502243 - KB article: Firefox takes a long time to start up

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(support.mozilla.org :: Knowledge Base Articles, task)

Description

[[:Cww]]

This is getting to be a pretty common issue in 3.5 let's write an article.

Possible causes:

Extensions (try safe mode).  possible dangerous extensions are: Roboform
Too many files in IE temporary internet files (solution empty folder)
Large settings files/customizations (userChrome.css/userContent.css.  prefs.js)
Many saved sessions (sessionstore-n.js, probably safe to delete)
AV software (needs to scan all of Firefox's files for viruses)
Anti-spyware software (overloading image blocklists etc)

Comment 1

[Alice Wyman]

For background info and links to related forum topics, see:
Bug 501605 -  very slow startup for Firefox 3.5 due to accessing IE Internet Temporary Files and Windows Temp folder
Bug 501563 -  Investigate Firefox 3.5 cold startup times

Comment 2

[[:Cww]]

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+takes+a+long+time+to+start+up ready for review

Comment 3

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

- do we need to specify 'restart' in the intro?
- For "Large numbers of Windows Temp Files and Internet Explorer Cache files" can't we just use the Disk Cleanup utility?
- "These files will be deleted permanently and can not be recovered." is not needed
- The "If this problem returns frequently..." paragraph contains a lot of unneeded info.
- How common is the 'Large number of fonts' cause?

Comment 4

[Noah (NoahSUMO/SolidSnake) [:Noah]]

(In reply to comment #3)
> - do we need to specify 'restart' in the intro?
Yes, very important detail. As starting Firefox, after the first start, loads it a bit faster the next times due to partially residing in memory.

> - For "Large numbers of Windows Temp Files and Internet Explorer Cache files"
> can't we just use the Disk Cleanup utility?
On XP, that is not very user friendly or easy to find to some. Even though its automated, I still think this direct approach is still best. Teaches the user about this. Especially since in IE8's clearing dialog, there is pref that tries to save TIF. I want to add a picture, with that pref circled, asking users to uncheck that.

> - "These files will be deleted permanently and can not be recovered." is not
> needed
I like it. It adds a nice spacing between the next paragraph & makes the article flow nicely.

> - The "If this problem returns frequently..." paragraph contains a lot of
> unneeded info.
Totally disagree. They need as many solutions to try as possible. Bug 501605 comment 59 : And that solution was first relayed to me by Nelson aka misterssl (who is responsible for that patch that is causing this madness) who also expressed remorse this was not added to MZ forum thread about the issue. We should spread his message as well. Also there many people out there who use IETab unwittingly per Littlemutt's smart discovery.

> - How common is the 'Large number of fonts' cause?
VERY common. Although most people don't know it. I've tangoed with a few cases. It's better to have it there for the more tech savvy people to investigate on their own accord. Even got mak to file bug 502821 on it. And I've got logs that prove we scan all the fonts.

Comment 5

[[:Cww]]

(In reply to comment #3)
I'm not sure disk cleanup is sufficient since I don't think it cleans certain folders on xp.  I'd prefer the manual approach.

For the fonts problem, I have no idea how common it is since you'll need lots of fonts for it to be an obvious slowdown.  It affects everyone but it's imperceptible if you have few fonts. I think we should mention it though because for users with hundreds of fonts, it can make a big difference.

Comment 6

[Alice Wyman]

From http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+takes+a+long+time+to+start+up#Large_numbers_of_Windows_Temp_Files_and_Internet_Explorer_Cache_files

Delete all files and subfolders in the following folders
    * C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Temp (Windows XP) 

Path should be:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp (Windows XP) 

It might be easier to suggest opening and clearing the Windows Temp folder by typing %temp% in the (XP) Run box or (Vista) Start Search box, using Microsoft's instructions here, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953691 (under "Method 4 ... Step 2: Clear the Temp folder")

A link for using Disk Cleanup would be helpful, maybe this one? 
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/1264bc24-72a8-48aa-84e3-a355327139d91033.mspx

Comment 7

[[:Cww]]

Made changes per comments

Comment 8

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

I've moved the article to the KB, because this is a hot post-3.5 issue, and the info is correct.

But if this were a regular article request, I would not consider this ready for the KB.

There's a lot of info that I don't think is needed, and an 11 step solution, not including trying to figure out how to view hidden folders is going to scare and confuse many users. We need to be more concise. See <http://blog.mozilla.com/sumo/2009/04/09/writing-concise-documents/>.

For instance,
- Is there a separate issue with Firefox starting slowly *not* after a cold boot? 
- Would the intro not be understandable without "This is also known as a cold start"?
- I don't know what "Firefox uses the contents of temporary folders to provide a source of randomness for security applications." means, but that doesn't prevent me from understanding that clearing temp files is the solution.
- If we're telling users to manually delete files, why are we also telling them to use the Disk Cleanup utility?

Comment 9

[[:Cww]]

- Is there a separate issue with Firefox starting slowly *not* after a cold
boot? 
No, but the point is Firefox will start really fast if it's NOT a cold boot so people may think this article doesn't apply to them since Firefox isn't always slow to load.

- Would the intro not be understandable without "This is also known as a cold
start"?
Yeah, that was added to catch searches for "slow cold start" etc.

- I don't know what "Firefox uses the contents of temporary folders to provide
a source of randomness for security applications." means, but that doesn't
prevent me from understanding that clearing temp files is the solution.
No it doesn't but the NUMBER ONE complaint and question people have is "WHY THE #$%! does Firefox look in the INTERNET EXPLORER folders?"

- If we're telling users to manually delete files, why are we also telling them
to use the Disk Cleanup utility?
Because it's important to do both.  I'm not convinced that the Disk Cleanup works well -- especially not the default Disk Cleanup settings.  At the same time, it's good to remind users that Disk Cleanup should be run often to keep your system running optimally.

Comment 10

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Now that 3.5.1 is out, what do you think of removing what we currently have, and simply telling users to update Firefox to 3.5.1?

Comment 11

[[:Cww]]

Can we give it at least the weekend if not a full week to make sure that 3.5.1 is fully stable, secure and fixes this for most users?

Comment 12

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Okay, I think we've given it enough time. Let's just tell users to upgrade to 3.5.1.

Comment 13

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

I've updated the article. Can someone have a look?

Comment 14

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

The changes from comment 13 were approved a week ago. Any further discussion should take place in the Contributors forum.