Firefox 2 or 3 - which uses more ram & CPU?

[BrownSugar]

I've had Firefox loaded for quite some time and added/deleted alot of add-on/extensions in that period. Now it seems to run very slowly when I have several tabs opened, and it also can use up to 150 mg ram before it slows down and I have to use the task manager to end the process.

 

I've also noticed that the menu selection "Help/About" shows that the version number is 2.0.0.16, yet when I right click on Firefox.exe file properties in Windows Explorer, the version number is 1.8.20080.4669. Can someone please check their version number of Firefox.exe using the file properties menu?

 

Is it time to reinstall version 2? I can easily copy the default profile, but I'd like to just keep my bookmarks and start adding extensions to a clean install. Is it just a matter of uninstalling, then doing a clean install and copying the bookmarks.html file back into the new profile?

[Humpty]

Still using 2.0.0.15 here.

 

Out of curiosity could you tell me the sizes of the files urlclassifier3.sqlite and urlclassifier2.sqlite that relate to FF's "Tell me if a site is a suspected forgery" setting.

 

Here I turn off "Tell me if a site is a suspected forgery" and delete both files as I run FF with noscript and sandboxed.

 

These files seem to be loaded into memory when FF starts and could be the reason for the bloat?

Mozilla Article

Deleting urlclassifier2.sqlite will delete anti-phishing data. The file will be recreated and the data reloaded on next start up. Note, the new file may be significantly smaller since the database becomes fragmented over time. In other words, the same information will fit into less space. See Bug 383031 - how to shrink the urlclassifier2.sqllite file.

 

Users who want to minimize the size of their profile, such as for portable browsing, have several options:

 

* Disable anti-Phishing in ?Tools → Options → Security / Tell me... forgery? and delete the file.

* Change the default ?Check using a downloaded list of suspected sites? to ?Check by asking _____ about each site I visit? located under ?Tools → Options → Security / Tell me... forgery? (which changes the value of browser.safebrowsing.remoteLookups), and delete the file.

* Use the default anti-Phishing settings, but delete the file so it will be recreated with reduced fragmentation.

[YoKenny]

I'm liking Sleipnir browser as it only takes 47.8MB RAM and it is really fast.

 

Also see:

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=16840

[DennisD]

I've also noticed that the menu selection Help/About show that the version number is 2.0.0.16, yet when I right click on Firefox.exe file properties in Windows Explorer, the version number is 1.8.20080.4669. Can someone please check their version number of Firefox.exe using the file properties menu?

 

Yep, my "file version" number is the same, but in the same tab, the "product version" comes up as 2.0.0.16.

[BrownSugar]

Still using 2.0.0.15 here.

 

Out of curiosity could you tell me the sizes of the files urlclassifier3.sqlite and urlclassifier2.sqlite that relate to FF's "Tell me if a site is a suspected forgery" setting.

 

 

I have the urlclassifier2.sqlite file in my profile folder, and it's a bit large at 7.4 mg. After reading your link and a few others, I think the best solution is to rename the file and let Firefox automatically download a new one.

 

I think I solved the problem of most of my Firefox bloat. I enabled logging in my one of my extensions and the log.txt file was 41 mg in size! This file was in one of the Firefox profile extension subdirectories. I deleted it, disabled logging for that extension, and Firefox runs a bit smoother.

 

I think part of the browsing problem is Adblock Plus running in addition to Avira's Webguard and Zone Alarm Pro's cookie and code controls with Ad Blocking. With all this checking going on, it's amazing that the page loads at all!

[Anthony A]

I am not impressed with FF 3 to be honest. I find it buggy and clunky compared to FF2. It launches slower and loads pages slower and the Google Tool Bar Spell checker does not work properly. I will be stying with FF2 until the bugs are worked out of FF3. Opera is better than FF2 or FF3 any day.