Faster FireFox

[Anestty 0]

I have been doing this for some time and been meaning to share here -

 

Speed up Mozilla Firefox about 3-30x Faster...

 

If your a firefox lover like me then you should try this.

 

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll

down and look for the following entries:

 

network.http.pipelining

network.http.proxy.pipelining

network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

 

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time.

When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really

speeds up page loading.

 

2. Alter the entries as follows:

 

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

 

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

 

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This

means it will make 30 requests at once.

 

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer.

Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0".

This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

 

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages 2-30 times faster now.

[stubbie 21]

Thanks for that Anestty

 

Done as you said and yes.....I am seeing a definite improvement in time taken to open pages, especially national ones

 

stubbs

Edited September 20, 2008 by stubbie

[fRACTAL 0]

Woah, cool! Thanks for this Anestty!

~Doom

[tomi 0]

Coool! :D:D

 

Thanks a lot!

 

/Also thanks for Tim./

[Arafinwe 0]

WOW, that is indeed a very..very noticable improvement in page loading,

thank you very much Anestty. :D

Edited September 20, 2008 by Arafinwe

[Borg 0]

Great tip my friend I finally, after you told me about it earlier, got around to doing it. I love the difference and the new speed thanks

[Genenut 8]

yup I like the new speed too ... thank you for the great tip :-)

[gogoblender 3,070]

I have been doing this for some time and been meaning to share here -

 

Speed up Mozilla Firefox about 3-30x Faster...

 

If your a firefox lover like me then you should try this.

 

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll

down and look for the following entries:

 

network.http.pipelining

network.http.proxy.pipelining

network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

 

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time.

When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really

speeds up page loading.

 

2. Alter the entries as follows:

 

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

 

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

 

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This

means it will make 30 requests at once.

 

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer.

Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0".

This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

 

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages 2-30 times faster now.

This sounds incredible. I'm a huge hog for browsing speed. Are there any negative effects at all with having Firefox run this way?

 

 

gogo

[stubbie 21]

Are there any negative effects at all with having Firefox run this way?

 

I've heard some reports that people are getting weird icons popping up but I've not experienced it.

 

stubbs

[tomi 0]

 

No problems here at all. Work well!

 

Thanks agin!

[Anestty 0]

Are there any negative effects at all with having Firefox run this way?

 

I've heard some reports that people are getting weird icons popping up but I've not experienced it.

 

stubbs

 

bwahahahahaha - so funny

 

 

No Gogo - there is no negative - It is simple to return the settings to normal - Though I know of know one that has

 

I deliberately kept this post and the instructions here simple - But I do have settings that are specific to your particular setup at home - for example: Fast PC - Slow connection speed or Fast connection - older or slower PC. The difference is remarkable and I am happy to post the lot here if people want the details

[Anestty 0]

Bah - I thought I would go whole hog and post the lot - This is SAFE and proven - feel free to ask me any questions or anything you don't understand

 

The following configurations are based off of recommendations off of the Mozillazine thread with some editing on points that I do not agree with

 

Common to all configurations - This is basically the first post I made without explanations

 

These are the settings that seem to be common to all configuration files regardless of connection speed or computer speed with a couple of additions - plugin paths can be found with about:plugins and the bookmark menu delay is turned off.

 

user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);

user_pref("network.http.proxy.pipelining", true);

user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 8); ( between 8 and 30 is best in the last value - I use 30 )

user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);

user_pref("plugin.expose_full_path", true);

user_pref("ui.submenuDelay", 0);

 

Fast Computer Fast Connection

 

user_pref("content.interrupt.parsing", true);

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);

user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);

user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);

 

A couple settings of note - Firefox is allocated 4096 KB of memory by default and in this configuration we give it roughly 65MB as denoted by the last line. This can be changed according to what is used.

 

Fast Computer, Slower Connection

 

This configuration is more suited to people without ultra fast connections. We are not talking about dial up connections but slower DSL / Cable connections.

 

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);

user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);

user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);

 

Fast Computer, Slow Connection

 

user_pref("browser.xul.error_pages.enabled", true);

user_pref("content.interrupt.parsing", true);

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 3000000);

user_pref("content.maxtextrun", 8191);

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);

user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 32);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 8);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 8);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 4);

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);

user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);

 

Slow Computer, Fast Connection

 

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 3000000);

user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 1000000);

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);

user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 1000000);

user_pref("content.maxtextrun", 4095);

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 1000);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);

user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);

 

One of the changes made for this particular configuration is the final line where the status bar is disabled for changing web pages to save processor time.

 

Slow Computer, Slow Connection

 

We have entered the doldrums of the dial-up user - my advise - UPGRADE! ( if you can ofc - not always possible but the whole experience is worth it! )

 

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);

user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 750);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 32);

user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 8);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 8);

user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 4);

user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);

 

Some of the options I chose not to include as opposed to suggestions on the Mozillazine threads included the suggestion of catching SSL pages. Regardless of computer speed, one of the common trends is that pipelining is a good thing. Those with faster computers and gobs of memory may want to up the amount of memory available to Firefox while those with slower computers can still increase the default 4MB to something higher. This was not done in our configuration files however. Powerusers are also welcome to disable the status bar to eek out that extra CPU cycle or two.

 

 

Hope it doesn't scare you as it may seem complex - but is actually very simple to do - You can't break anything as you can always restore defaults and you are changing no system settings

( exception is changing the memory allocated to firefox )

 

Also any strings or values you cannot find usually indicates you need to add it - so if you can't find the command listed - add it as follows -

 

right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer

select add and put in the name listed - then click o.k - and put in the value listed.

 

Please just ask if you need help

 

Enjoy

Edited September 21, 2008 by Anestty

[fRACTAL 0]

Are there any negative effects at all with having Firefox run this way?

 

I've heard some reports that people are getting weird icons popping up but I've not experienced it.

 

stubbs

 

bwahahahahaha - so funny

 

 

No Gogo - there is no negative - It is simple to return the settings to normal - Though I know of know one that has

 

I deliberately kept this post and the instructions here simple - But I do have settings that are specific to your particular setup at home - for example: Fast PC - Slow connection speed or Fast connection - older or slower PC. The difference is remarkable and I am happy to post the lot here if people want the details

Actually there is one negative, but not for us, it hogs the bandwidth for the websites you're accessing

~Doom

[Arafinwe 0]

Yet again Anestty, thanks.

[stubbie 21]

Reckon this thread is worth a "pinned" status?

 

stubbs

 

EDIT:

Also any strings or values you cannot find usually indicates you need to add it - so if you can't find the command listed - add it as follows -

 

right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer

select add and put in the name listed - then click o.k - and put in the value listed.

\

 

I did this with the user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true); but it gives me a value of 0:)

Should this have been entered as a boolean entry rather than an integer entry.

 

And I don't seem to have any option to delete this entry now.

Edited September 22, 2008 by stubbie

[Arafinwe 0]

Reckon this thread is worth a "pinned" status?

 

stubbs

 

EDIT:

Also any strings or values you cannot find usually indicates you need to add it - so if you can't find the command listed - add it as follows -

 

right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer

select add and put in the name listed - then click o.k - and put in the value listed.

\

 

I did this with the user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true); but it gives me a value of 0:)

Should this have been entered as a boolean entry rather than an integer entry.

 

And I don't seem to have any option to delete this entry now.

 

Did you try with reinitialize and then restart Firefox? I hat typed a name from the first post wrong

and with reinitialize I got rid of the entry?

 

Please correct me if I am wrong but I get the feeling from your post that you placed the user_pref

settings using about:config? I do not know much about all of this but shouldn't those settings be in

a user.js file? Atleast that's what I did and they seem to be working?

Edited September 22, 2008 by Arafinwe

[stubbie 21]

Did you try with reinitialize and then restart Firefox? I hat typed a name from the first post wrong

and with reinitialize I got rid of the entry?

 

Please correct me if I am wrong but I get the feeling from your post that you placed the user_pref

settings using about:config? I do not know much about all of this but shouldn't those settings be in

a user.js file? Atleast that's what I did and they seem to be working?

 

Thanks Arafinwe, after restarting Firefox indeed that entry had gone

 

user.js file:)

I have entered all the information into about:config as per Anestty's instructions.

 

Now I AM confused

 

stubbs

[Anestty 0]

Oki

 

If you put an incorrect entry in it is noted as such and when you restart FireFox it is removed -

 

As for the user.js file - It is simply where these settings are located - They are the user specific settings that you change in about:config.

 

Put simply - change something in about:config and it changes the user.js file settings.

 

The file does not exist by default, so you need to create it before you can start adding your preferences. In almost all cases, edits made using the user.js can be done via the Config Editor, which is the recommended method. So by changing settings in about:config - there is no need to create a user.js file

 

Hope this helps

Edited September 22, 2008 by Anestty

[Arafinwe 0]

Thanks Arafinwe, after restarting Firefox indeed that entry had gone

 

user.js file:)

I have entered all the information into about:config as per Anestty's instructions.

 

Now I AM confused

 

stubbs

 

Good to hear it worked Stubbie.

 

Anestty if I understand correctly you mean that these settings can be done

through about:config? If so then which type should they have? Should they be

boolean like Stubbie mentioned in post 15?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, I understand now. Darn that was obvious, stupid stupid me.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Arafinwe

[stubbie 21]

Anestty if I understand correctly you mean that these settings can be done

through about:config? If so then which type should they have? Should they be

boolean like Stubbie mentioned in post 15?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, I understand now. Darn that was obvious, stupid stupid me.

 

Oh dear........I really wish it was as obvious to me as I'm still stumped with the user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);.

 

stubbs

[Arafinwe 0]

Anestty if I understand correctly you mean that these settings can be done

through about:config? If so then which type should they have? Should they be

boolean like Stubbie mentioned in post 15?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, I understand now. Darn that was obvious, stupid stupid me.

 

Oh dear........I really wish it was as obvious to me as I'm still stumped with the user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);.

 

stubbs

 

You are probably going to slap yourself.

 

Fast Computer, Slower Connection

 

Type: integer

Name: content.max.tokenizing.time

Value: 2250000

 

Numbers like the example above are integer.

True or False are boolean.

 

Do not use the user_pref, the brackets and such, just use

the names and values. So not like this;

 

user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);

 

But use only this:

 

Type: integer

Name: content.max.tokenizing.time

Value: 2250000

 

The type can differ with each new entry ofcourse.

 

I hope I explained it correctly because it isn't a strong point of mine to

explain things in a manner that others understand.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Arafinwe

[stubbie 21]

I hope I explained it correctly because it isn't a strong point of mine to

explain things in a manner that others understand.

 

I'm sure its not your explanation...just my limited ability to understand

 

I knew that the user-pref and brackets were not used.

I was able to successfully able to add all the other settings that had a numerical integer value........that was not a problem.

 

The problem I had, and still have, is how to add the content.notify.ontimer...........true.....value.

 

As it isnt a numerical value it gets entered as a 0 when you add it as an integer....hence my original question of whether it had to be added as a boolean entry (which btw I dont seem to be able to do either )

 

Sorry to be making, which I'm sure is a real simple thing, into such a thread hogger but I just dont get it

 

stubbs

[Arafinwe 0]

I'm sure its not your explanation...just my limited ability to understand

 

I knew that the user-pref and brackets were not used.

I was able to successfully able to add all the other settings that had a numerical integer value........that was not a problem.

 

The problem I had, and still have, is how to add the content.notify.ontimer...........true.....value.

 

As it isnt a numerical value it gets entered as a 0 when you add it as an integer....hence my original question of whether it had to be added as a boolean entry (which btw I dont seem to be able to do either )

 

Sorry to be making, which I'm sure is a real simple thing, into such a thread hogger but I just dont get it

 

stubbs

 

Not being able to enter it as a boolean aswell is very weird?

 

Like I wrote before I do not know much about things like this. But all I did was

right click then choose boolean..enter the name content.notify.ontimer, after

which a pop up gave me the choice of true/false?

[stubbie 21]

Like I wrote before I do not know much about things like this. But all I did was

right click then choose boolean..enter the name content.notify.ontimer, after

which a pop up gave me the choice of true/false?

 

Okay.....its official......I'm an idiot.

 

I don't know why but that time it worked!.....thanks Arafinwe

 

stubbs

[Arafinwe 0]

Glad to hear you got it working now.