One of the coolest things about Firefox is the amount of add-ons, extensions, and plug-ins available. Unfortunately that also creates some performance issues. You can use a quick hack to speed things up.
If you're familiar with the old vacuum command to clean up the SQLite database you'll like the more efficient way. If you're not familiar it, haven't used it, or didn't know about it, don't worry.
- Open the Error Console by going to Tools/Error Console.
- Put the following code string in the Code text box:
Components.classes["@mozilla.org/browser/nav-history-service;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsPIPlacesDatabase).DBConnection.executeSimpleSQL("VACUUM"); - Click Evaluate.
Firefox will freeze up for a little while, but when it's done you should notice some improvements.
Speaking of plug-ins, if you'd rather have this task automated, you can install the Vacuum Places add-on.
Once you've installed the add-on you can configure it from the add-on panel and clicking on the options button.
Or you can run a clean up by clicking on the app's icon, which in this case was installed
in the bottom right corner of the browser.
Running this will also cause Firefox to freeze up while the clean up is happening.
