If opening the Downloads window in Firefox or downloading files are freezing the program, try deleting your download history. If this still causes a hang, try this fix from the MozillaZine Knowledge Base:
- Find your profile folder. In Windows XP it’s here: C:Documents and Settings<Windows login/user name>Application DataMozillaProfiles<Profile name>********.slt%APPDATA%MozillaProfiles<Profile name>********.slt
- Find and deete the file downloads.rdf.
Firefox should work fine now.
Having had Firefox “memory leak” problems since upgrading to 1.5 (still having problems with 1.5.0.1), I have been experimenting with tweaking Firefox as well.
I think the suggestion for the fix from the MozillaZine Knowledge Base is too much overkill. Yes, “Clear Download History Now” is a good idea.
However, instead of selecting “Remove files from the Download Manager” -> “Upon successful download”, I would recommend you select Remove files from the Download Manager” -> “When Firefox exits”. This way instead of having to use Windows Explorer to open up the file you have just downloaded, you can still find it in the Downloads Sidebar by pressing Ctrl + J.
For me Firefox hangs when there are too many files in the Downloads Sidebar, but up to 10 doesn’t cause me a problem. The history disappears when you restart Firefox which to me seems like a better compromise.