Firefox crashes after some time of inactivity.

I use windows 10 I'm a vm at 4gigs ram with no issues. I've also ran windows 10 on physical hardware with 4gigs ram with multiple tabs opened in chrome and Firefox. 4gigs is plenty of ram.

For all I know, Flyingshark might be running Vista x86 (he never actually said otherwise), in which case more RAM is not even possible, so I will concede the plenty versus merely sufficient debate. This thread is becoming a multi-page monstrosity in which readers cannot see the forest because there are too many trees in the way, and I fear that Imacri is just getting warmed up. I never thought that Flyingsharks issue was caused by a hardware deficiency, and Imacri only shifted to that gear because reinstalling the antique Firefox version proved as pointless as I predicted.

... FWIW the Windows XP diehards at MSFN (and perhaps 2 or 3 Vista users) are increasingly turning to modern Chromium forks originating in China as the shortcomings of browsers based on old Firefox code (including roytam1s browser builds) become increasingly apparent....

 

Hi Abzyx:

 

I have never used a Chrome- or Firefox-based browser customized by an independent developer like roytam1 that is compatible with unsupported operating systems on my Vista SP2 machine.  I have no objection if Flysharking would like to try one of these forked browsers - I just didn't recommend one because I have no personal experience in this area.

What alternate browser would you suggest that Flyingshark try?  If you could provide a download link and information on the advantages of using this forked browser over Firefox ESR v52.9.0 I'm sure that would be helpful.

 

For all I know, Flyingshark might be running Vista x86 (he never actually said otherwise), in which case more RAM is not even possible,... I never thought that Flyingsharks issue was caused by a hardware deficiency...

As you noted, we still don't know if Flyingshark has a 32-bit or 64-bit Vista SP2 OS, how much unused RAM is available, if their computer has a discrete graphics card, etc.  If we're trying to diagnose a browser crash on a Vista SP2 computer that has aging hardware I don't think it's unreasonable to ask Flyingshark if they could post a Speccy snapshot as requested in post # 25 so we have some basic information about their system.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1.2522-1.0.365 * Speccy Portable v1.32.740
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 256 GB WD SATA HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

Edited by lmacri, 13 February 2022 - 11:16 AM.

Here is a link to the relevant subforum at MSFN:

https://msfn.org/board/forum/201-browsers-working-on-older-nt-family-oses/

Perhaps I should include the specs of my old Vista tower with every single post so that these threads can achieve unreadable length even more rapidly? It is sitting in a closet in need of refurbishment that it will probably never get, but technically I am still the proud owner of a Vista system. Of course by implying that you are still running Vista SP2 and using Firefox 52.9.0, and by asking a lot of questions about an issue that you are doubtless unfamiliar with, you further imply that 52.9.0 still works just fine in your case, leading the OP to hope that a fix can be found if he follows your yellow-brick road long enough. I think not!

Even before you bought a Windows 10 laptop in 2019, I had concluded that you were more of a Firefox diehard than a Vista diehard. You have recommended the same browser version to every Vista user who came along for several years now (whether or not they sought browser advice), so I can imagine that this thread must be rather unsettling to you. Have you considered installing 52.9.0 on your Windows 10 laptop? That might allow you to diagnose the issue without relying on sporadic posts from the OP, who is probably not a native English speaker (hardly any Vista users are these days).

It's 32 bit (it's in the OP but I guess I didn't make it standout enough).

 

Anywho, I decided to drop this. Thanks for the efforts ppl.

 

Any mod who wants to lock this, please do.

Hi Flyingshark:

If you decide to continue troubleshooting on your own here are a few general tips that might be helpful.

If you run the Speccy utility mentioned in post # 25 you can compare your results to the snapshot I published for my own 32-bit Vista SP2 machine at http://speccy.piriform.com/results/z2qoNAESuxQeYKCK2QGx3or.  This is the last snapshot I published where this machine still used the legacy Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2 (which includes Norton Smart Firewall) for my real-time antivirus protection mode, which consumed a significant amount of system resources.  The "Hotfixes" section shows my Vista SP2 machine is patched to end of support on 11-Apr-2017 plus the five out-of-band emergency updates released in May/June of 2017 (see More Shadow Brokers Exploits Patched June 2017 for Win XP and Vista).  Of note in my snapshot:

• RAM: 48% of my 3 GB installed RAM in use (i.e., 1.55 GB unused memory still available)
• Storage: 41% (92 GB) of my 220 GB C:\ drive in use; S.M.A.R.T. attributes for my hard drive all "Good"
• Graphics: GeForce 8400M GS discrete graphics card with the latest Vista-compatible v9.18.13.783 drivers (v307.83, rel. 26-Feb-2013)

If Speccy does not recognize the entire 4 GB of RAM on your own 32-bit Vista SP2 machine that could be "normal", depending on the Vista Service Pack you have installed and the type of BIOS you use.  See the Microsoft support articles The System Memory That is Reported in the System Information Dialog Box in Windows Vista is Less Than You Expect if 4 GB of RAM is Installed and Windows Vista SP1 Includes Reporting of Installed System Memory (RAM).

If you have an older HDD with a spinning magnetic platter you might also want to run a thorough Check Disk (chkdsk /r) of your C: drive from an elevated command prompt with Administrator rights to see if your disk has any bad sectors and/or it can recovery any system files that might have been written to a bad sector [if you answer "Y" (yes) to scheduling the scan note that you will be prompted to restart your computer; once started, the scan might take a few hours to run to completion depending on the size of your hard drive].  Then run the built-in System File Checker tool (sfc /scannow) to see if it can find and repair any missing or corrupted system files.  If a System File Checker scan does not find any issues with your system files it will report that "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."

 Vista SP2 System File Checker SFC Scannow 28 Nov 2021.png   12.77KB   0 downloads

I pulled my Vista SP2 machine out of storage and confirmed that I was able to create a new Firefox user profile in my Firefox ESR v52.9.0 browser using Firefox Profile Manager (i.e., by running firefox.exe -P).  I don't know what internet radio station you listen to that crashes your Firefox browser when your system is idle, so I tested my Firefox ESR v52.9.0 browser by playing the 2-hour YouTube video <here> (primarily a music stream) while my computer was idle and didn't notice any issues. Just note that I changed my power plan settings at Control Panel | Hardware and Sound | Power Options | Change Plan Settings so that my computer stayed in idle mode and didn't go to sleep before I started watching this YouTube video (see image below where "Put the Computer to Sleep" was set to 4 Hours). Also note that many of the automatic background tasks that are scheduled to run on this Vista SP2 machine are either disabled or customized (e.g., I have Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1 set to automatically check for new virus definitions every 6 hours instead of every 1 hour) so that these background tasks don't use too much CPU and RAM when my system is idle.

 

 Vista SP2 Power Plan Sleep After 4 Hours 30 Jan 2022.png   31.91KB   0 downloads


Sorry we couldn't find a quick solution for your browser crashes. Good luck with your troubleshooting.

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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1.2522-1.0.365 * Speccy Portable v1.32.740
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 256 GB WD SATA HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

Edited by lmacri, 15 February 2022 - 09:58 AM.

@Flyingshark

When you finally get a new system that is supported by modern browsers, be sure to try something other than Firefox because it is definitely not the best. If you dislike Chrome, then try Microsoft Edge. I doubt that Mozilla will even exist by 2025. Meanwhile, the Windows XP diehards at MSFN are now using better browsers that also work on Vista. Good luck with your next browser!

I pulled my Vista SP2 machine out of storage

Your integrity is exceeded only by your succinctness! I sometimes wonder why Vista deserves to have such a big fish flopping around in its tiny residual puddle? I suppose you are just not very fond of Windows 10 yet.

It's 32 bit (it's in the OP but I guess I didn't make it standout enough).

 

Anywho, I decided to drop this. Thanks for the efforts ppl.

 

Any mod who wants to lock this, please do.

Locked.

 

Louis