Someone please explain to me why I'm still using Firefox

[Tab]

It probably goes all the way back to Mosaic (remember that?) then Netscape Navigator, and a healthy disregard for Internet Explorer, but nowadays (on Windows 7) if things bog down, it's invariably an instance of Firefox using up to 30% CPU.

By pure common sense I should be on Chrome. I think it's just inertia and familiarity.

[Kelvin Mace]

1. Have you done a clean install at anytime?

Usually when I see a browser dragging that slow it needs to be re-installed, or at least have its add-ons purged. I have been using FF since the days of yore and it is still zippy enough for me.

[Tab]

2. I've disabled all plugins except Ghostery

Could try reinstalling. But I think firefox is just part of the story. Methinks the machine has a chip that's gone bad.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. How old is the system

and what are its stats (mem, HD, CPU, OS version)?

[Tab]

4. Well, I really think there's a heat issue or some flakiness with one of the chipsets.

It's a Dell Inspiron (I want to say 1701, but I'm too lazy to check this second). It's got to be six years old. It runs 8 gigs of memory and doing it's normal speed right now, but that's a fluke. I can't promise that tomorrow. I run Windows 7 home. I have a 1TB SSD hard drive that I put in. It's got an I5 processor and runs Windows home 7 64-bit.

I'm a software engineer with 30 years of this under my belt, so I think I do a pretty good job keeping it lean and mean and pretty cleansed from other crap. However now the delay seems to be all over the map, Internet or no, and it's BSOD more than once on clock interrupt problems. In fact, sometimes it takes 20 mins to boot, and then runs like a slug. I find that if I let it cool off for a while, it does better - the only reason I can actually answer this post. I don't know for sure, but having built computers since the 1980s, this seems like a hardware problem to me. So I'm really just trying to migrate to a different platform safely.

That said, I'm still increasingly convinced Firefox sucks. Sad to say; I've been using Mosaic since 1993, but it just ain't cutting it any more.

- Thanks

[Kelvin Mace]

5. Oops, sorry not intending to lecture an expert

You've got a decent OS, memory and an SSD, so usually when I see someone complaining about they are running XP on 2GB of RAM with a 60GB ATA drive.

It does sound like a thermal issue.

[Tab]

6. Not a prob

I've noticed it's better if I keep the machine off when I'm not using it and/or it's actiing up, which points to thermal issues, as you note. I've also notice it's tied to YouTube (maybe that's a separate issue) but I also find a lot of YouTube issues with FireFox, as well as Flash.

So, at least I think I can keep it up and limping, but I do need to replace it - obviously some chipset is screwed. One complaint from the machine is that a certain clock interrupt (not always) isn't received in time, and it hoses up. Not always, but everything points to thermal. I've had it for a few years - upgraded the memory and hard drive (to SSD) but there's obviously something else going wrong. In addition, if I run the manufacturer chip tests, it invariably dies, which is not a good sign . So I'm going to keep it limping until I can move to some fresher chips, preferably in a desktop where I don't have to replace the whole damned bunch in a problem.

[Tab]

7. FWIW

If I keep YouTube to a minumum (and reboot if it slows) and prop up the laptop to maximize the airflow, it seems to hang on for a usuable period of time. I had hoped that putting in a solid state drive would cut down on the heat, but apparently not enough so. But propped up and given enough downtime, I can keep it a-floating, at least until I can figure out an alternative.

[Kelvin Mace]

8. Depending on how much hassle you can put up with

you could try and install a miniature fan or heat sink. I have played with a few the size of postage stamps that you can graft into a power cable.

[Tab]

9. It'd be easier to manage this with a desktop

Laptops are nice as they're portable, but they're a bitch to modify.

At least I've bought myself some time. Thanks!

[Tab]

10. I was going to post here and explain I had mitigated the problem

I suspected thermal problem particularly affecting two chips (based on crash reports) - one was a memory chip, the other the video chip. I relocated the laptop, put it up on little stands (supplied by my harmonicas) and shut it off when I'm not using it. It's lasted the whole week with maybe one problem.

So I go to post, and of course, it immediately crashes multiple times, drags down, and so on. Kind of like the Devil of the Demo. It's taken me 30 minutes to make this post.

I don't want to spend the money, but I swear I'm going to have to replace this machine.