Firefox Portable 3.1 Preview - Speed Test 2 - Testers Urgently Needed

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September 4, 2008 - 6:59pm

John T. Haller

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Firefox Portable 3.1 Preview - Speed Test 2 - Testers Urgently Needed

THIS TEST IS COMPLETE. THE CHANGES ARE IN 3.1:
https://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable/test

I've posted a preview release of some possible improvements that are being worked on for Firefox 3.1 that should help with speed on flash drives. The specifics are being discussed here:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=442967

This will install alongside an existing Firefox Portable install in a directory called FirefoxPortableSpeedTest by default and will appear in the menu with (Speed Test) after the name to avoid confusion. The build of Firefox is from the above Bugzilla bug. The launcher is our current launcher from Firefox Portable 3.0.1.

Please test on different flash media that you find Firefox 3 slow on and post your results. Side by side comparisons with Firefox Portable 3.0.1 are especially helpful.

Download Firefox Portable 3.1 Preview - Speed Test 2 [7.5MB download / 27MB installed]
MD5: 53991274cedcf3c7cad19398543c864f

Note: This is considered a "Development Test" as it's based on a test build. It has the Minefield branding instead of Firefox and the PA Dev Test branding. You can copy your existing profile in for speed comparison purposes but you should not use it as your primary browser with the only copy of your main profile.

TESTING NOTE: We're testing speed in terms of actual usage. Loading pages, navigating from one page to another, switching tabs, etc. Basically this should be faster and 'pause' less than FFP 3.0.3.

Speed Test 2: I've updated to a new build of the test version of Firefox 3.1 pre-beta2. I've also added in the updated from the current Firefox Portable 3.1 Beta 1 launcher.

September 4, 2008 - 10:11pm

paulf

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I'll Test it Tomorrow

John:
I downloaded the Speed Test and will give it a comparison test tomorrow morning.
Paulf

September 5, 2008 - 3:25pm

(Reply to #2) #3

paulf

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Speed Test Results

John:
Running on a Microcenter 8 Gb. flashdrive the results were;
"Standard Firefox" loaded in 31 seconds.
Speed Test 1 Firefox loaded in 28 seconds.
Some improvement on this machine but not much.

September 5, 2008 - 3:31pm

(Reply to #3) #4

John T. Haller

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Use Not Launch

We're comparing speed in use, not launch speed. Basically, does it feel less slow and freeze up less as you use it and navigate between pages.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 5, 2008 - 3:33pm

(Reply to #4) #5

onestoploser

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It's definitely less slow and

It's definitely less slow and freezes up way less. For me, it only freezes up directly after launch, and only for a few seconds. Not even enough to be annoying.

September 5, 2008 - 11:25pm

(Reply to #5) #6

gluxon

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hm..

doesn't freeze at all for me.

It's way faster though... even with session store and anti-phishing on.

September 5, 2008 - 3:50pm

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for now on fast drive

Buffalo Firestix RUF2 R 4GB with TurboUSB driver, average read 36 MB on Win XPSP3 :loading time half the 3.0 one , browsing as usual (= no delay), perhaps parts of a second faster. gonna do testing with a slow drive this evening..

EDIT: sandisk cruizer micro 8GB average read 22MB on WinXP SP3 :
browsing/loadingtime much faster than with 3.0 (usually have to wait "half a second" when the next side is loading in 3.0), a little slower than 2.0....

EDIT2: did a test on an old drive 512 MB average read 6MB sessionstore disabled as with the other drives: FF3.0 Portable -> experience of "incredible slow" browsing, clicking a link produces freezing, one crash, Testbrowser is notably faster but still you have the impression of slow motion browsing,FF2.0.0.16 is yet a bit faster;

Had no chance to benchmark the writing speed of the drives, average reading results are from HD Tach.Different startup time seems to be caused by the amount of addons and the different launchers -> second startup time is nearly the same with Test3.1

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis .." Friday Next -
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September 5, 2008 - 8:44am

Simeon

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For me

browsing is notably faster, start- and close-times are faster too but only a little.
Thats on a Corsair Flash Voyager 2 gb.
Ill try it on my other drive later.

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

September 5, 2008 - 8:59am

onestoploser

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I downloaded and installed to

I downloaded and installed to my daily use flash drive (2 GB PNY Optima PRO Attache which is sloooooow). I had nothing but problems with FirefoxPortable 3.0.1 on it (it ran really slow, froze up constantly, and crashed regularly), but Minefield seems to not only run faster and smoother than 3.1, but faster and smoother than 2.0.0.16 also. I'll probably be using this one instead of 2.0.0.16 for now until an official release is posted. I have high hopes for this one.

EDIT: I forgot to add that I am running Windows XP SP3.

September 5, 2008 - 11:12am

(Reply to #9) #10

siegfre

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Much Faster

Definitely much faster than 3.01 on my very slooow 2gb PNY Attache. I haven't used a stopwatch but it seems just as fast as 2.0.16. Great work John. Keep tweaking!!!

September 5, 2008 - 12:50pm

(Reply to #10) #11

John T. Haller

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Packaging

I'm just packaging it up to help with the testing. These tweaks are contributed by other Firefox coders.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 5, 2008 - 12:23pm

#12

muskrat

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Working for me here W2K SP4

Works pretty well.

So far no system slow downs experienced with previous versions of FFX3. Sorry I do not have accurate time information for the minefield version or the previous FFX3. But it does appear to work much faster than before.

System Specs:
Windows 2000 SP4
Domain user; Administrator

Flash Specs:
16GB PNY Attache drive (8.8GB free)

/s/ When life turns your dreams to dust, vacuum

September 5, 2008 - 12:49pm

#13

John T. Haller

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My experience

I tested both Firefox Portable 3.0.1 and Speed Test 1 with a default blank profile with session saver on and anti-phishing off (so it wouldn't be downloading and tainting the test) on an older 512MB drive. Startup was about the same but Speed Test 1 seemed to become usable faster after clicking a link. So, whereas with Firefox 3.0.1 when you click a link the whole GUI would pause before even mousing over bookmarks on the personal bookmark bar would work, it returned noticeably faster with Speed Test 1.

It was still noticeably slower than Firefox Portable 2.0.0.16... but then so is the local version on my PC (3.0.1 local is noticeably slower than 2.0.0.16 local).

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 5, 2008 - 4:47pm

#14

Kevin Porter

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Sweet.

I've been using the Firefox 3.1 nightlies for a few days now, and they are so much faster. Gecko's beating Webkit now.

I'll try it out immediately.

EDIT:
Looks good, certainly much faster than the current FFP. Terrific job, John.

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook

September 5, 2008 - 4:10pm

#15

Gizmokid2005

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I wish

I could be of more help, but there isn't a huge difference on my WD Passport that use. Yes, 3.1.0 was marginally faster, but just that, marginally.

I can see this being faster on flash drives, but I can't say from experience whether it will be or not.

Side note: the new CTRL+TAB feature is cool...and I hate it at the same time.

September 5, 2008 - 9:16pm

#16

powerjuce

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i really like this one...

comparable to google chrome speeds...

Please search before posting. ~Thanks

September 6, 2008 - 2:29pm

#17

duke3d

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Normal

Thanks John for Ffp 3.1 Preview; I have the test on 2 pc (vista & xp),no problem; but, I do not see any difference with Ff 3.0.1, consumption and speed of course.

sorry for my English

September 6, 2008 - 7:23pm

#18

BuddhaChu

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links needed

Could I get some good websites/links to test this on from the peanut gallery please? I'm not having good success as they both seem "slow" to me. I think it's my fault as I don't think I'm trying both out on the right kinds of websites.

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September 6, 2008 - 9:26pm

#19

EwanG

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If it weren't for one plugin, I wouldn't go back...

I can tell a very noticeable difference in this version - particularly with my GMail account. If it weren't that the version number causes my LogMeIn Plugin to choke, I'd probably go ahead and switch to this version permanently now.

System is a Turion 64x2 with 2 Gigs of RAM, and the USB drive is a Cruzer Micro 8GB that's about half full.

September 6, 2008 - 10:42pm

(Reply to #19) #20

The MAZZTer

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You can edit the install.rdf

You can edit the install.rdf file of an extension to force it to work on newer versions.

Of course you can't do it on already installed extensions... but I think John's launcher deletes a profile file to force Firefox to refresh that information.

Either way just download the extension XPI, use a zip tool to extract the install.rdf, change it and put it back in. Then feed the new XPI to Firefox.

Alternately, set extensions.checkCompatibility to true in about:config to globally ignore versions in install.rdfs.

This page has details http://developer.mozilla.org/en/Extension_Versioning,_Update_and_Compati... though it's aimed more at devs.

Signature automatically removed for being too awesome.

September 6, 2008 - 11:23pm

#21

Isaac Waller

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Normal Firefox portable froze

Normal Firefox portable froze every time i browsed to another page for a few seconds (I use it on Vista, so it went all white and said "Firefox is not responding"). It was slow and unuseable so I had to stop using it. (yes, I had session store disabled)

Speed Test took FOREVER to start up, so even if its zippy when you use it it's unusable to me.
When it finally started, it froze a few times and then showed the main page.
Hovering is very responsive, loading a simple webpage (www.isaacwaller.com) was fine, and clicking on links and browsing the mozilla website was fast. Sometimes though, when I clicked on a Bookmarkes entry and hen quickly opened a menu, it froze for 1 second and became responsive again. It's much better that firefox 3.0, but still a bit unusable.

My USB Drive: Kingston DataTraveller 8GB write speed: around 100kb/s

September 7, 2008 - 2:03pm

#22

Skate6566

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I don't have any times, but

I don't have any times, but it is definitely faster. Still, it fails against Firefox 2.0.0.16 :|

--Skate6566

September 8, 2008 - 9:56am

#23

onestoploser

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I just bought a new flash

I just bought a new flash drive and transferred my PortableApps installation from my old one to the new one. The new one is a 2 gb Toshiba drive (sorry I can't remember the model number). This starts up fast, runs fast and I get no freezes whatsoever now.

September 9, 2008 - 2:59am

#24

bluebell_rose

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tested

And it certainly loads a graphic heavy page pretty quickly. I tried opening multiple tabs and it loaded pretty quickly. Using it, it sure isn't as fast as 2.0.0.16 but it's certainly much better than the current release.

I use a kingston 4gb. I'm looking to get a osz 8 gb one though.

edit:used it a bit longer and it still crashes. I usually have 2 different windows open, as in different apps open.

September 9, 2008 - 3:32am

#25

EspaÑaks (not verified)

downloading & testing

September 15, 2008 - 10:20pm

#26

EwanG

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Compatibility?

So, if I have been using this version, will I be able to copy the profile back to my 3.0.1 version? Will the profile work with future betas in this stream (assuming there will be any)?

September 16, 2008 - 10:05am

(Reply to #26) #27

John T. Haller

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As stated in the main post, do NOT use this for your real profile. Period. It actually has a dataloss bug.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 16, 2008 - 11:20am

(Reply to #27) #28

EspaÑaks (not verified)

it goes well & you tell that

it goes well & you tell that late: i copyed the whole "data" directory from the stable version to the test & went OK, except for most themes. fortunately, i din't deleted anything from the stable version

September 19, 2008 - 5:48pm

#29

Bruce Pascoe

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...

It's quick, but so was 3.0.1 Portable immediately after a clean install. Once I installed extensions and my history started growing, it slowed down. Since 3.1 isn't compatible with any of my extensions, I can't really test it under real-world conditions.

September 20, 2008 - 2:28pm

(Reply to #29) #30

John T. Haller

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Not Really

I asked people to test side by side in the exact conditions. Out of the box clean with no profile in either, this build is noticeably faster than 3.0.1.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 20, 2008 - 8:43pm

(Reply to #30) #31

Bruce Pascoe

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...

I could copy my 3.0.1 profile, true, but it's still incompatible with most extensions. So I can't test it under the "exact" same conditions...

September 24, 2008 - 3:39pm

(Reply to #31) #32

EwanG

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Suspect the point is

that if it works faster clean out of the box, and then you add your extensions and that slows it down, then perhaps it's time to bug the extension developers

Seriously, I'd love if the Mozilla folks worked with the main plugin/extension folks to make sure everything works well together, but they do have their hands full. Maybe when Chrome supports addins we can see if there's a "better" way to do it.

October 1, 2008 - 6:33am

(Reply to #32) #33

bluebell_rose

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same

same experience I had with it

October 1, 2008 - 6:34am

(Reply to #33) #34

bluebell_rose

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same

same experience I had with it

October 1, 2008 - 7:34am

(Reply to #34) #35

Bruce Pascoe

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...

Don't triple post, please.

September 20, 2008 - 12:24pm

#36

Simeon

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Why

does the title read "Testers urgently needed"?

I always thought "urgently" meant that a release was imminent. Doesnt seem to be the case here...

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

September 20, 2008 - 2:02pm

(Reply to #36) #37

Bruce Pascoe

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...

It's still pretty urgent, though, because I suspect John wants testers to make sure the freezing problem gets fixed before FF 3.1 is released.

September 20, 2008 - 2:26pm

(Reply to #37) #38

John T. Haller

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Mozilla

Mozilla relayed that they needed to get testing in ASAP in the development process. You can NOT make changes like this once 3.1 hits beta stage or even after an alpha or two.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

September 23, 2008 - 2:36am

#39

sirnotapearing

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fast but

it's fast but it seems to drop bookmarks.

September 23, 2008 - 9:18am

(Reply to #39) #40

Bruce Pascoe

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Data Loss

As was said earlier in this thread, it has a data loss bug. That's why you shouldn't use it with your main profile.

October 2, 2008 - 11:08am

#41

m-p-3

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To me, the browser does seems

To me, the browser does seems to be a bit more responsive during normal usage.

October 16, 2008 - 9:35pm

#42

John T. Haller

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Speed Test 2

I've updated to a new build of the test version of Firefox 3.1 pre-beta2. I've also added in the updated from the current Firefox Portable 3.1 Beta 1 launcher.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

October 29, 2008 - 10:46am

(Reply to #42) #43

esm

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"pausing"

Hi John,

I've installed the "speed test 2" version you recently built, and I'm seeing pretty dramatic pausing from time to time; usually with a 5+ tabs open, and it seems to always happen when something is loading (either async calls in javascript, or a new page loading/refreshing).

I've tried this both with and without the two new JIT options enabled (just in case that was a source of the problem), and it's with my old profile copied into place. It's installed on the same logical drive as the stable version (a TrueCrypt volume on an internal disk).

At first I assumed this was because of Weave (which has some issues when large amounts of data are synchronizing), but I've confirmed that Weave isn't syncing when this happens.

Anything in particular you'd like me to try or test?

-Ed
Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

October 19, 2008 - 2:46pm

#44

Steve Lamerton

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Just

wondering, just anyone else get nasty DEP (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Execution_Prevention) crashes with the newest speed test build?

December 20, 2008 - 12:09am

(Reply to #44) #45

madcadder

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Were are we at???

I ran across an article a couple weeks back about how to make a portable 3.1 nightly from an install of FFP 3.0.4 and unzipping the nightly into the 'firefox' folder to "upgrade". I can't find that article now.

This version doesn't appear to have been updated in a bit...

I still have the 'firefox-3.1b2pre.en-US.win32.zip' file downloaded in 12/3.
I downloaded 'Firefox Setup 3.1 Beta 2.exe' tonight, but haven't installed anything since it's an EXE. Really want a ZIP version.
I know I can install, copy it to the FFP/firefox folder, and uninstall the original to get my FFP 3.1, but have had issues with still losing my profile that way and restoring the backup didn't fix.

So, where're we at?

Thanks,
mc

ps. They just released 3.2a1 on 12/19 on the ftp

December 20, 2008 - 7:57am

#46

jimmy72

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Slow and Freezes

I used it and it took a bit to load. It froze multiple times. It did work better than Firefox 3.0. Also take into consideration that my computer is ten years old.

I don't have a short attention span. I just...oh look a kitty!

March 4, 2009 - 8:29pm

#47

daBomb69

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Crashes

It crashes a lot. Mainly when using Google products, but other times too. Also, it runs very fast. '

Running Win XP service pack 2

Use the search box! Please!

March 4, 2009 - 10:41pm

(Reply to #47) #48

John T. Haller

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Discontinued

This test has been discontinued. Use the current beta version of 3.1 which has the fixes.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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