How do I restore my tabs and windows, whether open or closed, when everything else fails?

This is not so much a question, as an answer that some people desperately need.
Ever since Version 34, Firefox has done a superb job of restoring the tabs that the user has created, either on restarting Firefox (if that option is chosen) or on request.
The details of how to restore tabs are covered in Firefox's basic help online, and even how to deal with several crashes in a row (such as in an addon) ruin the normal backup file are also well explained.
However, today I accidentally pressed Alt+F4 twice on my poorly-designed keyboard and closed my main window, with 93 tabs, and another Firefox window as well. I'm not sure this is exactly what happened, but I lost all 93 of my tabs.
I read many of the postings in which people give various suggestions, but none worked. Every time I restored a version of the sessionstore.js file I saw the same lonely empty tab. Restoring prefs.js did nothing, and neither did making changes in the internal configuration constants.
I tried refreshing/resetting Firefox (which preserves bookmarks), but I still couldn't restore the tabs. It was now clear that the problem was in sessionstore.js (and all its backups) for sure.
I'm writing this for people who must restore their windows or tabs, and don't mind getting technical about it. That was my situation.
The solution was to realize that the sessionstore.js file contains JSON code, which is an efficient way to represent integers and strings arranged in a tree structure.
I figured there must be a JSON editor somewhere, and it turns out there is a great one available online, at www.jsoneditoronline.org . It can read a file on your computer, edit it, then save it back on your computer.
As soon as I viewed sessionstore.js in the editor, it was obvious how easy this was going to be. The top level of the tree is understandable. I simply grabbed the data representing the window with 93 tabs, and dragged it from the list of closed Firefox windows to the list of open windows. This automatically moved the history of each tab, and even the strings entered into forms.
After copying sessionstore.js back to the Firefox profile, I started Firefox one more time. The playing of Pandora signalled that my tabs were back and functioning once again.
Now, editing JSON code is not something that everyone is ready for. And your problem might not be reflected in the JSON tree so simply. But, for technical-minded people who don't want to lose their tabs or windows to a mistake or a crash, this technique can be just what's needed when everything else fails.

That sounds very handy. Nice going. A kind of backup would be to
create a folder in the Bookmarks Manager, and keep a list of links there.
Just one note. The sessionstore file shows the last windows / tabs that
are open. Because the window with the 90 tabs was closed first, then the
other, that is what caused your issue.
Please edit the post title by adding '''==Solved==''' to it. Others may think
you are asking for help, not offering a solution.

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Firefox crashes upon start with the error message: Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts.

I have tried to open firefox multipul times only to receive the error message:
We're Sorry
Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts.
To help us diagnose and fix the problem, you can send us a crash report.
When I send the report and try to restart firefox and see that I have several tabs open, but it quickly shuts down again before I can do anything other then glance at it.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_crashes

Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts.

do not know what's going on but the Firefox crashing, and is still crashing, and crashing back again ..
This problem is not resolved for a long time 'and I wonder why not fix this problem so far?
These details.
We're Sorry
Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts.
To help us diagnose and fix the problem, you can send us a crash report.

I was having the same problem.... But I keep forgetting that when you upgrade firefox... or it updates automatically... you need to right click on the firefox start up icon, go into properties, click on the compatibilities tab, and put a check in the "Run This Program As An Administrator" box, then hit apply. Start Firefox, and it should work OK. Problem is...each time you upgrade firefox and/or I think Adobe flash... you need to make sure that box is checked. This is on Firefox 15.0.1 with Adobe Flash 11.4.402.278 all up to date, Windows 7 64bit. If Firefox has Adobe flash add-on, it needs to run in admin mode or it will crash.

How do I stop spam tabs/new windows from opening constantly every time I click on anything?

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And ofcourse I found the answer as soon as I posted the question (doesn't it always happen that way?). I went to Preferences - General - and checked the box "Close windows when quitting an application".

How do I restore my tabs and tab groups after an update to version 36.0?

I work with many tabs when I use Firefox. I keep them ordered in Tab Groups, which helps separate the different kids of work I do and interests I have. I have been using this environment for years. When I started my work today, Firefox updated to v36.0, and the following behaviour was noticed:
1. There is only one tab group when attempting to show Tab Groups in Panorama, as opposed to around a dozen;
2. Normally though the hidden tabs (the tabs in the same group as the startup group and not the default page) don't download content until clicked, the name of the page and icon, if available, will show on the tab. Presently, the tabs show "New Tab" and no icon. There appears, however, to be the number of tabs that exist across all Tab Groups but now are ghosts this one, default Tab Group. I'd have to add, though, I don't count the number of tabs, so I can't be exactly sure. When clicked, there is just a blank page. So it is odd that Firefox knows they are there but cannot simply attach the address to it.
I have tried to restore the following files from my Windows Home Server backup to the AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<gobbletygook>.default folder:
1. In the sessionstore-backups folder, I replaced the previous.js, recovery.bak and recovery.js files (not any of the upgrade~) with files from yesterday and from two days before.
When that didn't do anything, I replaced
2. sessionCheckpoints.json
I didn't see any file with a recent date that appeared to be one that I should restore. I should add that I do see hidden files. I thought about restoring the whole lot, but wasn't sure how this would affect the program on v36.0 and the profile files on 35.0.1.
I have deadlines this week and need to immediately restore my environment in order to make those deadlines. I have no list of addresses to my Web pages to work in IE or other. Any help would be very much appreciated.
On a second note, I had been wondering recently whether this tab group environment is a suitable way to maintain my work environment. Occasionally, when opening Panorama, I would get an error saying a script is taking too long, but if I clicked Continue, it would display the groups in a few seconds. I had considered putting all of it in Bookmarks though it would be tedious and more difficult to access and open multiple tabs. In the beginning, I tried Tab Groups thinking it was a simple matter of maintaining a table of addresses (in tabs) with a tab group ID or name. How could that go wrong? Well, it has, so it is obviously more complicated than that, and I didn't realise that upgrades would affect personal data. Should I abondon using tab groups?

With the help of information from user, ptressel, in [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1032154#answer-673322 a post here about the existence of sessionstore.js when version 33 was released], I was able to easily recover my tabs and tab groups as follows:
# close Firefox and, perhaps, allow a few seconds (30s?) for any final closing of files;
# check to see if you have a sessionstore.js file in your profile folder, named like the one I documented in my original post above;
# if it is not timestamped prior to the discovery of your problem, open the sessionstore-backups folder;
# check if the recovery.js file is suitably timestamped and, if not, the recovery.bak.
# At this point, you are likely to find that none of them are prior to your problem occuring. If so, open your backups of this folder and go through steps 2-4 to find a file prior to your problem occuring.
# When you find a file, copy it to the root of your current profile folder and name it, "sessionstore.js"
# Open Firefox. Mine opened up as desired.
This is a Windows solution. Sorry I can't comment on other platforms, but I'd bet that as this is just a file copy and renaming, it is likely the same.
For Windows users, you may find you need to sign out and login as an administrator in order to access the backups. You need not logoff your standard account, but do have Firefox closed as described above.
Hope that helps.

My tabs will not restore after starting Firefox -- even with the option to restore my tabs and windows is checked in the "options" window. I'm losing tabs from previous sessions that I need to keep open every time I need to restart. Thanks for any advice!

Is there something else I need to tweak to get rid of this annoyance instead of simply clicking the check box? I'm losing tabs from previous sessions that I need to keep open every time I need to restart. Thanks for any advice!

Make sure that you do not use Clear Recent History to clear the Browsing History when you close Firefox.
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Clear+Recent+History
It is possible that there is a problem with the files sessionstore.js and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
Delete the sessionstore.js [2] file and possible sessionstore-##.js [3] files with a number and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
* Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Open Containing Folder
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
Deleting sessionstore.js will cause App Tabs and Tab Groups and open and closed (undo) tabs to get lost, so you will have to create them again (make a note or bookmark them).
See also:
* [1] http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore
* [2] http://kb.mozillazine.org/sessionstore.js
* [3] http://kb.mozillazine.org/Multiple_profile_files_created

When I close firefox with ctrl-alt-delete, I want to start over on Firefox, I usually do this when too many tabs and windows are open. However, Firefox always restores the tabs and windows I previously had. How can I stop that from happening?

This happens when FireFox is not responding, and I want to close firefox with ctrl-alt-delete. Too many tabs can make Firefox crash. That is why I want to use ctrl-alt-delete to close FireFox. I tried finding a way to disable this, but I found no option to.

Ending the Firefox program or process with the Windows Task Manager "looks like" a crash. The proper way to exit Firefox is click Firefox button > Exit (or File > Exit, if using the Menu Bar).
'''If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.'''
Not related to your question, but...
You need to update some plug-ins:
*Plug-in check: https://www-trunk.stage.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/
*Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Shockwave%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-shockwave Installing ('''''or Updating''''') the Shockwave plugin with Firefox]
*Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Adobe%20Reader%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-and-updating-adobe-reader Installing/Updating Adobe Reader in Firefox]
*Shockwave Flash (Adobe Flash or Flash): [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing%20the%20Flash%20plugin#w_updating-flash Updating Flash in Firefox]
*Next Generation Java Plug-in for Mozilla browsers: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Java%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-or-updating-java Installing or Updating Java in Firefox]

Help! How do I prevent Firefox crashing on opening? - Crash Reporter "Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts"

I have tried to:
* reinstall Firefox
* completed various spyware and virus checks
* ensured windows is up to date etc
See example few crash ID's below

Your crashreport: 
https://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-35b1826b-9d53-4c7f-a658-b155b2111108 
Firefox 7.0.1 Crash Report [@ _purecall | nsXPTCStubBase::QueryInterface(nsID const&, void**) ] 
This is caused by [http://www.trusteer.com/product/trusteer-rapport Trusteer Rapport]. Try to disable it and see if that stops the crashing. 
You can stop Rapport using Start Menu > Programs > Trusteer Rapport > Stop Rapport 
You can ask their helpdesk when an updated version of their product will be made available or, if you don't need this software, uninstall it. 
http://www.trusteer.com/support/en/report-problem 
According to the user in question [http://support.mozilla.com/nl/questions/892517 892517] Trusteer is aware of the problem and working on a fix. 
See also [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=699776 Bug 699776] - crash in nsXPTCStubBase::QueryInterface involving RapportTanzan7.dll or RapportTanzan8.dll in the stack.

When I try to open Firefox I get a message: Mozilla Crash Reporter: firefox had a problem and crashed. Will try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts. When I click on restore this same error box keeps appearing

I can't open Firefox and thus can't get to my.yahoo.com or any of my bookmarks.

Everything is good. Downloaded 8.0 and got fully restored - bookmarks too. Thanks for being so helpful, Swarnava.
JackDrake

When I try to open Firefox I get "We're sorry, Firefox had a problem and crashed. We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts.

I have been using Firefox for several years. Now, when I try to open it I get the above error message.

Hi graham12345
This looks like a problem with hardware acceleration.
Are you sure that staring in Safe Mode isn't working?
You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:
*On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
*On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
*Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
Try to set the gfx.content.azure.enabled pref to false or if this didn't help disable Direct2D by setting the gfx.direct2d.disabled pref to true on the about:config page and leave hardware acceleration otherwise enabled.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config
You can consider to modify the prefs.js file and add some of these:
user_pref("gfx.content.azure.enabled", false);
user_pref("gfx.direct2d.disabled", false);
user_pref("layers.acceleration.disabled", true);
That way you still have the benefit from hardware acceleration, but may not suffer from rendering issues.
You can also try to uninstall Windows update KB2670838 if you have this update.
*http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670838

Firefox had a problem and crashed. we'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts solve my issue

Crash ID: bp-2e8eda72-f4ff-4f01-902d-9c4382140606

Have you had other crashes of late? If so, post the report numbers.
'''''[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-using-safe-mode Start Firefox in Safe Mode]''''' {web link}
While you are in safe mode;
Press the '''<Alt>''' or '''<F10>''' key to bring up the tool bar.
Followed by;
Windows; '''Tools > Options'''
Linux; '''Edit > Preferences'''
Mac; ''application name'' '''> Preferences'''
Then '''Advanced > General.'''
Look for and turn off '''Use Hardware Acceleration'''.
Poke around safe web sites and see if there is still a problem. Then restart.

When I try to open Firefox, Mozilla Crash Reporter comes up and says "Firefox had a problem and crashed." "We'll try to restore your tabs and windows when it restarts." I've tried restarting the computer several times. It was working fine yesterday.

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Try Cor-el instruction by creating new profile
* https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/874649#answer-245454

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Your plugins list in the system details list shows two Flash plugins. 
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* https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
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Thanks
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Liam

How do I restore my tabs and windows, whether open or closed, when everything else fails?

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