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Task manager won't close firefox already running but not responding

  • 4 replies
  • 10 have this problem
  • 533 views
  • Last reply by John99

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Firefox just stops running at random times. I used to be able to close it thru task manager no problem. Now when I try that nothing happens. The process highlights and just stays there running no matter how many times I click it. I can close other processes just fine. Firefox hangs a lot more often lately and it's a pain to have to constantly shut down and restart to clear it. Firefox hangs while in different websites or even after I've closed it but haven't shut down since. When I try to reopen it I get the "already running not responding" message. But even when I close normally it still seems to stay on in the background. I'm not tech savvy at all so any solution would be appreciated. Thanks.

Firefox just stops running at random times. I used to be able to close it thru task manager no problem. Now when I try that nothing happens. The process highlights and just stays there running no matter how many times I click it. I can close other processes just fine. Firefox hangs a lot more often lately and it's a pain to have to constantly shut down and restart to clear it. Firefox hangs while in different websites or even after I've closed it but haven't shut down since. When I try to reopen it I get the "already running not responding" message. But even when I close normally it still seems to stay on in the background. I'm not tech savvy at all so any solution would be appreciated. Thanks.

Chosen solution

You will need to get to the bottom of this problem and try to prevent it happening in the future

  1. First of all create and use a new additional Firefox profile. I am hoping that will result in at least a Firefox that you can close-down.
    Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles_creating-a-profile
  2. Note that normally the method of closing down Firefox is to use the Firefox menus | Firefox-button. (Using other methods may create problems, & there are some current / recent bugs Bug 845681 & 8537799 )
    • By default on XP File -> Quit , (Other systems use the Firefox button options)
  3. What you are experiencing appears to be a Firefox hang, although they may often be terminated by killing the Firefox process.
    Firefox hangs or is not responding - How to fix
  4. Sometimes after multiple problems Firefox will have multiple copies of the restore files, and although you could loose some information | tabs deleting these non functional copies may be required to resolve the matter
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Chosen Solution

You will need to get to the bottom of this problem and try to prevent it happening in the future

  1. First of all create and use a new additional Firefox profile. I am hoping that will result in at least a Firefox that you can close-down.
    Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles_creating-a-profile
  2. Note that normally the method of closing down Firefox is to use the Firefox menus | Firefox-button. (Using other methods may create problems, & there are some current / recent bugs Bug 845681 & 8537799 )
    • By default on XP File -> Quit , (Other systems use the Firefox button options)
  3. What you are experiencing appears to be a Firefox hang, although they may often be terminated by killing the Firefox process.
    Firefox hangs or is not responding - How to fix
  4. Sometimes after multiple problems Firefox will have multiple copies of the restore files, and although you could loose some information | tabs deleting these non functional copies may be required to resolve the matter
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If there are plugin-container processes then try to close those first and see if you then can close Firefox.

Try to boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.

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thank you.

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Glad you fixed it.Thanks for posting back.