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Force "multiprocess mode" in FF 52


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On 5/9/2019 at 9:36 AM, VistaLover said:

Config Descriptions v1.0.1-signed.1-signed is installed, so that about:config "Source Comments" are made visible...

I tried in Serpent 52 2020-7-31 and multi-process works. (I set browser.tabs.remote.force-enable;true according to the guide, and disabled "Use hardware acceleration when available" because if not, there is often blank page covering screen.)

But Config Descriptions does not show anything in "Source comment" column (the column is added). I installed it from https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-us/firefox/

Edited by luweitest
add detailed information about working config
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15 hours ago, luweitest said:
On 5/9/2019 at 4:36 AM, VistaLover said:

Config Descriptions v1.0.1-signed.1-signed is installed, so that about:config "Source Comments" are made visible...

I tried in Serpent 52 2020-7-31 and ...
(redacted for brevity)
But Config Descriptions does not show anything in "Source comment" column (the column is added).

... You assumed things ;) and that's why it didn't work in the end as you had thought it would... :no:
My mention of that extension in my post (of more than a year ago) was only inside the context of Mozilla Firefox...
The original Config Descriptions v1.0.1-signed.1-signed legacy extension DOES NOT support Serpent 52.9.0 (or official Basilisk, or Pale/New Moon for that matter...)

Serpent 52.9.0 != FirefoxESR 52

Good News:
1. You can patch the extension yourself, so that it works in Serpent 52.9.0; in file bootstrap.js change L223-L224:

-        "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "firefox.js",
-        "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "firefox-branding.js",
+        "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "basilisk.js",
+        "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "basilisk-branding.js",  

While you're at it, you can also remove the META-INF directory, as Serpent does not observe extension signing... Proof:

GUlLb9d.jpg

2. The old Firefox extension has been ported to both Pale/New Moon + Basilisk/Serpent; just install from:

https://addons.basilisk-browser.org/addon/config-comments/

... A strong word of caution while you are toying with e10s in Serpent 52.9.0: what little supporting code is left there is very rudimentary/fragile/unreliable at best :( ; please back-up your Serpent profile, especially your sessionstore, prior to starting these experiments! Use a secondary/temporary profile for testing!
I speak from BAD experience myself :}; once you decide e10s isn't good enough for you or (my case) one of your most valued legacy extensions breaks under e10s and you, thus, have to return to single-process, it's highly probable your profile has been borked beyond repair :( (I had to begin from scratch, took me many hours to resume my original profile... I hadn't backed-up :}; you really should ). MCP applications (and forks) have been developed as single-process, and that's it... :whistle: 

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  • 2 weeks later...

@VistaLoverThank you for the direction! I edited bootstrap.js and now it shows "source comments". As now I see the contents of the file, I noticed there are also commented lines related to Thunderbird,  like

 "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "all-thunderbird.js",

 "resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "thunderbird-branding.js",

"resource:///defaults/" + prefsDir + "mailnews.js",

So I un-commented them, added below lines to install.rdf so it could be installed in TB:

            <Description>
                    <!-- Thunderbird -->
                <em:id>{3550f703-e582-4d05-9a08-453d09bdfdc6}</em:id>
                <em:minVersion>52.0</em:minVersion>
                <em:maxVersion>53.*</em:maxVersion>
            </Description>

But TB's about:config does not show "source comments" column at all. Could that be fixed too?

And thanks for the warning. I have backed up my profile. A week has passed without any error -- I will change dom.ipc.processCount to 2 and see.

ps. https://addons.basilisk-browser.org/addon/config-comments/  could not be opened (Error 520).

 

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https://addons.basilisk-browser.org/addon/config-comments/ opened today, but the addon on the page do not work; Continue using the modified version.

Find a compatibility issue: With "hardware acceleration" turned off,  Cleartype tuning do not work on bugzilla.mozilla.org. When viewing an arbitrary bug article, the text first displays Cleartype tuned, then reverted to un-tuned after 2~3 seconds. I have to use Cleartype tuning because my LCD display is not sharp enough. As this is the only site till now that has the problem, I'll leave it.

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  • 10 months later...

Well, I got it working on basilisk52, and works well. Most extensions do work (even if showing non-compatible) if installed in a fresh profile. One issue I have, however, is that I cannot use an old extension I use daily: internote-3.0.2-fx (https://sourceforge.net/projects/internote/files/internote/3.0/). Has anyone tried it in basilisk52 with forced multiprocess? Any clue on how to make it work? Thanks!  

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I've been testing it and even though it crashes the browser every other day (depending usage, and in particular when using concurrently with chrome derivatives) multiprocess enabled basilisk52 makes (unnecessarily) heavy scripted sites like youtube, gmail, fb and the other usual suspects playable with xul (which is quite impossible now without multiprocess); which makes me thing/hope that xul development on the multiprocess direction (and not necessarily script support -which I heavily cripple) may be a way to abort doom. After testing and experimenting as per @Mathwiz summary in the first post of this thread, I use the settings (loaded via user.js) below (tried and decided not to use the the four commented out):

// MULTIPROCESS
user_pref("browser.tabs.remote.force-enable", true);
user_pref("dom.ipc.processCount", 4);
user_pref("extensions.e10sBlocksEnabling", false);
user_pref("browser.tabs.remote.autostart", true); // (FF49+) (hidden pref)
//user_pref("extensions.e10sMultiBlockedByAddons", false);
//user_pref("browser.tabs.remote.separateFileUriProcess", true);
//user_pref("dom.ipc.process.webLargeAllocation", 4);
//user_pref("browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2", true); // (FF49+) (hidden pref)

 

 

Edited by dmiranda
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On 5/7/2019 at 5:53 PM, Mathwiz said:

...This also works in Serpent, BTW. Don't try this in New Moon, though; it will crash! It doesn't work in BNavigator either; setting the above preference makes it appear to work in about:support, but Windows Task Manager nevertheless shows only one task no matter how many tabs are open. :(

Somehow, all the years I've been here, I've managed to miss this thread?!

so I guess we can't force it in New Moon, but Serpent52 and Serpent55 (actually FF V53) we could?

We just brought this up in another thread; actually :)

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2 hours ago, dmiranda said:

which makes me thing/hope that xul development on the multiprocess direction (and not necessarily script support -which I heavily cripple) may be a way to abort doom.

Perhaps there is still some hope. Did you see improvement?

Edited by XPerceniol
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Am I right in saying Basilisk 55 *was* actually based on FF53, and not really/truly FF55?

Quote

Firefox 53 was released on April 19, 2017 for both desktop and Android. Starting with Firefox 53, Microsoft Windows support is exclusively for Windows 7 and above. Among the many additions are: improved graphics stability for Windows users with the addition of compositor process separation, light and dark "compact" themes available, based on the Firefox Developer Edition theme, removal of support for 32-bit macOS and Linux support for processors older than Pentium 4 and AMD Opteron; new visual design for audio and video controls, support for WebM video with alpha compositing, which allows playing videos with transparent backgrounds (desktop), Reader Mode displaying estimated reading time for the page (desktop and Android), and enabling two columns tabs setting in portrait mode (Android).[303][304]

EDIT:

TY @VistaLover for the clarification - I was close :)

I did find the version you were mentioning and will read up on that as its older than 52.9.1. So much confusion out there.

https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1156648

https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39779

 

Edited by XPerceniol
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9 minutes ago, XPerceniol said:

Perhaps there is still some hope. Did you see improvement?

FWIW I noticed a significant performance improvement on FF 52.9 ESR when I enabled multi-process mode, especially on script-heavy sites like Facebook, which had been almost unusably slow and unresponsive before.
:)

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17 minutes ago, XPerceniol said:

Am I right in saying Basilisk 55 *was* actually based on FF53, and not really/truly FF55?

... If you search my posts' history with "Serpent 55" as a search filter, no doubt you'll find I posted about this repeatedly... :rolleyes:
"55" as an appVersion was chosen by upstream for their ill-fated Moebius platform purely for "sensational-istic" purposes... :angry:
The platform code itself was forked off a code snapshot of an early version of Mozilla Nightly 53.0a1, so not even close to release channel Firefox v53.0.x ... :whistle:

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1 hour ago, XPerceniol said:

Perhaps there is still some hope. Did you see improvement?

Yup. What @Dave-H says about FF52 applies to basilisf52: now you can play youtube and browse fb, without much stuttering, and with strict privacy security settings. For such heavy-scripted sites, t is still not as fast as @Humming Owl or ArticFoxie's 360Chrome mods (and using both concurrently makes both browsers crash) but usable.

I have tested the extensions below (again, only in a fresh profile, as @VistaLover said, do not simply add multiprocess to an already used profile), and trying to find a way to get a few otehrs (internote in particular) to work. All in all, pretty doable, and much better than with no multiprocess (some of those extensions need updating, once installed).

add_bookmark_here_2-52.0.20170311-fx.xpi  Decentraleyes.v1.4.3-pale-moon.xpi  open_with-6.8.6-fx+sm+tb.xpi  tab_mix_plus-0.5.5.0-fx.xpi add_to_search_bar-2.9-fx pm.xpi  diccionario_espanol_argentina-2.6.3.1.xpi  OPIE210.0.xpi  uacontrol-0.1.3.1.1-signed.1-signed.xpi  backtotop10.0.xpi  dismiss-the-overlay-1.0.3.xpi page_zoom_button-1.4.1-fx.xpi uBlock0_1.16.4.20.firefox-legacy.xpi  clean_uninstall-0.2.0-fx.xpi english_united_states_dictionary_by_mozilla-60.xpi profileswitcher-1.7.7-fx+tb.xpi Umatrix-4.3.0.xpi 763 K clear_cache_and_data-1.1.2-sm+fx.xpi go_parent_folder-2.9.1-fx+sm.xpi pureurl4pm-3.3.xpi undoBookmarksMenu@alice.xpi close_button-0.4.1-fx pm.xpi  mouse_gestures_suite-2.5.1-fx+sm.xpi reload_plus-5.2.3-fx.xpi url-clipper-1.0.2.xpi context_search_x-0.4.6.26-fx.xpi mozarchiver@lootyhoof-pm.xpi  save_file_to-2.5.5-fx pm.xpi  verificador_ortografico_para_portugues_do_brasil-2.5-3.2.13-an+fx+sm+tb.xpi cookexterm-2.9.10.xpi neat_url-5.0.0-an+fx.xpi speed_tweaks_speedyfox-0.2.2-an+fx.xpi  xclear-1.8.2-fx+sm.xpi copy-as-plain-text-1.0.xpi foxclocks-4.2.3-sm+tb+fx.xpi  image_zoom-0.6.3-sm+tb+fx.xpi 101 K ruffle-nightly-2021_06_29-web-extension-firefox.xpi all_in_one_sidebar-0.7.31.1-fx.xpi foxyproxy_basic-3.6.5-fx+sm+tb.xpi  singlefile-1.18.25-an+fx.xpi art_project-0.1.5-fx.xpi  github-wc-polyfill-1.2.2.xpi  i_dont_care_about_cookies-2.9.3-an+fx.xpi  singlefile.txt downthemall-3.0.8-fx+sm pm.xpi  greasemonkey-3.30-pm_forkBranch.xpi  kiwix_offline_wikipedia_reader-3.1.0-an+fx.xpi   https-everywhere-latest.xpi 1,701 K menu_wizard-5.10-fx+sm+tb.xpi sixornot-2.0.2-fx.xpi enhancer_for_youtubetm-2.0.103-fx.xpi  resurrect_pages-3-fx.xpi

Edited by dmiranda
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On 7/19/2021 at 9:06 PM, Dave-H said:

I noticed a significant performance improvement on FF 52.9 ESR when I enabled multi-process mode

... At the risk of sounding like a broken record (and I'm sure our "younger" :P members here don't even know what I'm talking about...),

Serpent 52.9.0 != Firefox ESR 52.9.x

Basilisk 52 (by upstream) and, hence, its child/fork Serpent 52.9.0 was developed as a single process application, because "upstream" don't "believe" in e10s... Most of the e10s supporting code in MozESR 52.6.0, the fork-point for UXP, was excised early on by Moonchild and co., because their default browser application, Pale Moon, doesn't support multiprocess by design; what is left in Serpent 52 currently is just some vestigial remnants of the bulk e10s code to be found in FxESR 52.9.0...

Official Basilisk has ALL e10s supporting code removed fully, "our" UXP tree has kept some of it as "experimental", disabled by default... and I have posted about this previously, if you decide to force-enable e10s in Serpent, you are "on your own" and my best advice is to make a profile back-up beforehand, before you go down on that path; believe me, I have tried e10s extensively in St52 in its early days, profile corruption is a dead certainty with e10s force-enabled... Let us not also forget that e10s demands more out of your hardware, notably your CPU and RAM; don't try it on old/low-resourced hardware...

I understand the web of 2021 presents serious challenges to UXP and especially to those using the XP-compatible UXP browsers (usually on older H/W), users who are now more desperate to explore other "available" avenues to better their browsing experience... YMMV, of course, but my testing has proved (to me) that e10s on St52 isn't worth the trouble... :(

Edited by VistaLover
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42 minutes ago, VistaLover said:

I understand the web of 2021 presents serious challenges to UXP and especially to those using the XP-compatible UXP browsers (usually on older H/W), users who are now more desperate to explore other "available" avenues to better their browsing experience... YMMV, of course, but my testing has proved (to me) that e10s on St52 ain't worth the trouble.

For those, like me, where hardware is not the problem (but obstinacy in pretending to keep using XP) it makes a difference. Beyond FB, YT etc, normal pages load way faster, even when loading a bunch of tabs at the time. There is simply no comparison with st52 without e10. It is like it was with ff52 (only that with more secure software, and more available extensions/addons). I am keeping it in my profile for casual/social browsing, and as soon as I find or mod an extension for annotating webpages, for my working profile. Cheers!

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1 hour ago, VistaLover said:

... At the risk of sounding like a broken record (and I'm sure our "younger" :P members here don't even know what I'm talking about...),

<0T>

Oh I'm sorry, but I simply can't resist. I so badly want to hang on to whats left of my 40's, so I"ll pretend I don't know anything about those record things you speak of and consider myself "younger" (I'm young at heart) :buehehe:

All kidding aside:

I might take your advice re Serpent then; though I'm not afraid of trying it just out of curiosity but just to test.

@dmiranda ... are you working with Serpent or Firefox with your modifications?

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't read your posting above - question answered ;)

Edited by XPerceniol
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