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Firefox takes a long time to close

twobook
twobook
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There's a 10-second delay after I click on the "X" to close Firefox. Same result with selecting "Exit" on pulldown menu. It closes a lot quicker using "Alt-F4" or shutting down the computer. Could this have anything to do with some add-ons wanting to stay open? HP laptop, Windows 8.1, 8GB RAM

There's a 10-second delay after I click on the "X" to close Firefox. Same result with selecting "Exit" on pulldown menu. It closes a lot quicker using "Alt-F4" or shutting down the computer. Could this have anything to do with some add-ons wanting to stay open? HP laptop, Windows 8.1, 8GB RAM

Chosen solution

The preferred way to close Firefox is using the menu entry.

  • Windows: Firefox > Exit or File > Exit
  • Mac: Firefox > Quit
  • Linux: File > Quit
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All Replies (5)

Wesley Branton
Wesley Branton
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Firefox will take a little bit of time to close, especially if you have many add-ons.
When Firefox is closing it needs to:

  • Stop all plugins
  • Stop all add-ons
  • Save all settings
  • Close itself

This is quite a fair amount of things that Firefox needs to do when closing.

The reason that Alt + F4 closes Firefox faster, is because this closes the firefox.exe process directly.
This is not recommended because a loss of data and/or personal settings may occur.

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

The preferred way to close Firefox is using the menu entry.

  • Windows: Firefox > Exit or File > Exit
  • Mac: Firefox > Quit
  • Linux: File > Quit
twobook
twobook Question owner
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The culprit seemed to be "Norton Toolbar"

Bulldogger
Bulldogger
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I'm sorry, Firefox developers, but not is not acceptable. Chrome closes instantly when I close it from the 'X'.

Wesley Branton
Wesley Branton
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@Bulldogger
The closing speed depends upon the amount of extensions and plugins that are installed and active, among other minor things.

Google Chrome will also remain open for a couple seconds after closing. Both Firefox and Chrome need to save their settings and other information before closing, therefore they must both remain open for a little.

This also applies to all other internet browsers (ex. Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.).

Feel free to leave feedback for Firefox developers, you can go to the Firefox Help menu and select Submit Feedback... or use this link.