Firefox 3.6 64 bit hangs

platojones · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:44 am Post subject: Firefox 3.6 64 bit hangs

Well, it's happening again. Firefox 3.6 (the latest in portage) has started hanging again. The symptoms are, after a browsing around a little while (sometimes 5 min, sometimes 30 min), firefox cpu usage goes to 100% and the UI becomes unresponsive. It can happen when doing something as simple as changing to a new tap (i.e., not loading content). I've had this problem with several older version of FF, and never did find a fix, beyond upgrading to a newer version. I haven't seen it all in about 1 year, through all the FF versions....but it's back with 3.6. Any ideas?

NathanZachary · Moderator Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 2608

Do you notice any trends on when the freezing starts? Viewing pages with flash? Any ideas? I would recommend having htop (or similar) open while browsing to see if you can "catch it in the act." Without seeing some type of trend, it will be difficult to diagnose, and subsequently, solve the problem.
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“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
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Jaglover · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:09 am Post subject:

Buggy addons, conflicting addons.

NathanZachary · Moderator Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 2608

I know that Ghostery was one such addon that was causing this problem. Because of a similar issue and the slow page rendering times, I completely got rid of Firefox.
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“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
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platojones · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:32 am Post subject:

Thanks for the responses...it's weird that it hasn't happened for several hours since I last killed it and restarted. I remember this last time with older versions of FF. I have no plugins at all except the US-en dictionary and user-agent switcher.

platojones · Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:19 pm Post subject:

I fixed it...by downgrading to Firefox 3.5.8. Very sad that FF has re-introduced this issue with their latest version. Seriously looking at Chromium now.

platojones · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:29 am Post subject:

No, I still had the problem after I downgraded. New solution: Ditch Firefox and go with Chromium...the new kid on the block. Sorry FF...I've been with you since 2003, when you were called Phoenix. You've served me well most of that time, but now you have let me down for the last time. Chromium works...you don't...good bye.

NathanZachary · Moderator Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 2608

I am also using Chromium (and Uzbl) as they are significantly faster at rendering pages. However, there are some things that I miss in Chromium, such as being able to open links from emails in Thunderbird.

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“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
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platojones · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:25 am Post subject:

NathanZachary · Moderator Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 2608

It just doesn't make sense to me why I can't get it to work. In Thunderbird, I had manually placed /usr/bin/firefox into the configuration for http:, https:, and ftp:. So, I simply replaced /usr/bin/firefox with /usr/bin/chromium but alas, it did not work. Similarly, I can't get mailto: links in Chromium to automatically open in Thunderbird. In essence, there is poor integration between the two. I also don't like that I can't install flashblock.

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“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
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platojones · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:40 am Post subject:

Sounds like a bug in Thunderbird. I assume you tried restarting the Desktop system you use?

NathanZachary · Moderator Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 2608

You bet. It is certainly obnoxious.
_________________
“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
---avatar cropped from =AimanStudio---