What To Do If The Mozila Firefox Browser Slows Down - Reasons And Solutions

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Mozilla Firefox slows down: causes and solutions

Although Mozilla Firefox positions itself as a fast browser, its work can clearly slow down over time: pages take a long time to load, the browser does not immediately respond to mouse clicks. What can be done in this case? Let's consider both the reasons and the solutions.

Content

• 1 Why Mozilla Firefox started to slow down

• 2 How to solve the problem

  • 2.1 Disable unused plugins

  • 2.2 Disable extensions

    2.2.1 Video: how to disable extensions in Mozilla

  • 2.3 Clearing cache and history

    • 2.3.1 Video: how to clear cache in Mozilla Firefox
    • 2.3.2 Setting up automatic cleaning of Mozilla Firefox
  • 2.4 Settings to enable Firefox immediately after Windows starts

  • 2.5 Mozilla Update

    • 2.5.1 Updating through the About Firefox window
    • 2.5.2 Installing a new version over an old one
    • 2.5.3 Video: How to Update Firefox Browser Easily

• 3 How to speed up the browser using third-party programs

  • 3.1 FireTune: tweak and optimize Firefox
  • 3.2 SpeedyFox: speed up Firefox in one click

Why Mozilla Firefox started to slow down

Mozilla Firefox is a smart browser. Unfortunately, many newbies start to get frustrated with it after using it for a while. Don't jump to conclusions that the browser is bad. The slowdown of any browser is often not related to its quality, but lies in its misuse.

Mozilla's slow work has several reasons:

1. Lots of browser plugins included. These are special utilities installed inside the browser. Serve to run and view various content on sites. They run in the background and can slow down Mozilla Firefox if there are a lot of them. Plugins cannot be removed, but can be disabled to improve browser performance.
2. A large number of extensions are installed. These are additional mini-programs inside the browser that extend its functionality. Unlike plugins, extensions can be removed. If a user has installed and enabled many add-ons at the same time for different purposes (ad blocking, VPN service, downloading video and audio from web resources, etc.), then Mozilla Firefox may not withstand such a load: its work will slow down, since additional processes will take up too much RAM. Exit - remove or disable unnecessary extensions.
3. The cache and browser history are full. All information about visited sites and downloads, cookies, passwords and data for auto-filling forms are stored in the Mozilla Firefox database. As data accumulates, the browser begins to slow down, as it has less and less space to save information. Clearing the cache and history will significantly speed up Mozilla's performance.
4. Many tabs with heavy content are open: video, music, and images. Close unnecessary tabs and the browser will come to life.
5. Together with "Mozilla" another browser or another utility is launched that "eats up" a lot of RAM. Close all programs on your PC that you are not currently using to make Mozilla Firefox run faster.
6. The browser is not up to date. If you have a clean cache and browsing history, you do not use a lot of extensions, it is possible that your Mozilla is missing updates. As a rule, the update is installed automatically in the background, but the system can crash. As a result, a browser that is not updated to the latest version will lack certain elements to work properly.
7. An error occurred while installing the new version. If Mozilla started to slow down after the update, it is possible that the update was installed incorrectly. The way out is to install a fresh version over the old one.

How to solve the problem

What specific steps do I need to take to resolve the issue with crashes and slowdowns in the Mozilla Firefox browser?

Disable unused plugins

How to disable previously installed plugins in Mozilla? Follow these steps:

1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser menu (icon with three horizontal lines in the upper right corner). Select the "Add-ons" block.

   

   Find the "Add-ons" item in the Mozilla Firefox menu

2. A new "Add-ons Management" tab will open. Go to the Plugins section. You will see a list of all plugins installed in Mozilla.

   

   Go to the Plugins tab

3. There will be a description under each plugin. To disable an item, expand the Always Enable menu and select the Never Enable option. You will be able to enable plugins as needed in the future.

   

   Set to "Never enable" for each plugin you want to disable
4. Close the tab.

The plugin can be part of an extension. In this case, you can not only disable it, but also remove it completely from the list. To do this, you need to remove the extension itself.

Disable extensions

Extensions are useful programs. However, a browser filled with a lot of add-ons will not be able to work fully and quickly. How do I disable extensions that are not currently needed?

1. Open the "Manage Add-ons" tab as described in the "Disable unused plugins" section of this article.

2. Switch to the "Extensions" tab. A list of all the add-ons that you have previously installed in Mozilla Firefox will appear.

   

   Disable or enable unnecessary extensions

3. To temporarily stop the extension from working, click on "Disable" in the line of one or another add-on.
4. If you do not need it at all, remove it from "Mozilla": click on "Remove".
5. Restart your browser.

You can turn the extension back on at any time, but remember that several concurrent add-ons slow down Mozilla's work.

Video: how to disable extensions in Mozilla

Clearing cache and history

Complete cleaning of the browser from browsing history, cookies and other data is performed as follows:

1. Open the Mozilla Firefox menu. Click on the "Library" item with the left mouse button.

   

   Open the "Add-ons" section

2. Select the "Journal" section.

   

   Select the "Journal" block in the list

3. Click on the "Delete history …" option.

   

   Click on the option "Delete history …"

4. Click on "All".

   

   Click on the "All" option

5. Check the boxes next to the items you could get rid of. Be sure to mark the following types of data: "History of visits and downloads", "Cookies", "Cache", "Active sessions".

   

   Check all the boxes to delete data

6. Click on "Delete Now".

Video: how to clear cache in Mozilla Firefox

Configuring automatic cleaning of Mozilla Firefox

If you do not want to manually permanently delete unnecessary data from Mozilla and you do not need your browsing history and other information, configure the removal of all unnecessary files after each browser shutdown. It will not be overloaded with unnecessary information and will work noticeably faster.

1. Open the "Mozilla" menu. Select "Settings".

2. Go to the "Privacy & Security" tab.

   

   Open the "Privacy & Security" tab

3. In the second block "History" click on the line "Will remember history" to open the drop-down menu. Select the value "Will not remember history" (information will not be saved at all) or "Will use your history storage settings" (data will be deleted after closing Mozilla).

   

   Set the choice to "Will not remember history" or "Will use your history storage settings"

4. Close the tab.

Settings to turn Firefox on immediately after Windows starts

You can speed up Mozilla by adding it to the Prefetch folder. It stores files that contain information about which programs and files the user uses most often. Each time Windows starts, the system takes data from these prefetch files and speeds up the loading of the priority utilities. What needs to be done to get Mozilla Firefox in this folder?

1. Find the Mozilla Firefox shortcut on your Desktop. Click on it with the right mouse button.

2. In the context menu, left-click on "Properties".

   

   Select the last item "Properties" in the context menu of the shortcut "Mozilla"

3. In the small window that opens, go to the "Shortcut" section.

   

   Find the "Object" field in the "Label" tab

4. In the "Object" field at the end of the shortcut address, add the following text: / Prefetch: 1.

   

   Add phrase / Prefetch: 1

5. Click on OK. The browser will be added to the prefetch folder.

Mozilla update

What if the automatic updating of Mozilla didn't work? There are two ways to manually update this browser.

Updating through the About Firefox window

Help the browser update itself: run the search for available fresh versions as follows:

1. In the main menu "Mozilla" click on the penultimate item "Help".

   

   Click on the "Help" section in the "Mozilla" menu

2. Select "About Firefox".

   

   Click on the "About Firefox" section

3. Open a new window in which the program will start searching for updates. Please wait a few seconds.

   

   Checking for updates

4. If the system finds available updates for your browser, it will immediately download and install them.

5. If the update is not needed, the message "The latest version of Firefox is installed" appears.

   

   The latest Firefox version is installed

Installing a new version over an old one

If the browser cannot find updates in the About Firefox window (the “Check for Updates” message hangs or a search error notification appears), download the fresh installer from the official browser resource. In this case, it is not necessary to delete the old version - the new one is installed over the old one. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the official website to download the Mozilla Firefox installer.

2. Click on the green Download Now button.

   

   Click on the green Download Now button

3. Open the downloaded file.

   

   Open the downloaded installer of the new version

4. Click on the "Yes" button.

5. The system will automatically install the latest version over the old one and launch the browser. In this case, it is important that the window of the old version of Mozilla Firefox is closed.

   

   The installer will start installing the new version files by itself

Video: how to easily update your Firefox browser

How to speed up your browser using third-party programs

You can increase the performance of a browser or some other utility using special accelerators. What are these programs and how to configure them?

FireTune: customize and optimize Firefox

FireTune is a free program to tune Firefox according to your internet connection speed and computer power. Allows you to optimize the browser and solve the problem with braking in a few clicks. FireTune works in automatic mode: you only select values for the current Internet speed and PC power, and the utility itself changes a number of parameters in the settings.

FireTune works with Firefox Portable as well. When launching the accelerator, you only need to specify the path to the portable browser option.

The program does not have an official download source. You will have to use third party sites. Download only from trusted resources that you trust, otherwise you risk downloading a virus to your PC.

1. Run the FireTune.exe file in the downloaded archive.

2. In the Performance Optimizations tab, check Slow Computer / Slow Connection.

   

   Check the box next to Slow Computer / Slow Connection

3. Click on the Tune It button.

SpeedyFox: speed up Firefox in one click

SpeedyFox is a free fire fox accelerator that effectively brings it to life with just one click. How does SpeedyFox work? It defragments and compresses the browser database with visited pages, cookies and other information. As a result, Firefox becomes easy to search for values in this database - its speed increases. Plus utilities - it accelerates not only Mozilla Firefox, but also Google Chrome, Yandex Browser, Skype, Thunderbird and Opera. The program interface is in English. A version for Mas OS is available.

The application does not require installation. It is enough to download the archive and open the file.

1. Go to the official website to download the program. Click on "Download for Windows".

   

   Click on the green "Download for Windows" button

2. Open the archive.

   

   Open the downloaded archive with accelerator

3. Run the only file that is in it.

   

   Run the file in the archive

4. Check the box next to Firefox and your browser profile. Close the browser itself otherwise the accelerator will not be able to access the browser profile.

   

   Check boxes next to Firefox browser and profile

5. Click on Optimize.

6. The program will optimize your browser within a few seconds.

   

   Firefox has been optimized successfully

Mozilla Firefox can start to slow down for many reasons, from a full cache and a large number of open tabs to an error during a recent update. The solution to the problem follows from its cause, so do not rush to part with Mozilla if it starts to work slowly. You can also improve browser performance using special utilities - accelerators, for example, FireTune and SpeedyFox.