FireFox Memory Usage

FireFox is my default web browser. I have a couple of FireFox extensions that I can’t live without. The major issue with FireFox is memory consumption. Here’s how I handle this problem.

1. Change the maximum number of URLs you can traverse through the Back/Forward buttons.

browser.sessionhistory.max_entries=10

You can change this setting by typing about:config in the address bar. For more information, go to http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config_entries and search for “browser. sessionhistory. max_entries”.

2. Change the cache for recently visited pages.

browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers=4

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers.

3. Change the image and chrome cache.

browser.cache.memory.capacity=20480

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.cache.memory.capacity.

4. Use Windows swap memory.

config.trim_on_minimize=true

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Config.trim_on_minimize.

5. Uninstall rarely used extensions and plug-ins.

6. Install the QuickRestart extension from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3559 and make sure you have “Show my windows and tabs from last time” chosen in the options dialog.

If you see FireFox memory usage is getting really big, do a quick restart.

7. If you want to have an idea what is in the memory cache, you can go to

about:cache?device=memory

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/About_protocol_links for more details.

If you have other ways to improve FireFox’s memory consumption, please let me know!

Posted in Tips.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *