TenFourFox one-fifth speed downloading and uploading compared with Safari
PowerMac G5, DP 2.3 GHz, 8 GB RAM, OS X 10.4.11, TenFourFox FP3.
About two weeks ago my Internet access speed dropped dramatically. After problem-solving with Blackfoot technical support:
1. The DSL signal was within their specifications - that is, there was no cause for the drop from their faulty equipment.
2. They furnished a new DSL modem.
3. They upgraded my speed from 4 to 15 - I have no idea what this means except in the context of significantly quicker Internet access was furnished to me.
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4. No change in access speed.
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5. Blackfoot repair service just left from their service call to verify wiring. No problems.
6. Running SpeedOfMe Internet access speed testing application from each browser showed Safari 4.1.3 running TEN TIMES the access speed of TenFourFox. This was the first time I had run SpeedOfMe on Safari.
7. I disabled all add-ons I had active, restarted, and ran SpeedOfMe from each browser again. Safari's access remained (download 11.5-12.25 Mbps; upload 925-985 Kbps). TenFourFox's access speed improved dramatically (download 5.8-6.25 Mbps; upload 860-900 Kbps).
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So what I have is TenFourFox downloading - what my browser does for me nearly 100 percent of my time on the Internet - at less than half the speed of Safari. This occurs so long as I enable none of the add-ons that allow TenFourFox to use the Internet efficiently - that is, NO ADD-ONS. Oh yeah - I strongly dislike using Safari. In a very few instances I will use it as a last resort.
Since this severe degradation of performance is recent, and it is clearly related to TenFourFox, what the heck is going on, and why? What procedure(s) should I do to bring TenFourFox's Internet access as close as possible to that of Safari while retaining as much of the advantages I enjoy from add-ons?
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1 Posted by tlancek on 05 Oct, 2017 09:28 PM
I attempted to enable add-ons singly, the ones not requiring a restart first, running SpeedOfMe after each enabling.
Strict Pop-up Blocker caused about 10 percent reduction in download and upload. I then added Bluhell Firewall. Internet access speed dropped dramatically.
I disabled Bluhell Firewall. Access speed continued to drop. I disabled Strict Pop-up Blocker. Access speed continued to drop.
Verifying the problem remains a TenFourFox one, I ran Safari. About 5 percent slowdown upload and download. It is 3:25 PM Mountain Time on a Thursday. I attribute this slight speed loss to people using the Internet during business hours.
I add an exclamation point to what the heck is going on, and why?
2 Posted by tlancek on 06 Oct, 2017 04:17 PM
I removed the Firefox folder from USERS folder and deleted TenFourFox.
I installed FPR 3 and immediately went to SpeedOfMe. First test showed download speed in the middle eights (850 Mbps) and upload speed about 875 Kbps. Subsequent tests showed access speeds reverting to terrible despite TenFourFox having zero "baggage."
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I removed the Firefox folder from USERS folder and deleted TenFourFox.
I installed the less current FPR 2 and immediately went to SpeedOfMe. First test showed download speed in the middle nines (950 Mbps) and upload speed about 875 Kbps. Subsequent tests showed access speeds reverting to terrible despite TenFourFox having zero "baggage."
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So here's what I confirmed. SAFARI consistently reports access speeds Blackfoot's DSL package is intended to yield.
TenFourFox's best test showed download speed 9.35 Mbps and upload speed of 860 Mbps - about 75 percent of SAFARI. This occurred on the first test of newly installed FPR 2. Subsequent tests were less quick, tests reverting to problem areas. FPR 3's first test when newly installed was about ten percent lower than that of newly installed FPR 2. Its subsequent tests showed the identical pattern of results being progressively worse.
Latency for newly installed FPRs, however, consistently matched that of SAFARI - that is, 27-80 ms. Latency for TenFourFox as I had been using it with add-ons enabled showed delays between 75 ms and 5128 ms.
TenFourFox as I had been using it with add-ons enabled had none of the hitches and glitches when I accessed any of my SAVED on-disk TenFourFox documents, regardless the number I opened simultaneously. This uneventful performance remained consistent.
My TenFourFox problems are not hard drive problems or system problems or Internet problems. I've tested and/or fixed everything I can think of.
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I have run DiskWarrior and TechTools Pro to repair and optimize the drive. No severe problems found. Disk had not been severely fragmented. In effect, the drive showed routine usage.
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I just shot the last arrow in my quiver. I switched start-up drive and ran SpeedOfMe on the drive's TenFourFox FPR 3 and SAFARI. Results are consistent with those of my primary hard drive.