Firefox 3.5.x slow at loading pages - 20 sec lag

[Xecutor]

Hi guys,

I'm really really pissed at FF right now. I installed 3.5.1, then 3.5.2 and finally 3.5.3 in hopes that the problem will be corrected, but no. I'm stuck with this stupid problem, and having to use Opera10 to post this thread... Plz bear in mind that Opera imo does not "work" for me like FF used to.

Anyhow, the problem w/ FF is that it takes 20 secs or more to load the homepage (google.ca !) and any other page for that matter. During that time, nothing in the FF window works except the minimize and close functions. The menu and body of the page are completely unavailable.

I experienced no such problem in IE8 or Opera. Since IE8 is slow generally, I just DL'ed Opera10 and am using it till I can go back to FF when it is fixed.

Have any of you experienced this same crap? I really REALLY appreciate all the help I can get!

 

[mattikiller]

opera

Well I would keep using Opera great and fast with many shortcut abilities , but you may try to delete firefox and install it again

( I doesn't know much about firefox but it may be worth a try)

 

[Xecutor]

Thank you for your suggestion mattkiller, I did what you asked and rebooted. It seems to be working, but I'm gonna have to see for a few days how the browser behaves.

And, no offense, but Opera is very annoying compared to Chrome or FF. However, it isn't as bad as IE8.

 

[SNGX1275]

You happen to have Spybot with immunize? It may have created a huge hosts file on you. Take a look here: C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

If its more than a few kb then you may want to delete it and see what happens, if you are super protective of your hosts file back it up first, then delete it and see if your problem is fixed.


This information is from Tarkus in the IRC channel having a very similar (same) sounding issue and resolving it with this suggestion from Rick.

 

[klepto12]

i have had the same problem before and i just downloaded the most up to date FF and uninstalled the old one and it fixed the problem.

 

[Xecutor]

Oh, I just realised I re-installed 3.5.2 lol...

It's working though, so it is all good.

I do have spybot S&D w/ immunize, but its has never been a problem pre-3.5.1 and before. Why now?

 

[SNGX1275]

Don't ask me, I don't use immunize, nor do I use firefox, but Tarkus had the same problem as you and he's never had the problem before. But the hosts file was out of control because of spybot, so its just something I suggested checking.

 

[Xecutor]

Thanks buddy, appreciate the help!

 

[Bobbye]

On the other hand, I use Firefox and do use the Immunize feature. But sometimes an update can cause a conflict, so don't rule that possibility out completely.

 

[almcneil]

The Spybot immunization feature is known to conflict with IE8 but not FF.

FF is known to have what are called "memory leaks". It's a programming term (I used to be a high tech engineer) Basically, the programmer grabs a chunk of memory from a subset of RAM (called the "heap") to use and when he/she's done with it, is supposed to return it to the heap. But they forget to return it and everytime that part of the code runs, it keeps grabbing memory until there's no more. Now the program gets bogged down because it doesn't have enough memory to work with. Memory leaks are a very common programming error.

-- Andy

 

[Bobbye]

Yes, FF has had memory leaks all along. But that isn't the problem for the slow load.

 

[almcneil]

What was the problem with the slow load then? A common symptom of a memory leak is the program runs slow. I know this because I used to be a high tech engineer.

-- Andy

 

[Xecutor]

The program loaded fast; it was the webpages that took a 20 sec wait while no functions except to close the FF window were available.

Right now it seems to be fixed except for the fact that it occasionally gives me a "cookies redirected incorrectly" page and after clicking "try again" a few times, it loads the page with a 3 sec lag this time.

What do you make of it?

 

[SNGX1275]

The Spybot immunization feature is known to conflict with IE8 but not FF.

Tark doesn't use IE, he uses FF. Spybot indeed caused an out of control hosts file which caused about a 30 second lag on resolving servers, granted the computer he was having this problem on was a slow machine to begin with, but deleting the hosts file fixed it. I didn't just make stuff up to post.

 

[Xecutor]

Update

Thanks a lot for your help guys !

Im starting to get really pissed by the attached message on EVERY bloody site I click on, esp those that need authentication.

Does anyone know how to get rid of that message? Right now, some websites are completely inaccessible.

ex: battle.net account management FFS!!

Please help?

 

[Bobbye]

Okay, I don't think it's Firefox. I just brought up your site with Firefox:
BlizzCon-BlizzCon 2009 Item Redemption.

I still use the v3.0.14, but I don't know why v3.5 would cause any problem.

Since you mention that it is for sites that require authentications, I need for you to explain what you mean by that.

I also checked several Google sites for Firefox Server redirecting address that never completes and found that this is NOT a new problem, it is NOT FF v3.5 and there was NO consistent fix for it! One thing that did work for several of the users was:

delete all the yahoo.com cookies and allow them again and now it works great!

So give that a try and let us know. And also for you peace of mind, everyone else with the problem is feeling like you are!

 

[almcneil]

Thanks a lot for your help guys !

Im starting to get really pissed by the attached message on EVERY bloody site I click on, esp those that need authentication.

Does anyone know how to get rid of that message? Right now, some websites are completely inaccessible.

ex: battle.net account management FFS!!

Please help?

My first reaction is your security settings are messed up or too high. Go to: Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Security -> Reset all zones to default level

Repost if this doesn't work.

-- Andy

 

[Xecutor]

That won't help...

Im using FF, not IE... Internet Options in CP are for IE only.

 

[Bobbye]

Xecutor, can't believe I missed having you check this:

In Firefox: Tools> Options> Advanced> Encryption tab> make sure BOTH SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 are checked.

These are your security layers. Since you mention it's the site that require authentication, this could be it.

Let me know.

 

[Xecutor]

Hey Bobbye, thanks for thinking about that, but it was already checked from waay back when I first installed FF3.5 and from then on, I have never changed it. I did check it though, and the settings were untouched. both SSL 3.0 & TLS1.0 were checked.

 

[Bobbye]

It was worth the thought! NOTE: Mozilla has finally addressed this issue. The following is a direct copy and paste from THIS Mozilla site. It has been copied for your convenience.

I used the exact message that appears in the image

"server is redirecting the request for this address" Firefox.

and specified Firefox to see if anything else was up. Using your terminology

"cookies redirected incorrectly"

only brings up your post.

Here are possible causes and fixes:

1) Check for bad bookmarks:If the problem is occurring on only selected web sites, you may be using bookmarks made from web pages that saved parameter information that no longer produces a viable page.
To fix bookmarks,

• Right click the bookmark and select "Properties"
• In the "Location" field, remove information from the right until the bookmark pulls up a web page that resolves cleanly (often getting rid of the alphanumeric gibberish at the end does the job)
• Click Save

2)Turn cookies on. Firefox must be set to accept cookies from websites.

• Go to "Tools -> Options -> Privacy"
• Make sure "Accept cookies from sites" is checked (see note below).
• Make sure the site you're trying to access is not in the Exceptions list.

Note: In Firefox 3.5, if you do not see the "Accept cookies from sites" option in the Privacy panel, set the "Firefox will:" option to "Use custom settings for history".

3) Clear cookies> You may have data in your cookies that the site doesn't expect
To clear this data: In Firefox 3.5:

• Go to "Tools -> Options -> Privacy"
• Click the "Show Cookies..." button (see note below)
• In the Cookies window, click "Remove all Cookies"

Note: In Firefox 3.5, if you do not see a "Show Cookies..." button, set the "Firefox will:" option to "Use custom settings for history". Alternately, click the "Remove Individual Cookies" link (if present) to open the Cookies window.

4)Enable referrer information[Check that network.http.sendRefererHeader is set to 2:

• 
  1. Type about:config in the Location Bar: for help with about:config see THIS.
  2. Press Enter
  3. Find the preference name network.http.sendRefererHeader
  4. Double click on it. A dialog will appear.
  5. Enter 2 into the dialog.
  6. Press OK.

5)Bad websiteThe problem could simply be an error in the website's coding. Contact the webmaster for assistance.

Additional description may be found HERE

You may have done some of this already- just skip that section. At least Mozilla is recognizing this as a sufficient problem to put this out now.

 

[Xecutor]

Whoaaa!

Thanks a lot mate! That helped a bunch! ALthough a few websites still display the message occasionally, I have fixed it for the most part. THANKS A LOT (x10 ^ inf)!!

 

[Bobbye]

You're welcome. Thanks for posting back to let me know.