Firefox is a popular alternate browser for the Windows operating system. But users of the Mozilla Firefox web browser are well aware that it slows down with time. Over time, the browser starts becoming sluggish and unresponsive.
Why is Firefox suddenly so slow?
Firefox may suddenly slow down due to too many installed extensions consuming system resources. To improve speed, disable unnecessary extensions and consider switching to a lighter theme.
You may find that Firefox is crashing, hanging, or freezing at times. Here are a few tips which may help you keep your Firefox running fast – just the way it did after a fresh install.
Firefox keeps slowing down on Windows PC
If your Firefox keeps slowing down on Windows, and it has become sluggish and unresponsive, these tips will help you keep your Firefox running fast at all times.
1) Update Firefox
First, make sure you have the latest version of Firefox installed. Mozilla has been introducing several speed improvements to its browser, and you want to take advantage of them.
2) Clear Firefox cache regularly
Regularly clean up your Firefox Browser Cache, History, recent History, Download History, etc. You may use CCleaner, or you can do it natively in Firefox itself. Open Firefox and press Ctrl+Shift+Del to open the Clear Recent History box.
Check the desired options and click on Clear Now. This post on Firefox Freezes or Crashes will give you a few more ideas.
3) Keep plugins updated
Keep Plugins updated at all times, especially Adobe Flash and Java. Go here to check if you have the latest versions of your plugins installed.
Read: Mozilla Firefox seems slow to start.
4) Don’t use the Session Restore feature
If you set Firefox to use the Session Restore feature to show your windows and tabs from the last time you used it, It can take a long time to start if you had many websites open.
Ensure that the default setting of Don’t load tabs until selected, is checked. In this case, only the last selected tab is loaded at startup.
5) Uninstall or Disable Add-ons & Plugins
Uninstall or Disable Add-ons, Plugins, or 3rd-party extensions you don’t need. To do so, via File Menu, click on Manage Addons. Here you can manage your add-ons, plugins, and extensions too. Also, remove Userscripts if any.
You might actually find your Firefox running much faster even if you disable slow-performing add-ons and plugins.
6) Avoid Themes
Avoid using themes. Switch to the default theme if you are using one.
7) Reset Firefox
When you find that your Firefox keeps slowing down and becoming sluggish in spite of doing everything, Reset it. The Refresh Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its default state. The reset feature creates a new profile folder for you while saving your essential information. It will save some personal information like Bookmarks, Browsing history, Passwords, Cookies, and Web form auto-fill information. But it will not save installed Extensions, themes, tab groups, personal preferences, customizations, etc.
8) Reinstall Firefox
If you find nothing working, reinstalling Firefox after backing up your Bookmarks and Settings, using freeware MailBrowserBackup or FavBackUp might be a good idea.
Please share if you have any additional tips for preventing Firefox from slowing down and keeping it running fast at all times!
Go here if you are looking for some free tools to Speed Up Firefox.
