397546 - Firefox: Very high CPU usage when idle, only with default theme

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[cprise]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070919 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.6
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070919 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.6

Firefox is hogging the CPU where only 15 minutes of brisk use results in the problem idling 30% or more on an Athlon XP 1500. The hogging goes up dramatically after that, sometimes reaching 100% in as little as 25 minutes. Closing all pages does not reduce CPU usage.

The problem now always occurs if I am using the Firefox 'default' theme, and NEVER occurs if I am using an installed theme like 'Aquamarine' or 'iFox Smooth'. The default FF theme did not previously trigger the problem, and I think it results from a change in the system environment perhaps when I installed Miro. This pulled a lot of Gnome/GTK support stuff onto my Kubuntu system, and thereafter the overall look of Firefox improved dramatically (despite leaving it set to the same default FF theme). IN PARTICULAR, the default FF theme now causes drop-down and context menus to look like those in KDE, whereas all the other themes I tried exhibit flat plain menus.

Suggest to browsing sites like slashdot and boingboing to reproduce, although all kinds of pages seem to trigger the problem.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Set Firefox to default theme and restart is necessary
2. Visit sites, open and close tabs for 20 min or 50 page-loads
3. Close all tabs, leave FF running
4. Check CPU load on task list
(Not sure yet if Miro needs to be installed first.)
Actual Results:  
Significant CPU usage, in one case 17% after 24 page-loads. Firefox uses about 4% just after it is started.


Expected Results:  
Close to 0% CPU usage when no pages are open, or when all open pages have no javascript, flash, etc. (This is the case when I use a non-default theme such as Aquamarine.)


I am marking this a 'major' as 100% CPU usage is not likely to be caught by average users, and has a significant impact on hardware viability, utility costs and the environment.

Comment 1

[lexual]

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.3a1pre) Gecko/20100125 Minefield/3.7a1pre

Can't reproduce here.

Comment 2

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

This bug was originally reported on Firefox 2.x or older, which is no longer supported and will not be receiving any more updates. I strongly suggest that you update to Firefox 3.6.3 or later, update your plugins (flash, adobe, etc.), and retest in a new profile. If you still see the issue with the updated Firefox, please post here. Otherwise, please close as RESOLVED > WORKSFORME
http://www.mozilla.com
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+mode

Comment 3

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

No reply, INCOMPLETE. Please retest with Firefox 3.6.8 or later and a new profile (http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles). If you continue to see this issue with the newest firefox and a new profile, then please comment on this bug.