Adjust This Setting Before Firefox Wears Down Your SSD Drive

[Borg 386]

Firefox browsers are constantly writing large amounts of data to SSD drives, sometimes at higher values than the ones recommended by their vendors for daily writes.

According to the tech experts from ServeTheHome, a Firefox browser in its default configuration can write between 10GB and 30GB per day to SSD drives, depending on the number of opened tabs and windows.

The main two reasons behind these heavy-duty SSD write operations are the recovery.js and cookie.* files.

Sergei Bobik of ServeTheHome , who discovered this issue, says there’s a way to limit some of the write operations for the recovery.js file by tweaking one of Firefox’s settings.

Adjust This Setting Before Firefox Wears Down Your SSD Drive - MSFN

 

[jadinolf]

I changed all 5 of my computers the day the article became available.

No adverse effects.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I'm using Pale Moon.

I can't find that "recovery.js" file.
Where is it supposed to be?

I do have the "browser.sessionstore.interval" setting in "about:config" (in PM the default seems to be 60000).

I moved my profile folders out of my user folder onto a HDD partition years ago.

I got sick of losing my browser data when re-imaging my OS partition.
It also means that all of my PCs can use the same PM profiles.

If that file is supposed to be in my profile folder, this won't affect me.


In my case, the Pagefile is more of a menace.
According to my system monitors, my W7 Pagefile changes size by 1 MB or 2 MB every second.

I moved the Pagefile off of my OS partition when I first installed my SSD.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Frequent session backups may decrease SSD lifetime - Pale Moon forum

More discussion at the above link regarding Pale Moon, which is a fork of Firefox.

The Firefox default is to write session backups every 15 seconds.

The Pale Moon default is every minute.

The Pale Moon developer says 15 seconds is ridiculous, but that the issue is largely overblown as are most discussions of "wearing out" an SSD.

He says:

"I found Mozilla's choice of interval poor as well (it previously was every 10 seconds!) and bumped it to a minute a long time ago, before SSDs were really a thing or commonplace.

Sure, it may (and probably will) decrease SSD lifetime, but the question is "by how much?" - ANY write, no matter how small, will decrease the lifetime of any SSD because the chips simply only last so long as far as rewriting the flash memory contents are concerned. I've done some checking previously as far as using disk cache on an SSD is concerned and that was insignificant in terms of expected life of an SSD (and that would have a lot more impact than any sessionstore writing would have).

You want to buy an SSD, but not have it wear down? That's like buying a sports car to just have it sit in front of your house and never use it."

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Good one Roy I'm guessing
Firefox is eating your SSD - here is how to fix it

Roy
September 23, 2016 at 3:06 pm
The best suggestion is to turn session restore OFF.
about:config
browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash to FALSE

Also change restore on demand to false too and used 18000000 = 5hrs :/
I really don't care if a session is restored at all after a crash...

 

[spencer1]

I'm using Pale Moon.

I can't find that "recovery.js" file.
Where is it supposed to be?

In Firefox, recovery.js is located in the sessionstore_backups folder in your profile folder. Might be the same for Pale Moon?

 

[Layback Bear]

I use Intel SSD's with a 5 year warranty.
My mind thought is simple.
I use the Intel Tool Box.
Use the damn SSD and enjoy it.
If the SSD breaks before the 5 year warranty, no problem. Intel will send me another one.
If the SSD breaks after the 5 year warranty, no problems. I'm due for a newer one anyway.

From the beginning when SSD's came out their is always someone, somewhere tell us that SSD's won't live very long. Well they are wrong. SSD's have got better and better. They also have got cheaper.

If I remember correctly this forums computer (Server) uses SSD's in raid 10. Obviously they are used a lot.

Some people scratch spots that might itch tomorrow.
SSD's were put on earth by the computer gods for our enjoyment.
Enjoy.

Jack

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
The writes seem pretty whacky to me quite frankly for a feature I could care a less about so hopefully that ends that mayhem

And for the record a replacement ssd under warranty is just another used ssd not a new one just new to whomever they mailed back too

 

[Layback Bear]

I did have a problem with a Intel SSD and I did get a new one for the replacement.
Either way new or refurbished doesn't matter to me as long as it works as it should.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I'm using Pale Moon.

I can't find that "recovery.js" file.
Where is it supposed to be?

In Firefox, recovery.js is located in the sessionstore_backups folder in your profile folder. Might be the same for Pale Moon?

PM doesn't seem to have that folder.

I have a sessionbackup folder, but that may have been created by Tab Mix Plus, as the only items in it are tabmix_sessions-xxxx-xx-xx.rdf files.

 

[DrmWarrior]

Firefox browsers are constantly writing large amounts of data to SSD drives, sometimes at higher values than the ones recommended by their vendors for daily writes.

According to the tech experts from ServeTheHome, a Firefox browser in its default configuration can write between 10GB and 30GB per day to SSD drives, depending on the number of opened tabs and windows.

The main two reasons behind these heavy-duty SSD write operations are the recovery.js and cookie.* files.

Sergei Bobik of ServeTheHome , who discovered this issue, says there’s a way to limit some of the write operations for the recovery.js file by tweaking one of Firefox’s settings.

Adjust This Setting Before Firefox Wears Down Your SSD Drive - MSFN

I did this a few days ago. Just typed about.config today and I totally got a redirect! Seems as if Mozilla is putting scripts in the browser to keep a user unaware of the fact that Firefox is using space.
maybe I should run Hijack This and see what it has to say.

 

[Anak]

No need to run HJT, I got the same redirect, did you see a bluish question bar pop-up asking if you wanted to go there? clicking on it took me to about.config, then I saved a bookmark for it, been okay ever since.

 

[DrmWarrior]

No need to run HJT, I got the same redirect, did you see a bluish question bar pop-up asking if you wanted to go there? clicking on it took me to about.config, then I saved a bookmark for it, been okay ever since.

No...seems it was an ID10T error LOL! typed about(.)config instead of about:config
dang ol typos

 

[RolandJS]

What I've done to "save" FF stuff when FF's working aok is to "parallel" save both AppData Local and Roaming Mozilla directories to another internal or external media. I save approximately monthly. That way, regardless of where the profiles stuff is located, such can be rebuilt by a copy-back without having to resort to massive OS or data partition restores. And, if one is making routine backups, the folders can be retrieved from said backup images.

 

[Anak]

DrmWarrior Ahh....A learning experience, don't be to hard on yourself, I also have these on a regular basis...

RolandJS That's a sound plan you have for yourself Roland....