Fixing slow and not responding Firefox

After the latest updates of Firefox it has started run extremely slow both at startup and when surfing. I often got "not responding" and freeze of Firefox for several seconds when loading a web page. I have also seen this on other computers. Finally I have found the magic cure. What you need to do is a reset that will rebuild your profile while keeping the most important settings (bookmarks, passwords, etc) and removing old junk.

To do the reset open the "Troubleshooting Information" window:

Windows XP: Help -> Troubleshooting Information

For later versions of Windows: Firefox > Help -> Troubleshooting Information 

Then press the Reset Firefox button.

For a detailed description see the Mozilla support here.

Problem with Windows update after replacing disc with clone

The past days I been struggling with replacing the hard drive on my laptop. At first everything seemed to work fine. But soon I discovered that Windows update wasn't working. The computer is Fujitsu ESPRIMO Mobile U9200 with Vista x86 (32-bit).

So why did Windows update fail to work? My conclusion is that in this case it because the new drive is a Advanced Format drive that the Windows device driver has problems with.

What is Advanced Format? Short explanation is that the physical sector size are different. To read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Format

Old disc: 120 GB OEM
New disc:WESTERN DIGITAL SCORPIO BLACK 750GB

This guide describes how I solved with Windows update failing after replacing the disc.
(This worked for my system. I will not take any responsibility if this fails for you.)

1) Prepare the system before cloning.
Make sure that you have all updates including SP2 installed.

Download and Install (Not sure that these are need but many forums suggest this. I did not try without them.):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2470478
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553708

2) Clone the disc with a clone tool. I used a Sandberg Hard Disk Cloner. It copies the disc without a computer. The process took less than an hour. Read more here:
http://www.sandberg.it/sv-se/product/Hard-Disk-Cloner

3) Install the new drive in the computer.

4) Align data (if your clone tool didn't do it for you. This tool will tell you if it is needed.)
Download WD Align Windows(AcronisAlignTool_s_e_2_0_111.exe) from http://wdc.com. Please note that you will need to create a login and provide the model number of your drive to download it.

5) Updating the Windows device driver.

Download the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver. From intel.com (iata_cd_10.8.0.1003.exe)

My disc Controller chip (Intel 82801/HEM) was listed as supported but not included in the automated installation package so try to install iata_cd_10.8.0.1003.exe. If it is not working replace the driver manually. With these steps:

Take owner ship and rights for the file. Open a cmd window as administrator and type:

takeown /f C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iaStor.sys

cacls C:\Windows\System32\drivers\iaStor.sys /G MyUserName:F

Extract driver files:
iata_cd_10.8.0.1003.exe -a -a -p c:\Drvtmp

copy and replace c:\Drvtmp\Drivers\x32\iaStor.sys to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\

6) Reboot

7) Check that windows update is working.