Why is Firefox using so much memory and how to fix it?
- If Firefox is using too much memory, it might be clogged by extensions or unnecessary settings.
- Another reason for Firefox consuming too much memory is intrusive content or certain scrips.
- So to cut on Firefox RAM usage, you will need to check and tweak several browser settings.
- In the end, if all these don't solve the Firefox high memory usage problem, try a lighter browser.
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Firefox is one of the most popular web browsers on the market. However, Firefox has its issues and many users report that it uses too much memory on their Windows 10 PC.
This can be a major problem, so today we’re going to show you how to fix it.
Why does Firefox use so much memory? Sometimes, it’s a matter of an outdated browser. Also, the issue is commonly triggered by corrupted data or too much cache.
Extensions and certain browser values also affect how Firefox behaves on your system, so we’ll look into these too.
How do I control Firefox using too much RAM?
1. Switch to a different browser or upgrade your RAM
If none of the previous solutions work, you might want to try using a different browser. Some PCs can’t handle Firefox, so be sure to try an alternative browser.
That is why we are recommending that you choose a lightweight alternative called Opera. This web browser uses the Chromium engine and features one of the lowest memory requirements of all web browsers.
It has an extremely modern UI that you can further upgrade using the built-in settings, and even go beyond that thanks to the extensive add-on support, allowing to specialize the browser in whatever direction interests you most.
Opera
A web browser that has incredibly low resource requirements, even when multiple tabs are opened simulatenously.
2. Update Firefox to the latest version
After updating Firefox to the latest version, check if memory issues still persist.
3. Start Firefox in Safe Mode
You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode with a useful keyboard shortcut. To do so, be sure to close Firefox completely first.
After that, you can start Firefox by doing the following:
After starting Firefox in Safe Mode, check if the problem still persists. If memory problems are gone, it means that your configuration or a third-party extension is causing problems with Firefox.
Disable extensions one by one and see how the browser behaves. Hopefully, you’ll find the problematic plugin in no time.
4. Switch to the default theme
After selecting the Default theme, restart Firefox, and check if everything is working properly.
Many users like to customize Firefox with new themes. Although some themes look visually impressive, they can use too much of your memory.
To fix this problem, it’s advised you switch back to the default theme and check if your memory usage changes.
5. Disable all extensions
- If the issue is resolved, you need to go back to the Extensions tab and enable extensions one by one.
- Be sure to restart Firefox after enabling each extension.
Users had issues with Ghostery, Skype Click to Call, Greasemonkey, and dictionary extensions. If you’re using these extensions, we advise you to disable them and check if that solves the issue.
If you don’t use custom Firefox themes, you might want to disable third-party extensions. Extensions can often cause increased memory usage and in order to fix it, we advise you to disable all extensions.
6. Disable specific plugins
In addition to extensions, certain plugins can cause memory issues with Firefox. To fix the problem, you might want to try disabling certain plugins.
If you need to use that specific plug-in, be sure to update it to the latest version and check if that solves the problem.
7. Hide intrusive content
Certain web content can be quite demanding on your resources and in order to prevent high memory usage you might have to hide it.
According to users, certain scripts can be quite hungry in terms of resources so you’ll have to disable them. To do that, you’ll need to use third-party extensions.
The NoScript extension will allow you to choose the scripts to disable on specific websites.
Keep in mind that disabling certain scripts can affect how some websites work, so choose carefully which scripts you disable.
8. Restart Firefox
You can temporarily fix this problem by restarting Firefox. Some users reported that Firefox memory usage can increase if the application is running for prolonged periods of time, so be sure to try this solution.
While this is a temporary workaround, it should work for most users.
9. Close unnecessary tabs
Each open tab increases the amount of memory Firefox uses. If you tend to have more than ten tabs open at all times, you might experience certain memory issues.
In order to improve performance and fix this problem, we strongly advise you close unnecessary tabs and keep only the ones you need open.
10. Close other applications
Open tabs in Firefox will increase your memory usage, but other applications can also contribute to this problem.
Some applications can be quite demanding on your resources and that can leave less memory available to Firefox.
If you’re having any memory issues with Firefox, we recommend that you close any demanding applications running in the background. By doing that, you’ll free your memory and improve Firefox performance.
11. Use about:memory feature
- You can also free your memory with ease.
- To do that, click Minimize memory usage button in the Free memory section.
12. Change Firefox settings
- If you get a warning message, choose the proceed option.
- browser.cache.memory.capacity to 0
- browser.cache.memory.enable to false
- browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers to 0
- browser.tabs.animate to disable
- browser.sessionstore.max_concurrent_tabs to 0
In addition, you can also try changing these options:
- javascript.options.jit.chrome to true
- javascript.options.jit.content to true
- content.notify.backoffcount to 5
- network.dns.disableIPv6 to true
- network.http.pipelining to true
- network.http.proxy.pipelining to true
- network.http.pipelining.maxrequests to 8
- plugin.expose_full_path to true
- ui.submenuDelay to 0
- network.http.proxy pipelining to true
- security.dialog_enable_delay to 0
- browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone to false
13. Reduce memory usage when Firefox is minimized
- A list of options will now appear.
- To do that, right-click on the list below and choose New > Boolean.
If this solution doesn’t fix the problem, you can remove the newly created option or simply disable it.
14. Change browser.sessionhistory.max_entries value
15. Change browser.cache.disk.capacity value
- Change the value to 50000 or any other value.
- Be sure to use the value that is lower than the default value.
After making the changes restart Firefox and check if the problem is resolved. Keep in mind that changing this value can reduce your performance and make Firefox slower.
If Firefox becomes too slow, be sure to use a higher value or revert it to default.
According to users, you can fix this problem by changing the browser.cache.disk.capacity option. By changing this option, you can limit the amount of memory that Firefox uses.
By doing so, you’ll reduce performance but you’ll also cap the amount of memory Firefox uses.
16. Use Firemin
If you’re having issues with memory usage on Firefox, you might be able to solve that issue by using Firemin.
This tool allows Firefox to release unused memory periodically and drastically reduce memory usage as a result.
The tool is free and simple to use and if Firefox uses too much memory, be sure to download Firemin. There’s also a portable version available so you don’t have to install the application in order to run it.
High memory usage on Firefox will affect your PC performance, but you should be able to fix it by using one of our solutions listed above.
If any of them worked for you, be sure to tell us in the comments section below. Also, if you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to drop them there, too.
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