Fix your Firefox Memory Usage/Leak

[Miyuki]

Everyone loves Firefox right? For their addons, multiple tabs, fast browsing...but there's one thing in common
- The memory usage problem.

Sometime it will even reaches like 300MB of memory usage, just for few tabs opened, and this kinda..well, some people might have limited memory and the memory leak problems kinda annoying.

Here's somew few tips on how to reduce your Firefox memory usage, and also the memory leaks problem.

There will be few steps involving editing the default configurations, and also creating new integer/boolean @ config.

1.

- First, type this in your firefox address bar and enter

- Just click on "I'll becareful, I promise!" button.
- Then, right-click on the page, New->Integer. And enter this integer

- You can set the value, like 10240, depending how much cache memory you want to assign.
- More info: Browser.cache.memory.capacity - MozillaZine Knowledge Base
- Just make sure your browser.cache.memory.enable set to TRUE.

2.

- Still on about:config page, right-click and select New->Boolean. Enter this

- And set to TRUE.
- This will attempt to reduce the firefox memory usage once you minimized the Firefox browser.
- Might not work everytime.

3.

- Still on about:config page, too. Locate this

- If it's not available, right-click New->Integer
- Enter any values on 5-10, depending on the tabs you normally open.

4.

- Now go to Tools->Options.
- Click on Advanced->Network.
- Check on your Offline Storage, normally I just set it around 50~100MB.

Below is experimental addon, but you can choose not to install it if you want to.
5.

- Now, for firefox addons [still experimental, but it's really a nice addon, stable so far]
- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/53880
- Tick "Let me install this experimental addon-on"
- And install the addon.
- Restart your firefox
- There will be a green "M" icon below your firefox status bar, bottom right.
- Right-click on it and select Options.
- Tick the "Activate automatically memory fox when the firefox browser is 1st launched".
- Click OK.

6.

- Extra.
- Firefox starts up slow lately? IT might be due to fragmented database.
- CCleaner can fixes this, but you can also use this tool.
- http://www.crystalidea.com/speedyfox
- Just close firefox, and use the tool to optimizes your Firefox.

Here's my firefox usage with 15 tabs opened

Spoiler!

No more overused memory for firefox

Alright, those tweak should fixes your firefox memory usage/leak issues, if you have any questions, please don't mind to post it here

[mishka]

Thanks for this! Already noticing a drop to 30 MB \o/

[Miyuki]

Enjoy your less mem-firefox usage :x

[Skiegh]

I'm not a huge tab heavy person but I have been aware of Firefox's usage ever since it upgraded it's interface. So thank you very much.

[ArturiaPendragon]

Wow Miyu, I really don't know how did you get to do all this. XD Are you a computer professor at a university somewhere? oAo;;

Thanks for the help~ I'll try to do this later, and hopefully there are no side effects on this.

[Laughatyou21]

Oooohh wow, mine went down like 100000. Thanks!

[1stsim144]

I'm not going to install the add-on since well, its EXPERIMENTAL. lol

But I followed the rest of the instruction and O_O
Im on 90k!

[Skiegh]

Originally Posted by 1stsim144

I'm not going to install the add-on since well, its EXPERIMENTAL. lol

But I followed the rest of the instruction and O_O
Im on 90k!

The only problem I see with the add-on is that when you do the selected option that Miyu suggests (have it turn on every time you open firefox), it takes a second for each window to load.

It's nice having firefox below 50,000 for once though.

[WhatThePho]

I'm at 1/10 of what is used to be lol...

[kag]

thanks, didn't know about the top few tweaks

Didn't really do much for me.
I realised that memory leaks have to do with the page you visit as well rather than firefox itself but memory fox helps to clear away all these memory leaks from those crappy sites.
I've seen people who left facebook games overnight and it shot from 300MB to 500MB usage. Yea, eww facebook, maybe they already fixed it.

[Miyuki]

Added a tool link for optimizing your firefox ;x

[SkillzKillz]

This would have been useful on my 256mb PC

But now I have 8 gigs. Word. All PC's today can handle FF, lol.

[Point]

I don't have the browser.cache.memory.capacity in my FF list. O.o Should I make one...?

[Miyuki]

^ it's already stated ....?

[Vaizado]

18k with one tab
don't really need it though lol

[Note]

fasterfox add-on pretty much helps with speed too..

btw, thanks miyuki..

[Kebin]

The memory firefox takes up has been a huge problem for me for a while now and after I did this with one tab firefox is taking 70,000 when it used to take 150,000+ Thank you so much I can already notice a speedup~ Fasterfox helps a ton too!

+rep

[Skiegh]

Afom.exe does this belong to memory fox? I know it's a firefox add-on but I am not sure as to which.

Anyways, I got an error from afom.exe and anything I clicked on I downloaded until I restarted firefox. It was kind of weird.

Only add-ons I have are adblock Plus, Memoryfox and Java quick starter. Memoryfox is in beta I believe so I entirely expect it to sometimes crash for one reason or another. I just want to double check if this exe belongs to it or something else.

Thanks in advance.

[Miyuki]

You could try disable the addon as well.

[Skiegh]

Originally Posted by Miyuki

You could try disable the addon as well.

That's true but it required me to close my firefox at the time and I had something up that I didn't want to lose.

Anyways, it does belong to Memoryfox so if anyone gets an error from afom.exe don't uh... click anything.