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Minimized on Start-Up and Can't Maximize

  • 7 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 571 views
  • Last reply by ross_jon

ross_jon
ross_jon

Hello - I'm running Win 11, and suddenly Firefox has become minimized on start-up (meaning it's only visible in the task bar), and I've tried all the suggested fixes that I could find, such as stretching, opening in safe mode, etc. Because it remains in the minimal state, I have no way to access Firefox, so I can't even check the version number or refresh. Many thanks in advance for your help!

Hello - I'm running Win 11, and suddenly Firefox has become minimized on start-up (meaning it's only visible in the task bar), and I've tried all the suggested fixes that I could find, such as stretching, opening in safe mode, etc. Because it remains in the minimal state, I have no way to access Firefox, so I can't even check the version number or refresh. Many thanks in advance for your help!

Chosen solution

See these links. Be wary, you do not want to copy something which may have caused your problem.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data#w_what-information-is-stored-in-my-profile https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

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All Replies (7)

TechHorse
TechHorse

If you shift+right click on the Firefox taskbar icon, do any of the options there help?

Have you tried creating a new profile via the profile manager?

Terry
Terry

You could try renaming the file xulstore.json with Firefox closed.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/changes-toolbars-and-window-sizes-are-not-saved https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data#w_finding-your-profile-without-opening-firefox

ross_jon
ross_jon Question owner

1. Many thanks for the suggestions, Terry. I renamed xulstore.json, and reopened Firefox. Upon reopening, Firefox was sized appropriately for around 1 or 2 seconds, then quickly reverted back to the minimized state. Even though the fix didn't work, it seems we're on the right track. Any other suggestions? Many thanks! 2. (Regarding TechHorse's suggestions, unfortunately none of the options with Shift-Right-Click work. How do I access the Profile Manager? Is that in Windows or Firefox? I can't access Firefox now). Tks!

Terry
Terry

This is the article about creating a new profile. You will see there is a section telling how to do that with Firefox closed. Have you possibly enabled the hidden preference to "resist fingerprinting"?

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-remove-switch-firefox-profiles

ross_jon
ross_jon Question owner

Thank you again. I closed Firefox, created a new profile using Run, and then re-opened Firefox, and that worked fine (there was no minimization). The next question is how to copy my important settings (bookmarks, etc) to the new profile? Or can I somehow "fix" the old profile? Thank you!

Terry
Terry

Chosen Solution

See these links. Be wary, you do not want to copy something which may have caused your problem.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data#w_what-information-is-stored-in-my-profile https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

ross_jon
ross_jon Question owner

Thank you, Terry! That did it. I'm back up and running! . . .