When I attempt to open Firefox a window appears which says Firefox is already running, and I must either close the window (which isn't open) or re-start the computer to get Firefox to open.

The system operates normally for a while and then unexpectedly whenever it wants to, I get this message, even though Firefox is not open.
I have to continually re-start the computer to make Firefox operational again.

See [[Firefox is already running but is not responding]], in your case it sounds like Firefox is not closing properly.

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When I try to open firefox, it puts up a message that says it's already running and you must first close it before opening. But there isn't one running so therefore I can't open it.

This has been going on off and on for probably the last year.

See "Hang at exit":
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs
* [[Firefox hangs]]

When I try to open Firefox, a pop up says it is already running and I must close a window or restart. I can not figure out how to close the window they are asking me to.

when I try to start Firefox, a pop up says it is already running and I must close a window or restart. I can not figure out what window they want me to close
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox opened
== User Agent ==
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0; WOW64; Trident/4.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; MDDC; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30618)

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs and [[Firefox hangs]] (Hang at exit)
Check in the Task Manager (XP: Ctrl+Alt+Del, Vista: Shift+Ctrl+ESC, Processes tab) if there are hanging Firefox processes.
If you see any ''firefox.exe'' processes then click the End button to end those Firefox processes.
You can only start Firefox in [[Safe mode]] or launch the [[Managing profiles|Profile Manager]] is all Firefox processes are ended.
See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Kill_application

When I close Firefox and then try to open it, it says it is already running and I have to close it which I can't do. The only way to open it is to first restart my computer which is a pain. If I can't fix this I will use an other brouser!

I am not sure what more I can tell you. I close firefox. So when I click on the icon it should allow me to open it again but I get a message that says it is already running. Either close it out which I can't do since I already did that or restart the computer.

Try holding control, alt and delete down in succession and then a dialogue box will appear with windows task manager. Once open click on the Processes Tab and look for firefox.exe. Highlight this and then click end process. It should come up with a warning but just click Yes. This should then close firefox and allow you to reopen it from your desktop without shutting down your computer. Hope this helps.

I close firefox and when I try to open it later, a pop-up says it is still running and I have to restart my pc?

I close firefox and when I try to open it later, a pop-up says it is still running and I have to restart my pc? tried closing Firefox down but Task manager says it is NOT running even though the window that pops up says it is still running??

When you go to task manager, go to the "processes" tab, right click on "firefox.exe," and select "end process tree." In the picture I've attached, I'm using windows 8, so the UI is a little different, but I hope it points you in the right direction.

Sometimes when I try to open firefox it says another application of firefox is already running and I have to close it first,isn't.

At least once a day I try to open Firefox and it won't let me. It says another application of Firefox is already running and I have to close it first. There is no other applicaion of Firefox running, and I have to reboot the computer.

See "Hang at exit":
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs
See "Firefox hangs when you quit it":
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Firefox+hangs

On a frequent basis when I go to open Firefox, I get a message saying it is already running and can't be opened. This happens on two of my XP computers. The only way I can open it is to restart the computer.

The details are in the question. I have to restart the computer to get Firefox to work a few times a week

I will try to always use "file - exit" to close it to see if that fixes the problem, but with older versions, X ing out worked OK all the time. Something may have changed with this later version.
Thank you

When I close Firefox and then come back to it layer a box comes up that says it's already running. It ays to close Firefox first but when I hit close nothing happens and the box comes up again. I have to shut down my computer and restart to get into Firef

When I close Firefox and then come back to it later a box comes up that says it's already running. It says to close Firefox first but when I hit close nothing happens and the box comes up again. I have to shut down my computer and restart to get into Firefox again. If I can't get this fixed I will start using someone else. Someone told me a way to close Firefox but I forgot what they said.
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox opened
== a couple of months ago

Hello Brian.
You don't need to restart your computer to open Firefox again: you just need to close it manually through your application manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC in Processes tab). Anyway, hopefully this support article is what you need:
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+hangs
What's probably happening is that you may be having a problem with some Firefox add-on that is hindering your Firefox's normal behavior. Have you tried disabling all add-ons (just to check), to see if Firefox goes back to normal?
Whenever you have a problem with Firefox, whatever it is, you should make sure it's not coming from one of your installed add-ons, be it an extension, a theme or a plugin. To do that easily and cleanly, run Firefox in [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode safe mode] and select ''Disable all add-ons''. If the problem disappears, you know it's from an add-on. Disable them all in normal mode, and enable them one at a time until you find the source of the problem. See [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes this article] for information about troubleshooting extensions and theme. You can troubleshoot plugins the same way.
If you want support for one of your add-ons, you'll need to contact its author.

I try to open firefox and a window opens that says it's already running and i need to shut the other firefox down and restart my computer, how do i get firefox to work right and open?

This happens everytime i boot up and try to open firefox first thing. It has done this for some time but i never noticed because i was using safari.

There are several possible causes for this error, for details see the [[Firefox is already running but is not responding]] article.

When i try to open firefox i keep getting a message that says that it is still running and i need to close it before i can access it. i have rebooted the system checked profiles and cannot use firefox - what should i do?

i keep getting the same error message which prevents me from opening firefox. how can i rectify it?
Message: Firefox is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system.

Did you find the Firefox profile folder?
See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
"Application Data" in XP/Win2K and "AppData" in Vista/Windows 7 are hidden folders, use %APPDATA% in the File name field<br />
Go to: Control Panel > Folder Options > "View" tab > under "Hidden files and folders", select "Show hidden files and folders"<br />
See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Show_hidden_files_and_folders
*XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\
*Windows: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\

When trying to click on firefox I get a message, firefox is already running, and asks me to close it. I have no other programs running. I cant even get firefox thru google chrome or internet explorer.

I recently upgraded to firefox 3.6, I think the inability to access firefox began after that. I`m worried that I may have lost my bookmarks.
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox opened
== For the past week, when I attempt to click on firefox ==
== User Agent ==
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/533.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/5.0.375.99 Safari/533.4

This has been happening to me for months IN w &. It is REALLY ANNOYING.
MY WAy AROUND IT IS TO PRESS Ctrl,Alt,Del & select or start the
Windows Taskmaster.
Select Processes Tab & scroll down until you find "firefox.exe" , select it & at the bottom select End Process. In the next window press on End Process & Firefox will be closeD. Get out of that & you will be able to start Firefox.
A bit messy but saves re-starting the computer.
I WISH THEY WOULD FIND A SOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firefox is already running and not responding does not even show in task manger have to manueley shut down computer,it locks up if i use search bar,use my bookmarks it works ok ,can i save my bookmarks and just take it off and reinstallr

i have been fighting this for a week i have been all over your forums and tried everything that it suggested,just not working ,i have never had any problems with firefox in the past it has been on this computer for at least 4 years help!

Hi there, gwinslo. You have come to the right place.
From what I have been reading from other posts on this forum, the issue may
be caused by the clear history settings.
Press the '''<Alt>''' or '''<F10>''' key to bring up the tool bar. Then '''Tools > Options > Privacy'''.
The button next to '''History''', select '''Use Custom Settings'''.
At the bottom of the page, turn on '''Clear History When Firefox Closes.'''
At the far right, press the '''Settings''' button. Turn on ONLY '''Cache''' and
'''Form And Search History''' leaving the others off.
'''https://support.mozilla.org/questions/997866?esab=a&s=&r=1&as=s''' {web link}
This is not a cure but will make it easier if Firefox locks up.

When closing FF 4.0 and trying to reopen on my desktop it says it's already running and needs to be closed to continue ? Happens every time ?!!

Always when I close FF 4.0 on my desktop running XP it says it failed to close correctly and is still running ?
Same thing happened in another version of FF I believe.

After closing Firefox, the process continues to run for as long as one minute. If you try to restart during that time, it tells you it's already running. Have no clue why FF4 needs so much time to shut down. That never was an issue with FF3.6.

When I go to open Firefox it saay it's already running and I have to close the program but it's not running. How do I fix this? It will let me run it as the asministartor tho...

Firefox won't let me open unless I run as administrator. How do I fix this?

can not connect with "STARHAWK" u was going to try an help with moniter probles .tring to send STARHAWK this information. Help form says not connected, but i am.
HI Starhawk
thanks for your time. I really only know how to turn on a computer & use it somewhat had stroke 2 years ago lost some long term memory get bouts of short term loss. Got computer from , unregistered charity in Victoria BC, Canada.. Which supply computers & basic instruction only 2 techs, told reach out to Linux forms as very old monitor big in small bacholar apt works, IBM e74 13 pins on cord going to computer computer has 15 holes as do flatron wide LG & flatron w9345 i have 37" RCA with 15 pin holes & 15 pin cord both ends but don,t want mess up my TV .Any one i know who is computer savvy don't know Linux or want to try I have Zorina Linux & Linux puppy 5.25. Computer has windows xp professional sticker on it. that is about it. Any help u can suggest would rally great if there is a fix. I like the system it is good for me, as it challenges me. Again THANKS
Victoria52

When I try to open firefox, it says that a session is already running and I need to close it before I can run another session, I cannot find the session that's running, what can I do?

This happens after I have used firefox and exited the program. When I try to reuse the program I get this message. Is there a setting within firefox causing this or ??? I have tried to locate the session running without any luck. Would appreciate any help. I have uninstalled the program and then reinstalled it, but nothing has changed it continues to malfunction.

See "Hang at exit":
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs
* [[Firefox hangs]]

When I attempt to open Firefox a window appears which says Firefox is already running, and I must either close the window (which isn't open) or re-start the computer to get Firefox to open.

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