I don't know the solution to your exact problem but I must ask, are you turning off your computer BY KILLING THE POWER TO IT?! Just so that you can get Firefox to remember what you had open?! If that is the case, then do this when you want Firefox to close and remember your tabs: open Task Manager, Click the "Processes" tab, find firefox.exe on the list, click the "End Process" button, a warning box will pop up asking if you are sure you want to end the process, click "End Process." This is what your doing by killing your power to the computer, only on a much safer and refined scale.

Also try clicking on the "session restore" button in history or if you're really daring you could try to do this method: Go to: Tools> Options, then click on the "General" tab. From there click on the drop down box for "When Firefox starts:" and click on the "Show my windows and Tabs from the last time" option. Hope these tips work!

Can be caused by a corrupted Visual C++ installation (multiple versions can be installed side-by-side; SxS) that is missing some runtime components (Redistributable Package) that Firefox depends on (problem with a manifest file).

You need to install the missing components.

See:

• [/questions/908165] The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded
• bug 713167 - Microsoft.VC80.CRT SideBySide errors, browsercomps.dll

Thanks very much for replies!

I kill power strip to everything when I am done on computer, because it is the quick way to shut everything down. I am off-grid on solar power so I do not leave anything running. This worked great on my old computer with Win2000. As soon as Firefox came up, it would restore the session.

But now it appears that Firefox placing "about: session restore" in the address bar confuses the machine, indeed that is not a proper URL.

Can't Firefox restore the session without having to "talk " about it, just open tabs with the correct URL's in them?

I HAVE set it to restore old tabs. But it can't get past that "about session restore" in the address bar.