High CPU usage

[WyllyWylly]

I've had to abandon my longtime friend Firefox because of a problem I have not been able to resolve. Specifically, it spikes CPU usage after it has been open for a period of time. I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact length of time involved, but the scenario goes something like this: open Firefox, surf, leave the PC for a while, come back and I can't use it. Task Manager reports CPU utilization at 25% but the reality is that it behaves like it's pegged at 100%. The entire PC is unresponsive until I kill the process.

Interestingly, the problem persists across different builds. I have gone through a complete removal of the app, including a registry scrub to remove any remaining bits that were lingering, but the problem persists after a reinstall. I've tried 3.5x, 3.6x, and the beta (which was too unstable to rely on). They all end up pegging CPU usage no matter what I've tried.

Any ideas on what would cause this? I've almost concluded that it's something related to my unique configuration, because the same build works fine on two other computers. Nonetheless this issue has pushed me into the Chrome camp, and nice though Chrome is, I'm looking for an excuse to ditch it and return to my old ways.

[Claude]

I've experienced the same and tracked it down to the Adobe Flash Player. Upgraded that, problem disappeared...

[WyllyWylly]

I suspected that too, Claude... what does that say about Adobe? Admittedly I haven't tried it in about a month and I know there have been a few updates to Flash since the last time I attempted to work with it. I'll give it a shot, thanks for the idea.