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"localstore.rdf" being reset to default after running 2 instances of FF simultaneously

  • 6 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 19 views
  • Last reply by urtf

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After upgrading to Firefox version 27.0.1 file "localstore.rdf" is being reset to default after running 2 instances of FF simultaneously. This most noticeably affects toolbar customizations. When starting two Firefox instances (click on two hyperlinks in an email) one firefox shows the customized toolbar the other one does not (it shows the default toolbar). When exiting both firefoxes (doesn't matter in which order) and starting a new single instance of firefox, the toolbar customization is gone. On my system this is repeatable behavior. To prevent this I can exit the FF-instance with the default toolbar, then (in the FF-instance with the customized toolbar) make a modification to the toolbar (eg change the order of two icons), exit and then start a single instance and the customization is intact.

Question is: Is this an known problem/bug or just a quirk on my system?. I searched through bug reports and only found very old reports on this (no solutions).

System: Windows 7 prof completely up to date, Firefox 27.0.1, a list of add-ons

After upgrading to Firefox version 27.0.1 file "localstore.rdf" is being reset to default after running 2 instances of FF simultaneously. This most noticeably affects toolbar customizations. When starting two Firefox instances (click on two hyperlinks in an email) one firefox shows the customized toolbar the other one does not (it shows the default toolbar). When exiting both firefoxes (doesn't matter in which order) and starting a new single instance of firefox, the toolbar customization is gone. On my system this is repeatable behavior. To prevent this I can exit the FF-instance with the default toolbar, then (in the FF-instance with the customized toolbar) make a modification to the toolbar (eg change the order of two icons), exit and then start a single instance and the customization is intact. Question is: Is this an known problem/bug or just a quirk on my system?. I searched through bug reports and only found very old reports on this (no solutions). System: Windows 7 prof completely up to date, Firefox 27.0.1, a list of add-ons

All Replies (6)

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By default, Firefox should use the identical registry instruction for both links and open both windows in a single instance of Firefox, and both should have the identical characteristics.

When you click the links, do they just open automatically or does Firefox display any dialogs?

Does the Processes tab of the Task Manager show two different instances of the firefox.exe process, or just one? You can open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc, then ignore the Applications tab and look at the Processes tab.

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Does this also happen if you use "Firefox/File > Exit" in the customized instance to close all open windows at once?

That would be the preferred way to close Firefox with more than one browser window open.

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(Private message confirmed only one firefox.exe)

I don't have a lot of ideas about why the same toolbar would appear customized in one windows but with the default arrangement in another.

Is there anything special about how Firefox runs? For example, is there any kind of security sandbox software or other customization?

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Hi JScher,

Sorry for the late response. Irt your latest question the answer is no: no sandboxes, nothing out of the ordinary on protection either. I did some further investigations on my 32 bit systems. On two other machines running windows 7, I can repeat the problem. On one XP machine and on two Linux machines I cannot. The XP and W7 systems all run identical versions of FF; the Linux systems differ. The XP and W7 machines have identical sets of plugins, extensions and add-ons as well. And the problem started to appear after implementing the latest update; before that I have never seen it show up. Note that a double-click on the FF icon in the task-bar will do the trick too; no need to click on two links from Thunderbird.

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(repeated answer from 2014-03-05 to get it into the appropriate thread)

Hi cor-el,

No difference between closing two windows (problem description should have said "windows" instead of "instances") or using the exit option from the menu.

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Just for the record: the problem disappeared after the latest update (i.e. 28.0)