and Mozilla doesn't provide phone support or even a simple chatbot to fix my problems which i'm sure are simple.

please help!

i'm running Windows 11

Hi Phillip, normally Firefox remember history, including your "session history" which includes open tabs/windows and recently closed ones. There are settings to flush history, add-ons that could do it, external privacy tools and cleaners that might remove it, and of course bad luck such as a lightning strike that corrupts files. It sometimes is tough to track down why the restore didn't work.

First question though: Your Firefox reported itself to be last week's release. Was Firefox able to restore your open windows and tabs after that update?

Second: You can use an extension like Tab Session Manager to back up your open tabs, as a supplement to Firefox's built-in feature. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/tab-session-manager/ I don't have any personal experience with it myself.

Third: In recent months, some users have encountered a problem with non-visible windows keeping Firefox open when they X closed the last visible window. The problem comes when they try to restart Firefox using the desktop icon: because Firefox is actually running, that just opens a new window. To get the closed window back, they need to use the History menu - either:

• "3-bar" menu button > History > Recently Closed Windows
• (menu bar) History > Recently Closed Windows
• Ctrl+Shift+N

Of course, I have much more to say about sessions, restoring sessions, conflicting settings, etc., but let's start with that.

Oh, you mentioned keeping your PC on. If you run CCleaner (or other utility programs like Advanced SystemCare), change its settings so that it doesn't touch Firefox data during regular system restarts.

no, haha i wouldn't have posted this if it saved my tabs after the update.

i have had all extensions disabled for a long time...maybe a year. it isn't that.

is there any way to call Mozilla and have them do a remote desktop session to look into it?

i'm at my wits end.

thank you for your time/response.

Mozilla doesn't authorize support volunteers to do remote sessions on its behalf. An individual can offer that if they like.

I assume your browsing history is fine, the problem is only with open tabs not being restored.

Could you take a look at any customized session history settings here:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste sessionstore and pause while the list is filtered. Firefox should display a long list of preference.

(3) To the right of the search box, check the box for "Show only modified preferences". What does Firefox show was modified here (other than the ones with upgradeBackup that you can ignore)?