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Firefox 63.0 (64-bit Windows 7) won't complete Restart after Update

  • 12 பதிலளிப்புகள்
  • 2 இந்த பிரச்னைகள் உள்ளது
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by Pj

I'm posting this from my XP machine since I don't want to do anything more on my Windows 7 laptop (where the issue exists) that might cause me untold grief. I had seen the message to "Restart Firefox to Update" for several days but was busy doing 'stuff' so I held off. Was also getting messages that Adobe Acrobat Reader had been updated successfully and that I should restart for the update to take effect. Finally, since I wanted to replace my AVG Free AV with ZoneAlarm Internet Security, I decided it was time to close all my active programs, including Firefox, remove AVG Free AV, download and install ZoneAlarm Internet Security and then shut down my laptop in order to install any Windows 7 updates. In order to shut down Firefox while maintaining all my Windows and Tabs, I typically just pull-down the Menu and select 'Exit'. When I open Firefox again, I select 'Restore previous session", my Windows all come up and my tabs are all there and I'm off to the races! However, when I tried that this time, I received a warning that I had 8 Windows open and 441??? tabs (I have a lot but it is nowhere near that number [150 maybe]) in use and they would all be closed if I chose to exit. Since this is my way of remembering all of the things that I am working on at any given time, I DEFINITELY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT!! So, the only choice I had seemed to be to click on the "Restart Firefox to Update" button in the "Help" --> "About Firefox" dialog box. However, I did that about 6 hours ago and the little blue 'circle' just keeps 'spinning' and the hard drive access light flashes periodically (more so, within the first 30 minutes or so after clicking on the 'Restart' button) but the 'Restart' has not completed. I guess I will have to abort the update somehow but I don't want to do that part way through a 'Restart' and I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY OPEN TABS!!! What should I do to be able to get back to productive work using Firefox?!

I'm posting this from my XP machine since I don't want to do anything more on my Windows 7 laptop (where the issue exists) that might cause me untold grief. I had seen the message to "Restart Firefox to Update" for several days but was busy doing 'stuff' so I held off. Was also getting messages that Adobe Acrobat Reader had been updated successfully and that I should restart for the update to take effect. Finally, since I wanted to replace my AVG Free AV with ZoneAlarm Internet Security, I decided it was time to close all my active programs, including Firefox, remove AVG Free AV, download and install ZoneAlarm Internet Security and then shut down my laptop in order to install any Windows 7 updates. In order to shut down Firefox while maintaining all my Windows and Tabs, I typically just pull-down the Menu and select 'Exit'. When I open Firefox again, I select 'Restore previous session", my Windows all come up and my tabs are all there and I'm off to the races! However, when I tried that this time, I received a warning that I had 8 Windows open and 441??? tabs (I have a lot but it is nowhere near that number [150 maybe]) in use and they would all be closed if I chose to exit. Since this is my way of remembering all of the things that I am working on at any given time, I DEFINITELY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT!! So, the only choice I had seemed to be to click on the "Restart Firefox to Update" button in the "Help" --> "About Firefox" dialog box. However, I did that about 6 hours ago and the little blue 'circle' just keeps 'spinning' and the hard drive access light flashes periodically (more so, within the first 30 minutes or so after clicking on the 'Restart' button) but the 'Restart' has not completed. I guess I will have to abort the update somehow but I don't want to do that part way through a 'Restart' and I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY OPEN TABS!!! What should I do to be able to get back to productive work using Firefox?!

All Replies (12)

Did you try closing the browser or powering down the computer before the refresh was finished, or is that computer still trying to do a refresh?

Thanks for the quick response. No, I didn't try either of those actions because I kept hoping that the 'Restart' would complete and all would be "good to go" and, as I said, I was deathly afraid that my many open Windows and Tabs would be lost. As of this morning, 18 hours after I clicked the "Restart Firefox to Update" button in the "About Firefox" dialog box, the small, blue circle is still spinning and right next to it it says, "Restarting..." but it hasn't (and likely won't).

At this point, I would say the browser is stuck.

Close Firefox. Force if needed. Reboot the computer.

Run ScanDisk for Windows XP https://itstillworks.com/run-scandisk-windows-xp-2126653.html

Open your file browser to this hidden location:

  • Mac: *~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/
  • Linux: *~/.mozilla/firefox/
  • Windows: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • *C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\

Locate the profiles.ini file. Then rename or delete it.

Use the Profile Manager to create a new profile https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Managing+profiles

After, we will try to recover your profile.


Look on your desktop. Do you see a folder called; Old Firefox?

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible

Thanks again. You make reference to Windows XP and my desktop and I need to make clear that the Windows XP desktop is just where I am communicating with the Mozilla Firefox Support Community from using Firefox 48.0 (since my Windows 7 laptop is still sitting there 'whirring' way trying to Restart Firefox 63.0). Does that fact change any of the instructions you have provided in the above solution? I am assuming that your reference to creating and recovering my Firefox profile is a way to recover all of my open Windows and Tabs should they be 'lost' - am I correct on this? As Firefox is the only program that I currently have open on my laptop (I currently just have the "About Firefox" dialogue box with the 'Close' 'X' in the top right corner in front of one of my 8 Firefox Windows), can you please be specific about what you mean by "forcing" Firefox to close , since I don't want to preclude any possible recovery options if I don't absolutely have you.

If Firefox is not finishing, it is stuck.

Use ScanDisk to make sure the files are not damaged.

The first thing that a refresh does is to move the original profile to the desktop. And then to copy certain files to a new profile.

Since this has failed, we will create a new profile. Then Copy the proper files from the old to the new.

balls69bc said

  • I typically just pull-down the Menu and select 'Exit'. When I open Firefox again, I select 'Restore previous session", my Windows all come up and my tabs are all there and I'm off to the races! However, when I tried that this time, I received a warning that I had 8 Windows open and 441?
  • ...I guess I will have to abort the update somehow but I don't want to do that part way through a 'Restart' and I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY OPEN TABS!!! What should I do to be able to get back to productive work using Firefox?!
  • A Change in FF 63:
  • "Firefox throws a warning when a user attempts to quit the browser if multiple windows and tabs are open."
  • End Process Tree (In Task Manager) might work. I've done this before when FF didn't wanna close. Otherwise, I've done a computer ReStart on stuck Windows-7 many a times in the past, and the FF Session is still there, though it might have some older visits retained. Better than losing visits, Tabs, and Browser Windows. (Grin)


~Pj

Pj மூலமாக திருத்தப்பட்டது

FredMcD said

If Firefox is not finishing, it is stuck. Use ScanDisk to make sure the files are not damaged.

Fred McD: What I have been trying to convey is that my Windows 7 laptop, which is having the problem with Firefox 63.0, probably can't use 'ScanDisk for Windows XP' (side note - I think my use of the term 'desktop', which is a 'physical computing device', and yours, which I think is a specific screen view in Windows may have added confusion to that part of our conversation) . The other issue is that you provided a URL for this utility but I'm pretty sure that I don't want to click on that link which will result in Firefox starting a new 'instance' which might 'overwrite' my previously open Windows and Tabs. I have AVG Free on my laptop which has a scanning tool - could I use that instead or should I use another browser (e.g., Chrome) for this task?

Pj said

  • A Change in FF 63:
  • "Firefox throws a warning when a user attempts to quit the browser if multiple windows and tabs are open."
  • End Process Tree (In Task Manager) might work. I've done this before when FF didn't wanna close. Otherwise, I've done a computer ReStart on stuck Windows-7 many a times in the past, and the FF Session is still there, though it might have some older visits retained. Better than losing visits, Tabs, and Browser Windows. (Grin)
~Pj

Pj: Regarding the change in FF 63. I mentioned previously that I was surprised to see that for the first time when I attempted to shut FF down by clicking 'Exit' in order to preserve the open Windows and Tabs, just like I had many times before. This is where my troubles began, is there now no way to close FF and keep that?! So you think that if I just hold down the 'Power' button on my laptop until it shuts down and then press it again to 'Restart' the laptop and then open FF 63.0, I might get to the point where I can continue with FredMcD's instructions (I believe that there is more to come)?

FredMcD said

Sorry. Your System Details said XP.

Which is why I have told you to not only rely on the more system details but more so the subject and post in OP as the details or hints of the actual system having the issue(s) are usually there. The Windows 7 system was mentioned in subject and in first sentence and that the WinXP was just being used to post this thread.

balls69bc said

Pj said
  • A Change in FF 63:
  • "Firefox throws a warning when a user attempts to quit the browser if multiple windows and tabs are open."
  • End Process Tree (In Task Manager) might work. I've done this before when FF didn't wanna close. Otherwise, I've done a computer ReStart on stuck Windows-7 many a times in the past, and the FF Session is still there, though it might have some older visits retained. Better than losing visits, Tabs, and Browser Windows. (Grin)
~Pj
  • Pj: Regarding the change in FF 63.
  • I mentioned previously that I was surprised to see that for the first time when I attempted to shut FF down by clicking 'Exit' in order to preserve the open Windows and Tabs, just like I had many times before. This is where my troubles began, is there now no way to close FF and keep that?!


  • So you think that if I just hold down the 'Power' button on my laptop until it shuts down and then press it again to 'Restart' the laptop and then open FF 63.0, I might get to the point where I can continue with FredMcD's instructions (I believe that there is more to come)?
  • I can see where the 'new' Tabs and Browser Window Closing Warnings are going to 'freak' some users. If you have (had ) "Restore Previous Session" checked-off, your last session with its Tabs and Browser Windows should still be there, despite the 'Warnings' FF 63 now gives when Exiting - Which we've always seen the 'Warning' when closing one browser window at a time.
  • Forcing a computer or Windows shutdown: My experience has been with forced FF and/or computer restarts is that if have "Restore Previous Session" set in Options, your previous Windows and Tabs will be there, perhaps along with some older items coming back from an earlier session.


~Pj

O.K., so given that I was not clear on exactly what I should do to deal with the 3 day long 'Restarting...' message in my FF 63.0 without losing all my open browser Windows and Tabs, I decided to cross my fingers (and everything else) and click on the 'X' in the top right corner of the FF Restart dialogue box. I then got a message asking me if I wanted to 'leave' the page or 'stay' and I selected 'stay' and that took me to my most recent browser window (as if I had never tried to 'Restart' FF 63.0). I checked my various open Windows and some of their Tabs and everything seemed as just before I had first selected 'Restart'. About 20 minutes or so later, I received a little pop-up message asking me if I wanted to 'Restart Firefox' to which I, of course, responded 'No'. Since I have now been using my Windows 7 laptop and Firefox 63.0 for the past 3 days, it appears that no Firefox files were negatively affected by the 'hung' 'Restart'. I will eventually want to close/exit Firefox in order to shut down my laptop to 'activate' updates and install new programs and I would really like to know what I should do when I receive that dreaded message telling me that all open browser Windows and Tabs will be closed?

balls69bc said

...I will eventually want to close/exit Firefox in order to shut down my laptop to 'activate' updates and install new programs and I would really like to know what I should do when I receive that dreaded message telling me that all open browser Windows and Tabs will be closed?
  • You can use the keys Control-Shift-Q to Quit/Exit the whole FF Session. If you had set 'Restore Session' checked in Options, you'll get back all your browser windows and Tabs. You can also close a Session with File > Exit (You can tap the ALT key to temporarily bring up the Menu Bar at top-left if you don't have it selected to stay up there). Also, the 3-Line Menu icon at the far right has the 'Exit' Session selection at the bottom of the pop-up, drop-down Menu.
  • I guess the FF programmers decided to do the 'Warning' message about closing the Session for whereas before, the windows and Tabs 'Warning' was only when you closed one FF window at a time when you have one or more than one browser window open using the X in the upper-right.
  • I occasionally 'backup' each browser window at times by doing 'Bookmark All Tabs'.


~Pj

Pj மூலமாக திருத்தப்பட்டது