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The UOC and QUOC Patch - Optimize Firefox (and derivatives) for old hardware!


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On 4/3/2019 at 3:35 PM, looking4awayout said:

 

 

Ok now that we know the specs, how to install it?

Installing the UOC Patch is a very easy process. Just go in your browser folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox or Pale Moon or any other Mozilla based browser you use), then go in the "Defaults" then the "Pref" folder and extract the UOC_Patch38.js or UOC_Patch45.js you will find in their respective archive in the above folder and start the browser. The UOC Patch will be automatically applied alongside your existing preferences. But as a safety measure, do make a backup of your prefs.js file inside your profile folder, before launching the patched browser.

 

I don't know better removing that part!? ;)

I deleted old prefs.js and renamed UOC_Patch45.js in prefs.js. After firefox launch, i see prefs.js becoming from 45Kb to 5Kb (hope it's normal this behaviour). 

Now url test gives no more problem :)

 

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10 minutes ago, Vistaboy said:

I don't know better removing that part!? ;)

I deleted old prefs.js and renamed UOC_Patch45.js in prefs.js. After firefox launch, i see prefs.js becoming from 45Kb to 5Kb (hope it's normal this behaviour). 

Now url test gives no more problem :)

 

You're basically running the browser unpatched now.  You must install the UOC Patch in the "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defauls\Pref\" folder. It is independent from the prefs.js in your Firefox profile folder. Do not put the patch in your profile folder, or else it won't work! You must redownload the patch (since the one you have renamed and put in your profile folder has essentially become empty, all the custom entries have been removed...) put it in the "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defauls\Pref\" folder. The old prefs.js file you see in your profile folder must be deleted in order to let Firefox create a new one.

Often, the prefs.js file becomes clogged with old entries from older versions of Firefox and that can cause conflicts with the UOC Patch, as it replaces the default values (since the UOC Patch gets installed as a defaults value replacement file) with custom ones. So it's always recommended to backup and delete the old prefs.js after installing the UOC Patch, for better compatibility.

Edited by looking4awayout
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After several testing conducted in pm with looking4awayout it is noted that problematic site causing RT1_F45ESR (45.9.15-2019025) crash doesn't dipend on the UOC Patch (which in truth is a solver, removing plugin-container), but on the Roytam1 version itself.

Unlike what was done previously all tests were conducted on clean browser installations.

Summing up:

Firefox 45.0.1 (if you install original FF 45 ESR, it's soon automatic upgraded to 45.0.1) - OK

RT1_FF45ESR - CRASH

RT1_FF45ESR + UOC Patch - OK

On 6/5/2019 at 12:25 PM, looking4awayout said:

You're basically running the browser unpatched now.  You must install the UOC Patch in the "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defauls\Pref\" folder. It is independent from the prefs.js in your Firefox profile folder. Do not put the patch in your profile folder, or else it won't work!

The only way to get patch working (for me as it's proven) is doing both of the following action:

1) put UOC_Patch45.js in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Defauls\Pref\" folder

2) rename another instance of UOC_Patch45.js as prefs.js and putting it in C:\Documents and Settings\(Your Username)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\(Your Profile folder)"

 

Edited by Vistaboy
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It's strange that on your computer you need to put the patch in your profile folder too, in other computers, the patch just works by putting it in the \Defaults\Pref\ folder, of course, being a defaults replacement, you won't see any custom entry in your about:config, because the entries that are modified by the patch are now considered as default ones, and so they won't appear highlighted, nor they will appear in the prefs.js, that contains only the parameters edited by the user*. That's how me and the others install it. But hey, I'm glad you got that site working now, even though you had to install the patch twice. :)

*: However, I discovered that there are two parameters that for some reasons, the patch ignores, but they can be edited manually in the about:config. Here they are:

image.mem.max_decoded_image_kb   512000

browser.urlbar.maxRichResults    1

While it's not strictly compulsory to reduce the "awesome bar" to just one entry, I do it to save RAM. It's important to set the max decoded image memory to 512000 though, as that further speeds up images rendering. For some reasons, the browser ignores just these two parameters. But it's just a quick fix, just open about:config and edit the two parameters above. Remember, the UOC Patch is not set in stone, you can edit it to suit your needs and add or remove some features you like/dislike.

But I'm glad you sorted your issue out. I've updated the main post with the two settings for the awesome bar and the maximum decoded memory for images.

Edited by looking4awayout
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Just for better understanding what's the best way to let UOC Patch work.

After a clean install of 45ESR get prompted to 45.0.1. Now get prompted to 45.3ESR.

ff.JPG.d776d79b1f7b73ba59e5c1a550d1ccd1.JPG

For the future I would like to avoid making the whole procedure according to this scheme (arriving to 45.8.0 ESR)Esr-release-overview.png

so my question:

is 45.7/8.0 ESR the latest version suggested that really retains the features for ante SSE2 processors? 

I ask this cause my suspicion is that by moving away from the pure 45.0ESR the browser becomes increasingly heavy for these old processors.

Edited by Vistaboy
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17 minutes ago, Vistaboy said:

I ask this cause my suspicion is that by moving away from the pure 45.0ESR the browser becomes increasingly heavy for these old processors.

security patches may cost extra overhead sometimes.

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So the UOC settings patch was pretty successful on a Celeron 400 Mhz from 1999. It speeds up New Moon under Windows XP. Don't see a difference between graphic cards like the "graphic decelerator" S3 Virge DX (1998) and the Radeon 7200 (2000). Using a good swap hard drive was more important on the performance. The processor tries its best, but fights with some 100% CPU loads. A Pentium 3 is probably a good recommendation.

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8 hours ago, Gansangriff said:

So the UOC settings patch was pretty successful on a Celeron 400 Mhz from 1999. It speeds up New Moon under Windows XP. Don't see a difference between graphic cards like the "graphic decelerator" S3 Virge DX (1998) and the Radeon 7200 (2000). Using a good swap hard drive was more important on the performance. The processor tries its best, but fights with some 100% CPU loads. A Pentium 3 is probably a good recommendation.

That's nice to see the patch improved the speed of your browser. :)
And yeah, if you want some extra speed, you absolutely need a DirectX 9 compliant graphics card, the S3 Virge and the Radeon 7200 are not D3D9 compliant. Make sure you apply the two settings in the about:config I've mentioned in the main thread, to save some more resources.

Besides NoScript, don't forget to use uBlock Origin 1.10.0 as well as Bluhell Firewall and Decentraleyes. Those extensions, alongside NoScript, help a lot in terms of saving resources.

Edited by looking4awayout
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On 6/11/2019 at 2:28 PM, Vistaboy said:

s 45.7/8.0 ESR the latest version suggested that really retains the features for ante SSE2 processors?

... As posted elsewhere, 45.9.0esr was the last 45esr version officially released by Mozilla (mid-April 2017):

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/45.9.0esr/win32/it/

45.0esr (very similar to stable 45.0) was from March 2016; during an ESR branch update cycle, only security updates, chemspills (urgently needed fixes for various breakages) and some quality/performance updates are being backported from the main (stable/release) Firefox branch (with higher major version numbers...); system/CPU requirements don't change in the middle of an ESR cycle, when they do, it's always beginning with the next ESR cycle; e.g. all 45.x.xESR builds will run on max-SSE processors, none of the 52.x.xESR cycle will (likewise, all 52.x.xESR builds will run on XP/Vista, but none of the 60.x.xESR cycle will :angry:)

Simply put, 45.9.0esr has more than a year's worth of publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities patched; as to whether those put a perceivable dent to the whole browser performance, as suggested, I can't comment really :o; test on your own particular setup and decide for yourself; if you ask me, though, I'd go for safer... :whistle:

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15 hours ago, looking4awayout said:

Besides NoScript, don't forget to use uBlock Origin 1.10.0 as well as Bluhell Firewall and Decentraleyes. Those extensions, alongside NoScript, help a lot in terms of saving resources.

What version of NoScript do you suggest? I can't find v2.x, on the official site there's only a 5.1.9 (NoScript Classic).

It would be great if you could link the best suited version of the cited add-ons for your patch :cool: 

 

10 hours ago, VistaLover said:

Simply put, 45.9.0esr has more than a year's worth of publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities patched; as to whether those put a perceivable dent to the whole browser performance, as suggested, I can't comment really :o; test on your own particular setup and decide for yourself; if you ask me, though, I'd go for safer... :whistle:

 Right, but for better performance on old processors you must find a practicable tradeoff between safety and usability. Indeed, these old machine are generally not dedicated to surf web, only when it's needed on web source of reliable respectability. 

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3 hours ago, Vistaboy said:

What version of NoScript do you suggest? I can't find v2.x, on the official site there's only a 5.1.9 (NoScript Classic).

It would be great if you could link the best suited version of the cited add-ons for your patch :cool: 

 

 Right, but for better performance on old processors you must find a practicable tradeoff between safety and usability. Indeed, these old machine are generally not dedicated to surf web, only when it's needed on web source of reliable respectability. 

If you can wait a couple of hours, I will provide you the link for the best version. :)

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The author recommends NoScript 2.6.9.32. Indeed, it's faster on the old machines.

Concerning the security of old, unsupported software, all I can say from my experience is, that I have never ever got virus troubles with Windows 98 on the internet (an unsupported system since 2006) at daily use with old browsers like Netscape (2008) or K-Meleon (2010). Just don't click on stupid things and deactivate JavaScript. Even on scammy websites, nothing really happens then.

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