(Not Responding)

[Hikermann]

PC / Windows 7 (yes, still) / Firefox 100.0.2 :
Past several months on Firefox, when attempting to access a video either embedded (say, in a news site or YouTube), the download is unusually slow, with such screen notices (attached) appearing.
The "gray bar" across the bottom (which, as I understand it, indicates buffering/caching activity) immediately loads up about .25%, then awaits the video to play . . . and then it sits there and goes through any combination of the attached .jpgs.
Quite often, regardless of how many tabs are open (perhaps a half dozen), the (Not Responding) message will show up, and then it's just wait it out (usually 15-45 seconds).

Any solutions / comments / directions-to-point-me-in?

Appreciated. Thank you.

 

[bazz2004]

Check out your internet download speed. Hardware and an out of date OS are likely to be less of an issue when downloading and streaming. Some sites will be far less accessible than others. Perhaps try at a time of day when less people are trying to access content.