For some time I have been plauged by a slow (3-4 minute) startup window for Firefox.

I have tried numerous fixes suggested online; switching of automatic updates for extensions, clearing down cache and history, even a re-install; but nothing worked. As the problem got progressively worse, my workaround became to start Firefox and then, whilst I waited for it to grind into life, to start Google Chrome and use that to check Facebook, Twitter, etc. Not exactly a fix, but at least I didn’t have to sit and wait as my HD rattled away and Firefox limped onto the screen.

However, I have now found a fix and, as I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere else, I thought I would share it for any others affected by this particular problem. I had archived this post as a draft, but after hearing others complaining of the same issue I thought I would post by solution.

My particular set up of Firefox is Firefox 3.5, on Vista Business, with XMarks, Firebug, and SEOQuake extensions (the essential tools of one of my trades!). I am also a bit of an RSS addict, and it was herein that lay the rub.

Somewhere in the combination of having an extensive list of Live Bookmarks and having an extension that syncs my bookmarks to the web (XMarks) lies a rich vein of process and network hungry action. Starting up Firefox seemed to necessitate a mass update of the Live Bookmarks and this may, or may not, have kicked off a lot of sync activity in XMarks.

My process of deduction here is by no means scientific, with the exception of having empirically tested this theorem by moving my RSS feeds to Google Reader.

My bookmarks are now Live Bookmark free, XMarks seems to be winking away a lot less in my Firefox status bar, and the browser now starts up just as fast as it ever did. Not Chrome fast, but still, a lot lot faster.

So, if you are having the same issue as me with a similar set-up, feel free to try this fix out.