644531 - On Some Updates Response Time is Noticeably Slower

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Maggie]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.16) Gecko/20110319 Firefox/3.6.16 ( .NET CLR 3.5.30729)
Build Identifier: Firefox 3.1.16

Occasionally a new update will cause browsing to be appreciably slower.  This version seems to be worse than previous ones -- enough such that I want to report it, even though reporting takes a long time due to the response slow-down.

Examples:
1.  When filling in a form on certain [previously problem-free sites] I can type in all the fields plus the message before anything starts to fill on the screen.  Once the buffer is reasonably full, I wait for the information to fill in on the screen so I can see it.  This can take anywhere from 3 to 7 minutes to happen.  Most recent site of note where the problem is severe:  drphil.com

2.  'loading' can take up to 2 minutes, whereas in the previous version is was usually 10 to 20 seconds.

3.  I have an older machine, but this does not mean that the problem is then all mine.  Many people, such as myself, are on fixed incomes and cannot always go out and buy the most up-to-date machine, much as we would love to.

4.  My memory is maxed out.  I would dearly love to get a newer, faster, PC, but am not in a financial situation to be able to.  Should I be penalized for this by having browsing experiences become slower and slower?

5.  Most sites will  have a 'remember me' function.  This does not always work.  One site consistently does not remember [have submitted error report to that site].  My bank site claims I do not have 'cookies' enabled, when I clearly do, and no other site claims this problem.  [I've also reported this error to that site.]

6.  Testing doesn't seem to be complete on older machines.  This should be a given.  

7.  Option should be provided to revert back to previous version if it was working better than 'new' version.  [Note:  not everyone wants all the fancy bells and whistles of upgrades;  some people want simple, functional versions that just do what they're supposed to.]

Maggie
North Vancouver, BC
Canada

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install new version on 2004 HP Pavilion with Windows XP
2. Find a site with a fill-in form, such as this form
3. Try different methods of scrolling and note response time
4. Tab from field to field, filling in information, and note when it appears on screen.
Actual Results:  
Very slow response time.  I can waste up to 15 minutes just waiting to advance to the next field.

This does not happen with every new version of Firefox.  Just the one I installed today.

Expected Results:  
Data should appear on the screen in real time, as I type [approximately 60-90 wpm]

I would be willing to test beta versions of Firefox to determine response time slow-downs, if this would be of any use.  I don't use a theme: takes up too much real estate & memory.

Comment 1

[Maggie]

From submitter:  switching from tab to tab [max tabs open are usually 3] has also slowed down painfully.  Also, from another application [e.g., Outlook] switching to Firefox can take up to 30 seconds.

Comment 2

[Alex Lakatos[:AlexLakatos]]

Reporter, can you please install the new Firefox 4 and try to see response times with it? It should be up to six times faster than Firefox 3.6. Also, by upgradeing to it you will not loose your profile data.
Try going to the Help menu > Check for updates.

If this does not solve your problem you can go back to 3.6.15 by downloading it from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.6.15&os=win&lang=ro

Comment 3

[Ed Morley [:emorley]]

Also, it's likely either an incompatible addon or else corrupt profile could be causing the problem.

Could you see if the issue occurs if using Firefox in safe mode:
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode

How about with a new, empty testing profile? (Don't install any addons into it)
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Basic+Troubleshooting#w_8-make-a-new-profile