seems strange.

I've looked online (when I can get on and stay on long enough), and there is lots of general talk about "fixing" the problem. Only thing is all that talk presumes that you've got experience with tweaking software settings.

Is there an EASY, simple to follow step by step process out there (or can someone come up with one) that will make Firefox load in good time consistently and stop fighting with Gmail?

Press Ctrl/Alt/Del and go to Processes and check to make sure your internet is only going through Firefox and not Explorer or some other Browser as well as Firefox.
I had a similar problem and it turned out that my internet was having a ghost effect with ghost windows being opened in Explorer.
I opened my firewall and disallowed all access to the internet for Explorer and the problem was solved.

 

[Count Zero]

Well, I do love Firefox, but it can be a bit slow at times, especially when it's been running for a while. It's known to be a memory hog. You might want to give Opera a try. It's also a free browser, though not open source, which is pretty fast and quite comfortable to use (mouse gestures included). It doesn't have the whole add-on thing, though, which is why I'm sticking to Firefox.

 

[Australis]

Might also be the version of FF. The latest hasn't been too bad, but there were a couple of releases that were complete process/RAM hogs.

I have a similar system to you, but broadband, so I get where you're at. I'm trying the turning off thing mentioned upthread as well, just to see if it makes a difference.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

As near as I can tell, I don't have a "ghost" problem, and I'm running FF in "safe" mode to minimize delay time caused by AVG insisting on pre-scanning everything before it lets me see it. I already have AVG set to block any executables without my explicit permission, so link pre-scanning is in my mind an unnecessary duplication of effort, and a waste of RAM/processor capacity.

Right now it seems to be going well...I get booted occasionally for awhile, but nowhere near as bad as it was right around the time I started this thread.