I want Firefox 2.0 to cache (to disk) but it is not

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by HandsOff, Feb 3, 2007.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2003
    Posts:
    1,946
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    This is sort of inconvenient - it slows firefox down tremendously!

    I have allocated disk space for cache. What else do I have to do? When I type in about:cache it lists the correct folder. Still, no caching seems to occur. Unfortunately not all the controls are in the same place...

    Clearing history should not clear the cache, should it?


    -HandsOff
     
  2. Lamehand

    Lamehand Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    Posts:
    428
    Location:
    the Netherlands,very near to the North sea
    Have you checked your settings for the cache in about:config?
    And as far as i can tell, clearing your history won't clean out the cache.

    greetings
    Lamehand
     
  3. True Orient

    True Orient Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2004
    Posts:
    88
    Try this:

    Type “about:config” into your address bar to access the hidden configuration options for Firefox.

    browser.cache.memory.capacity

    Controls how much memory is used to cache pages.

    Right click on the page and choose New then Integer and create an integer called browser.cache.memory.capacity and set it to a low number. This controls how many kilobytes of memory are used for the browser’s cache.

    NOTE: Aim for 80% of whatever the default is.


    browser.cache.disk.capacity

    Controls how much disk space is used to cache pages in kilobytes.

    Set browser.cache.disk.capacity to between 5000 or 15000.

    128MB to 512M -> 5000.
    512BM to 1GB of RAM -> use 15000
     
  4. Lamehand

    Lamehand Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    Posts:
    428
    Location:
    the Netherlands,very near to the North sea
    Don't forget to check if 'browser.cache.disk.enable' is set to 'true' in about:config

    Lamehand
     
  5. wilbertnl

    wilbertnl Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2004
    Posts:
    1,850
    Location:
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    The cache is moved to %username%\local settings\application data\mozilla.
    Away from the regular profile in %username%\application data\mozilla.
     
  6. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2003
    Posts:
    1,946
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Thanks for all three replies - I got sick of dealing with it, hence the delay, but I will now make my feeble attempt to get it working.

    Am I the only one who wonders why they have to make a basic setting like this such an esoteric thing? Anyway thanks for putting the info all in one place.

    To True Orient: I'm a heavy user of a photo sharing site, so my needs are more along the lines of wanting to create space for a huge amount of cache, and being able to defragment and reformat from time to time. I put the cache on a separate drive and did everything I could figure out but it refuses to work, hence the frustration. Here goes nothing!

    -HandsOff

    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Note to Real Orient

    (I have 1 GB of RAM) would you change any of your recommended settings based on the above, or are they the same as what you would recommend for someone with the highest demand on loading cached pages?

    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Note to Wil.-

    The cache is moved to %username%\local settings\application data\mozilla.
    Away from the regular profile in %username%\application data\mozilla.

    I do appreciate the information as that is one of the places I will be checking, I just wanted to point out one good thing about the no caching scenario is that my C: partition has had practically zero fragmentation going on, it's amazing! I've tried to keep volatile files on C: down to a minimum and this might be a good example of one to move.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2007
  7. Rico

    Rico Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2004
    Posts:
    2,286
    Location:
    Canada
    Hi Handsoff,

    Not sure if this is what your looking for, but cache equals speed, & this made my FF really fast. I'm surprised this has gotten so little attention here. Anyway give it a try (if you like):


    http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/

    Take Care
    Rico
     
  8. wilbertnl

    wilbertnl Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2004
    Posts:
    1,850
    Location:
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    So, what if Firefox is caching in the place that you didn't look at yet?
    Open Start / Run and launch this: %localappdata%/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles
     
  9. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2003
    Posts:
    1,946
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    You guys are Great! - the cache appears to be working!

    Note to Rico: I agree! I will take a look to double check things
    Note #2 to Rico: I misunderstood, I thought you were pointing to a discussion of settings. This faster fox is interesting, and I may give it a try. I am going take a closer look!

    Special Thanks to True Orient!
    Were it not for your detailed answer (which included suggested sizes for the disc caching I might have banged my head forever. I think maybe I did not put workable values in both the memory and disc cache. I assumed that bigger would be better. I now think that I had a memory cache setting so high that the disk cache was not even used! Since I don't know the correct value I just reset it to default.

    Then what I did for the diskcaching as a temporary measure was to use the suggested 15,000 for the disk caching. But 15,000 of what unit is the pressing question! If that is KB's then that is only 15 MB and will be filled up very fast. I think I need a larger cache, but at least I have to cache working again!

    BTW - Has anyone set higher than default values and got away with it? If so, how high? Still, I am very happy just to get it working. It will mean much better performance without a doubt! Thanks again!


    -HandsOff
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2007
  10. Lamehand

    Lamehand Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    Posts:
    428
    Location:
    the Netherlands,very near to the North sea
    My disk-cache is set at 50 MB, no problems.

    Lamehand
     
  11. Birdman

    Birdman Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2003
    Posts:
    571
    I modified my settings to the following:

    browser.cache.memory.capacity = 10

    browser.cache.disk.capacity = 7500 (default was 50000); 768 MB of RAM

    Would you say that these settings are good enough or can they be improved?
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2007
  12. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2003
    Posts:
    1,946
    Location:
    Bay Area, California

    Are you setting through about:config?

    i set my browser.cache.disc.capacity to 15,000 (still don't know the units. my disc cache folder now is just under 18 MB

    anyway I will have to make note of these figures and hopefully get a handle of the optimum size. (too big or too small would probably be bad - but no disc cache was worse than what I have now!)
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.