Firefox painfully slow

moorele

Hi,

I've been using firefox without any problems for a while. The other day after downloading a file it started to act up not letting me download anything and it has become ridiculously slow. Have solved the download issue but cant seem to solve the slow problem.

Everytime i click the mouse in firefox the colorwheel appears for about 20seconds or so. Its slows everything down immensely and makes opening an email an ordeal. Sometimes if i type to fast the colorwheel appears for a while too. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I had a look online and tried some of the suggestions including one which said it was something to do with the latest update of firefox so downgraded to an older version (1.5.0.7) but no luck. Another suggestion was altering some settings in about:config but this hasnt worked either!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated as always!

Dorsanty

Clear out all private data i.e. clear your cache.

Check your addons. Did you download and install a new addon?
Try a new profile via profile manager,

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing+profiles#Mac

If it's your profile then see about cleaning it up or moving your bookmarks and good addons into the new one.

moorele

First thing i did was cleared all private data and deleted all add-ons (there were only 2 default ones).

Just deleted the firefox profile and created a new as per the link above but still the same.

When I type in an address e.g. google.ie or click on a link - to me its like the computer pauses & takes a moment to think about it... The colorwheel appears for about 20seconds or so but when the computer finally decides ok go on I'll open that page it loads pretty instantly... if that makes sense?! The pages themselves dont take long to load just making the decision to load them takes forever! Does that make sense or am i talkin ****e?

sailorfoley

i had a similar issue with Firefox 2 on my mac and i have switched to the Firefox 3 beta 4 and it's a vast improvement. Try it out.

Dorsanty

sailorfoley wrote: »

i have switched to the Firefox 3 beta 4 and it's a vast improvement. Try it out.

Just fyi in case anyone tries, beta5 is the current beta release of ff3

moorele

Just downloaded Firefox 3 beta 5 and seems to be a bit better... still hanging and showing the colorwheel but not for as long! Thanks for that!!! & must say i quite like the new look too!!!

Teh Russ

+1 to getting Firefox 3 Beta. Way, way faster.

Also, how much RAM do you have in your Mac, and what version of OS X are you running? Basically, more RAM - way faster Mac. Also, Leopard seems to run a fair bit faster than Tiger used to, so if you haven't upgraded yet, now might be the time.

moorele

Ok i take it back... its still ridiculously slow!!!

On Macbook pro OS X version 10.4.10 & have 2gb of RAM.

Certain webpages are opening better than others e.g. anything with a lot of images I can forget about even trying to open!

(Even while typing this post the colorwheel appeared at least twice for about 15-20seconds each time! So frustrating... makes everything so tedious!)

Diarmuid

moorele wrote: »

(Even while typing this post the colorwheel appeared at least twice for about 15-20seconds each time! So frustrating... makes everything so tedious!)

How about backing up your bookmarks, then nuking all your preferences/cache/saved settings etc... Sounds like it's something corrupted in your preferences.

moorele

Thats the first thing i did.... I cleared all private data! I've uninstalled and reinstalled various versions of firefox (currently on v3 beta5). I've altered settings in about:config all to no avail....

Someone suggested doing an archive & install from the discs that came with the macbook but i've to back up everything b4 I take that drastic step! So havent done it just yet... thought there might be an easier solution!

WUSBDesign

Is the cache set to an excessively large value?

moorele

50MB.... Should i increase/decrease it?

Type 17

moorele wrote: »

Someone suggested doing an archive & install from the discs that came with the macbook but i've to back up everything b4 I take that drastic step! So havent done it just yet... thought there might be an easier solution!

For the record, an archive and install does not lose your data, it just moves the system to a folder and installs a new system in its place. Once you tick the "preserve users" box, it will be fine.

PS: Clearing Firefox's private info may not remove corrupted preferences. You need to fine the relevant .plist file(s).

Sad Professor

As a test create a new user account (System Prefs > Accounts), login in with it and open up Firefox and see if it's still slow. If it isn't then you'll know it's a problem with something in your user library folder.

Type 17

Sad Professor wrote: »

As a test create a new user account (System Prefs > Accounts), login in with it and open up Firefox and see if it's still slow. If it isn't then you'll know it's a problem with something in your user library folder.

+1

A great tip that I forgot about...

nialler

moorele are you sure it's not quicktime that's shaggin everything up, it struck me when you said anything with images really drags it down, try move your firefox, quicktime preferences to a folder on your desktop and kinda go at it and a process of elimination. Like the old os9 way of doing things.


BUT as said above, new account will show you if there's something wrong in your local account.

moorele

Ok writing this from a new user account on my macbook and still having the same issue with firefox.... so i assume this means theres a corrupted file in my library folder? Is this plist files you were talking about? Whats the best way to go about finding it?

Nialler - I dunno what you mean by doing things the os9 way.... I've only just switched to a mac in the last year so its been os x all the way for me so far!!! I'm willing to give anything a go to sort this so if you give me a few more details i'll give it a bash... apologies for being such a techno retard!

Type 17

moorele wrote: »

Ok writing this from a new user account on my macbook and still having the same issue with firefox.... so i assume this means theres a corrupted file in my library folder? Is this plist files you were talking about? Whats the best way to go about finding it?

Nialler - I dunno what you mean by doing things the os9 way.... I've only just switched to a mac in the last year so its been os x all the way for me so far!!! I'm willing to give anything a go to sort this so if you give me a few more details i'll give it a bash... apologies for being such a techno retard!

Don't worry about the .plist files for Firefox - in logging on under a different user name, you are using a different set of preference (.plist) files, so the ones in your usual user profile are not the issue.

Quick question: does Safari work ok on your Mac?

WUSBDesign

Cache size looks alright. Don't know if this helps but have a go at the following, they're harmless:
- fix permissions on the HDD;
- fire up Activity Monitor and sort by CPU utilisation in the activity window.

Use Grab to get and post here a screenshot if you find that easier to say what you are seeing instead of all that typing.

moorele

Yep Safari works fine - just cant use it on my work network, have to use firefox.

One of the first things I did was repair disk permissions on HD.

Ok opened up activity monitor and sorted by CPU usage:
Firefox is at the top and its CPU is fluctuating from 4-15%

Everything else is at 0 except for activity monitor 2.4 & universal access app at 0.6

(Grab function would work sorry! hence typing it out!)

WUSBDesign

Oh, do select "All Processes" at the top right of Activity Monitor's window. The default is "My Processes" which is hides away many system-related processes.

moorele

481 Firefox Leanne 8.50 14 88.94 MB 610.51 MB Intel
496 Activity Monitor Leanne 2.50 2 13.14 MB 371.70 MB Intel
426 UniversalAccessApp Leanne 0.30 1 3.96 MB 347.71 MB Intel
414 SystemUIServer Leanne 0.10 3 10.38 MB 367.82 MB Intel
475 eapolclient Leanne 0.00 2 2.02 MB 27.70 MB Intel
502 mdimport Leanne 0.00 4 2.93 MB 39.18 MB Intel
415 Finder Leanne 0.00 3 17.33 MB 376.48 MB Intel
66 ATSServer Leanne 0.00 2 6.82 MB 244.18 MB Intel
394 loginwindow Leanne 0.00 3 4.75 MB 346.08 MB Intel
424 iTunes Helper Leanne 0.00 2 2.43 MB 338.18 MB Intel
79 launchd Leanne 0.00 1 424.00 KB 26.68 MB Intel
491 AppleSpell Leanne 0.00 1 2.12 MB 37.77 MB Intel
406 pbs Leanne 0.00 2 2.41 MB 54.14 MB Intel
411 VirexLogin Leanne 0.00 2 8.06 MB 414.47 MB PowerPC
412 Dock Leanne 0.00 2 3.87 MB 329.82 MB Intel


I've seen firefox CPU spike as high as 34% so far

moorele

Sorry above was my processes only.

Here's all processes:
481 Firefox Leanne 7.50 14 87.76 MB 503.25 MB Intel
0 kernel_task root 3.30 48 66.14 MB 1.21 GB Intel
496 Activity Monitor Leanne 2.20 2 11.25 MB 369.78 MB Intel
189 VShieldCore root 1.70 6 50.12 MB 319.96 MB PowerPC
497 pmTool root 0.70 1 1.30 MB 36.48 MB Intel
187 VShieldCheck root 0.40 3 7.08 MB 107.08 MB PowerPC
396 WindowServer windowserver 0.30 3 30.27 MB 351.27 MB Intel
411 VirexLogin Leanne 0.00 2 8.06 MB 414.47 MB PowerPC
190 VShieldUpdate root 0.00 2 7.15 MB 107.21 MB PowerPC
32 KernelEventAgent root 0.00 2 644.00 KB 27.19 MB Intel
412 Dock Leanne 0.00 2 3.87 MB 329.82 MB Intel
33 mDNSResponder root 0.00 2 1.07 MB 27.36 MB Intel
145 crashreporterd root 0.00 1 228.00 KB 26.61 MB Intel
61 blued root 0.00 1 2.51 MB 37.07 MB Intel
475 eapolclient Leanne 0.00 2 2.02 MB 27.70 MB Intel
34 netinfod root 0.00 1 632.00 KB 26.93 MB Intel
502 mdimport Leanne 0.00 4 2.93 MB 39.18 MB Intel
35 syslogd root 0.00 1 444.00 KB 26.65 MB Intel
480 lookupd root 0.00 2 1.07 MB 28.10 MB Intel
63 coreservicesd root 0.00 3 12.13 MB 41.16 MB Intel
414 SystemUIServer Leanne 0.00 3 10.39 MB 367.82 MB Intel
126 rpc.lockd root 0.00 1 216.00 KB 26.67 MB Intel
37 configd root 0.00 3 1.95 MB 29.33 MB Intel
38 coreaudiod root 0.00 1 3.62 MB 33.72 MB Intel
415 Finder Leanne 0.00 3 17.33 MB 376.48 MB Intel
40 memberd root 0.00 3 680.00 KB 27.66 MB Intel
66 ATSServer Leanne 0.00 2 5.91 MB 80.28 MB Intel
39 diskarbitrationd root 0.00 1 1.10 MB 27.13 MB Intel
41 securityd root 0.00 1 2.13 MB 28.58 MB Intel
327 mdimport ??? 0.00 3 3.73 MB 38.50 MB Intel
394 loginwindow Leanne 0.00 3 4.75 MB 346.08 MB Intel
43 notifyd root 0.00 2 484.00 KB 27.21 MB Intel
133 automount root 0.00 3 1.20 MB 28.73 MB Intel
129 automount root 0.00 3 1.23 MB 29.02 MB Intel
44 DirectoryService root 0.00 3 2.61 MB 29.48 MB Intel
46 distnoted root 0.00 1 824.00 KB 27.03 MB Intel
50 update root 0.00 1 244.00 KB 26.61 MB Intel
424 iTunes Helper Leanne 0.00 2 2.43 MB 338.18 MB Intel
23 dynamic_pager root 0.00 1 188.00 KB 26.63 MB Intel
491 AppleSpell Leanne 0.00 1 2.16 MB 37.77 MB Intel
79 launchd Leanne 0.00 1 424.00 KB 26.68 MB Intel
425 usbmuxd nobody 0.00 2 600.00 KB 26.99 MB Intel
117 nfsiod root 0.00 5 204.00 KB 28.63 MB Intel
426 UniversalAccessApp Leanne 0.00 1 3.96 MB 347.71 MB Intel
27 kextd root 0.00 2 1.16 MB 27.63 MB Intel
184 mds root 0.00 8 4.64 MB 43.73 MB Intel
406 pbs Leanne 0.00 2 2.41 MB 54.14 MB Intel
1 launchd root 0.00 3 548.00 KB 27.69 MB Intel

moorele

think i got grab to work.. it should be attached

moorele

Ok my apologies upload of file failed

nialler

Virex running under rosetta? Have you tried opera or camino (both built on the same engine as firefox)? You can also turn on the debug menu of safari and make it appear like firefox (ie when checked it reports that it's mozilla).

Also have you tried using cocktail and clearing the caches and the likes?

Sad Professor

Temporarily drag the "Internet Plug-ins" folder to the desktop. It's located it here:

HD > Library > Internet Plug-ins

Then open Firefox and see if it makes any difference.

moorele

Moving internet plug ins to desktop doesnt seem to have had an effect.

nialler wrote: »

Virex running under rosetta? Have you tried opera or camino (both built on the same engine as firefox)? You can also turn on the debug menu of safari and make it appear like firefox (ie when checked it reports that it's mozilla).

Also have you tried using cocktail and clearing the caches and the likes?

I dont understand what you mean by virex running under rosetta... What is rosetta? I havent tried camino or opera i might give them a go.

The only way i know how to clear the caches is by selecting clear all private data in firefox. How do i do with cocktail? What is cocktail?

WUSBDesign

My hunch is these are the sources of your FF wores:
- 189 VShieldCore root 1.70 6 50.12 MB 319.96 MB PowerPC
- 187 VShieldCheck root 0.40 3 7.08 MB 107.08 MB PowerPC
- 411 VirexLogin Leanne 0.00 2 8.06 MB 414.47 MB PowerPC
- 190 VShieldUpdate root 0.00 2 7.15 MB 107.21 MB PowerPC

If you google these, you will find similar complaints.

EDIT: You have a Intel Mac, yet these processes are reported as PowerPC. The only way this can happen is that these processes are emulated, using Rosetta.

EDIT: If you have important documents closed, then try quitting these said processes via Activity Monitor.

moorele

Ok so how do i delete these culprits? I've force quit them on activity monitor but no effect!

nialler

Moorele for some reason you have virex installed on your mac, although there is a threat from viruses none have appeared in the wild yet as such, all proof of concepts. Macs can certainly forward on viruses to pc users and not be affected themselves, don't get me wrong, in the near future we will need anti-virus software (there's always clamxAV) but I don't feel there's a need for it just yet. Also I would say you do not have root enabled so it'll be very hard for anything to get under the hood without direct intervention from you, ie. a website mysteriously asking for your login password (would you type it in?).

Uninstall Virex and see what happens, why it's not affecting the whole system I do not know and it mightn't necessarily be the problem but they're the only processes running under rosetta and could be putting unecessary strain on the machine.

Either that or upgrade to the latest version with is a universal binary.

Sad Professor

Yeah, there are almost no viruses on the mac so no need for Virex. McAfee, Norton et al just release mac anti-virus apps to take advantage of clueless ex-windows users and dumb companies. It's a big scam.

moorele

Ok deleted Virex and all associated files.... Re-opened Firefox but same problem persists e.g. i open an new tab and hit google, colourwheel appears for about 15-20seconds and then google opens!

I downloaded camino earlier so I might try that instead. Do you know how I can put in the proxy address for the work network? In firefox I go to preferences > advanced > network > settings and then i type in the address in automatic proxy configuration URL. But I cant find this option with camino.

WUSBDesign

The processes identified to be running under Rosetta may still be there since their "owner" is root. A reboot is necessary once these applications are un-installed/deleted.

Sad Professor

moorele wrote: »

Do you know how I can put in the proxy address for the work network? In firefox I go to preferences > advanced > network > settings and then i type in the address in automatic proxy configuration URL. But I cant find this option with camino.

System Prefs > Network.

Where exactly varies depending on what version of OSX you're using. Firefox isn't a true mac app and insists on ignoring many of OSX's features and settings in favour of it's own.

Type 17

moorele wrote: »

Do you know how I can put in the proxy address for the work network? In firefox I go to preferences > advanced > network > settings and then i type in the address in automatic proxy configuration URL. But I cant find this option with camino.

As mentioned by Sad Professor, go to Sys Prefs > Network and define a new location (call it Work), and set it up for whatever ports you already use at work (Ethernet, Airport, or whatever), except you also add the proxy server details to that location's setup.
You can rename the existing Location that you are using as Home and ensure that no proxy details are entered.

Then you can use any browser you like (Camino is what I use, as it seems the fastest), and just change the location in the Apple menu when you arrive at Home/Work.