Firefox = tech-hipster trash

**jsktrogdor** · February 13, 2009, 08:14 AM

I dont to pretend to know how to code a site, everyone seems to think that firefox is the greatest thing since sliced bread and they insist on telling me. Ive given it a good solid try, the damn thing barley works. Videos are usually in "spaz" mode where the framerate hiccups every half second, it no longer allows me to enter URL's if I want to find something I have to use the google search bar. It runs at less than half the speed that IE did, and it freezes all the time. The only thing I like is the spell checker, and even that misses words and tells me that ive mispelt the: 'an' in 'and'.

Sure IE crashed every other week or so, but at least it wasnt a constant pain in my ass while using it.

tech-hipster trash

**Turkeys!** · February 13, 2009, 08:27 AM

Works perfectly for me, It shouldn't be removing your address bar and freezing, you sure it isn't something else causing these problems?

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by jsktrogdor

I dont to pretend to know how to code a site, everyone seems to think that firefox is the greatest thing since sliced bread and they insist on telling me.

It is.

Ive given it a good solid try, the damn thing barley works. Videos are usually in "spaz" mode where the framerate hiccups every half second,

Looks like a video card or connection issue for video. Not Firefox.

it no longer allows me to enter URL's if I want to find something I have to use the google search bar.

That is abnomral. Reinstall Firefox the "clean" way:

Follow the easy method on TweakGuides: http://www.tweakguides.com/Firefox_3.html

Quote from that exact page at the bottom:

1. Backup your bookmarks as a Bookmarks.html file. In Firefox 2 go to the Bookmarks menu, select 'Organize Bookmarks', then select File>Export. In Firefox 3, go to the Bookmarks menu, select 'Organize Bookmarks', then select 'Import and Backup'>Export HTML. Note the difference between .HTML and .JSON Bookmark files is explained in more detail in the Advanced Tweaking section of the guide.

2. Go to Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs in Windows XP; or Control Panel>Programs & Features in Windows Vista, and if a 'Mozilla Firefox' entry (or similar) exists, select it and click Change/Remove and uninstall it. During uninstallation, tick the 'Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations' box as well.

3. Go to your \Program Files\Mozilla Firefox directory and delete it and all of its contents if it still exists.

4. Delete the following directories if they exist:

In Windows XP -

\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Mozilla

\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla

In Windows Vista -

\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Mozilla

\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\

Note that this will delete all of your bookmarks and saved settings, so make sure you've backed up your bookmarks as covered in step 1. You might also want to note down any passwords which you might otherwise forget.

5. Find and remove all Firefox/Mozilla-related entries in the Windows Registry. Using the Windows Registry Editor (Start>Run>Regedit), delete the following keys - that is, right click on their name in the left pane of Registry Editor and select Delete:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxHTML]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\firefox.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mozilla]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MozillaPlugins]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\mozilla.org]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins]

It runs at less than half the speed that IE did, and it freezes all the time.

That is 99% user error. You could have excess crap slowing your network connection down, your router could be poorly configured and of course theres always malware that can play into it. The other 1% is an ISP issue.

I have had Firefox crash or slowdown on me in my life

Ever.

Never will.

IE probably has it's cache files sorted out over time of using it.

The only thing I like is the spell checker, and even that misses words and tells me that ive mispelt the: 'an' in 'and'.

Not for me.

Sure IE crashed every other week or so, but at least it wasnt a constant pain in my ass while using it.

IE shouldn't even crash at all. You obviously need a good clean install of Windows or whatever OS you are using and your router could be acting up. This is not a Firefox issue.

**Simetrical** · February 13, 2009, 09:18 AM

Different people personally have different experiences. I wouldn't recommend you mess around with your system the way tw3kr-PC suggests unless you like doing that kind of stuff (which I strongly suspect you don't). For most people, Firefox and IE are largely interchangeable as far as they can tell. For some people, one is much more valuable than the other. For instance, since I'm a web developer, I loathe IE for making my life difficult and appreciate some of Firefox's more advanced features. If you rely on things like Group Policy or ActiveX, you'll have to use IE.

I think your reaction to Firefox is a little strong, though. You can certainly enter URLs, I don't know why you think you can't.

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 09:30 AM

I wouldn't recommend you mess around with your system the way tw3kr-PC suggests unless you like doing that kind of stuff

Well you could always re-read it and realize it involves uninstalling Firefox via Add/Remove, backing up your Bookmarks and Saved Passwords, then removing left over folders and registry keys by Firefox. Then installing the newest Firefox. Completely harmless.

**Simetrical** · February 13, 2009, 11:28 AM

Average users should not attempt to edit the registry manually without excellent reason. And even if they should, I doubt they want to. "Hey, if Firefox doesn't work right, you should do this pageful of incomprehensible gibberish" is not going to impress someone who already thinks Firefox is only for techy users.

Especially if it doesn't work, which I doubt it will. Reinstallation doesn't look likely to help here. The problems given are vaguely described, but at least one looks like it's just unfamiliarity with the interface ("no longer allows me to enter URL's"). A couple of the others might be due to subjective impressions with no factual basis (impression of speed, freezing frequency). None of those would possibly be helped by reinstallation. And it was probably a fresh Firefox install to begin with.

Giving people complicated advice and telling them it's their fault is not going to win any converts to Firefox. It's just going to reinforce the original poster's preexisting negative beliefs about its userbase.

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Simetrical

Average users should not attempt to edit the registry manually without excellent reason. And even if they should, I doubt they want to. "Hey, if Firefox doesn't work right, you should do this pageful of incomprehensible gibberish" is not going to impress someone who already thinks Firefox is only for techy users.

Tell me how it's incomprehensible for anyone? Give me that advice the day I used my first PC and I would understand it. Mainly because I would actually analyze it and think about it.
One example is back in the day when I updated from Firefox 1.0 > Firefox 1.5 without a clean install, browsing was a bit slow and I had a few misc. weird problems. I did a clean uninstall, rebooted, installed it anew and "magically" everything was better. That's why I like to do a clean install of bascially everything. Even though it should just overwrite the registry keys and folders.

Especially if it doesn't work, which I doubt it will. Reinstallation doesn't look likely to help here. The problems given are vaguely described, but at least one looks like it's just unfamiliarity with the interface ("no longer allows me to enter URL's"). A couple of the others might be due to subjective impressions with no factual basis (impression of speed, freezing frequency). None of those would possibly be helped by reinstallation. And it was probably a fresh Firefox install to begin with.

To the end, any of the files from the fresh install could in anyway shape or form been corrupted. Otherwise, it could be the OS is just an old un-maitained install, and then the problem can go to directly to hardware.

If it works for me perfectly, then there is something you can do to get it to work like it does for me. Whether it involves a clean OS install, clean browser install, hardware replacements, I will never accept: "it works for some people and doesn't for some others". Such a bad way to use your PC like that.

Giving people complicated advice and telling them it's their fault is not going to win any converts to Firefox.

Complicated advice? I don't understand how.

Besides, I switch between Opera, Firefox and sometimes will mess around with IE7 (IE7 Pro + some tweaks and other programs to make it as secure and as fast as possible). I am not a Firefox fanboy

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 12:33 PM

Instead of starting an argument with Semtrical I guess I will try to "help"

Like I said, try uninstalling Firefox and installing it again. If you want to, a try a clean uninstall.
If nothing you do gets Firefox working, try another browser.
Opera, Netscape, Google Chrome, etc. There are plenty alternatives to Firefox and IE.

If you use IE7, try the excellent add-on named "IE7 Pro": http://www.ie7pro.com/

**Jopel** · February 13, 2009, 12:40 PM

I'm with tw3kr-PC all the way, sorry

**jsktrogdor** · February 13, 2009, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by tw3kr-PC

It is.

See as much as I would love to read that whole page about how I can fix firefox, I'd prefer to stick with IE which I dont have to fix to use; runs videos fine, never chugs, never slows, never freezes, and moves faster without having to trouble shoot it.

No one has ever really given me a legitimate reason why firefox is better other than "it is", which is why IMO I think its just tech people using a different browser so they can look more techy. "oh your still using IE? thats so last year, you should really get with the program".

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by jsktrogdor

See as much as I would love to read that whole page about how I can fix firefox, I'd prefer to stick with IE which I dont have to fix to use; runs videos fine, never chugs, never slows, never freezes, and moves faster without having to trouble shoot it.

Uninstall and reinstall was the main advice. I just quoted on how to do it cleanly

No one has ever really given me a legitimate reason why firefox is better other than "it is", which is why IMO I think its just tech people using a different browser so they can look more techy. "oh your still using IE? thats so last year, you should really get with the program".

Better security.
Updated more often (so again, security fixes)
More add-ons.
More customizable
Faster depending on connection.
Again about customization, I have Firefox 100% customized to do exactly what I want it to do

. No toolbar's or tab bar's or menu bar's. Just the address bar and that's it. I have it tweaked for minimal annoyances and to be faster than stock settings.

IE is not bad if you use IE7 pro and tweak it via registry. Otherwise Firefox is the one that works fine without troubleshooting.

**Azim** · February 13, 2009, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by jsktrogdor

See as much as I would love to read that whole page about how I can fix firefox, I'd prefer to stick with IE which I dont have to fix to use; runs videos fine, never chugs, never slows, never freezes, and moves faster without having to trouble shoot it.

No one has ever really given me a legitimate reason why firefox is better other than "it is", which is why IMO I think its just tech people using a different browser so they can look more techy. "oh your still using IE? thats so last year, you should really get with the program".

There is something wrong with your installation. Firefox isn't some sloppy program that can fall apart like this. I've used it for a long time, and let me tell you from experience Firefox is better than IE. Firt off, I am not one of those anti-Microsoft guys. In my opinion, Windows is the best OS out there (unless you are using your computer for programming, in which case Linux is the best). Regardless, Microsoft really failed with IE. It is a terrible browser. It's slow, it crashes all of the time, and it isn't even standards compliant. (Meaning it doesn't always display webpages as they should be displayed.) Firefox is the exact opposite of IE, and unlike som many other open source teams, the Firefox team actually considers Windows support to be valuable, which I appreciate. The Windows port isn't simply an afterthought, as it is with many of the programming tools I use.

Why is Firefox better than IE? It's faster, it almost never crashes, it is smaller, and it can easily be exteded, meaning that there are hundereds of plugins out there that can make the browser do virtually anything. And Firefox is remotely techy. Sure, a lot of tech junkies use it, but it wasn't made for them. While Firefox is definitley the best browser for the web programmer, it is also the best browser for ever one else.

If your Firefox install is crashing on you, it must have been corrupted. I once hated Firefox like you because my 2.0 install crashed whenever I opened Windows Explorer. I thought this was because Firefox was a shoddy program. One day though, I happened to stumble upon an article on the internet describing a certain virus which could corrupt you Firefox install. I checked for it... and I had it. I killed the virus, and Firefox never crashed again. Ever. Trust me: IE is the shoddy program, not Firefox. I recommend a clean reinstall and I virus scan on you computer. If Firefox still doesn't work, then by all means go for IE. After all, Firefox is only a web browser, and you shouldn't try to kill yourself trying to use it.

Wait a minute, what am I thinking!

**★Bandiera Rossa☭** · February 13, 2009, 08:16 PM

For me firefox runs at nearly twice the rate of internet explorer...

**Haas** · February 13, 2009, 10:32 PM

Firefox is more secure... it's a fact
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/
read it.

But hey, if IE is your preference, then by all means.

**★Bandiera Rossa☭** · February 13, 2009, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by Haas

Firefox is more secure... it's a fact
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/
read it.

But hey, if IE is your preference, then by all means.

True but there was that glitch that was getting peoples myspace accounts stolen because of the automatic password feature.

**Haas** · February 13, 2009, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Slurricane

True but there was that glitch that was getting peoples myspace accounts stolen because of the automatic password feature.

solution... don't use myspace
Facebook is better anywho

**Strelok** · February 13, 2009, 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by Haas

solution... don't use myspace

Solution: don't use save password feature.

**★Bandiera Rossa☭** · February 13, 2009, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by Haas

solution... don't use myspace
Facebook is better anywho

It happened with facebook as well. It was because of people editing their profiles to phish peoples passwords. Firefox saw www.myspace.com or the facebook address and auto filled in the password.

**Simetrical** · February 16, 2009, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by tw3kr-PC

Tell me how it's incomprehensible for anyone? Give me that advice the day I used my first PC and I would understand it.

You are not an average user. You are not even close to an average user. Your understanding of computers is vastly greater than most people's, and you appear not to understand this. You need to try working in a tech support job or something to get more exposure to real people who are clueless about computers.

Originally Posted by tw3kr-PC

Complicated advice? I don't understand how.

That's the problem, yes.