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Session Restore and Version 96

  • 14 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by MasterHarp

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Just upgraded to version 96. Even thought FF ends normally at startup I get message about if I want to restore sessions. I have tried setting max_resume option to 0. Still ask to restore session. How do I "downgrade" to a previous version of FF?

Just upgraded to version 96. Even thought FF ends normally at startup I get message about if I want to restore sessions. I have tried setting max_resume option to 0. Still ask to restore session. How do I "downgrade" to a previous version of FF?

All Replies (14)

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You set browser.sessionstore.max_resumed_crashes to zero? What that does is skip any automatic crash recovery and show a screen letting you choose what tabs to restore, if any. So it sounds like that change is working, and the mystery is what is causing Firefox to think it crashed at the end of the last session.

Do you use any privacy/utility/cleaning software that might be touching Firefox session history files between sessions? Historically, Advanced SystemCare was known to do that. Not sure about these days.


If necessary, you could hide all session related files so that Firefox has no choice but to start up with your home page. More on that if needed.

Regarding installing an older version of Firefox, those are always available, but not recommended for security reasons and also the data migration can be a pain. Install an older version of Firefox

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Issue occurred when it was set to default of 1. Issue did not exits with previous version(95.xx). No such cleaning software I am aware of. Should I set it back to 1? How do I get this reported as a problem?

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MasterHarp said

Issue occurred when it was set to default of 1. Issue did not exits with previous version(95.xx). No such cleaning software I am aware of. Should I set it back to 1? How do I get this reported as a problem?

If it occurred with a value of 1, the automatic restore failed for some reason. (A value of 1 means try the automatic restore once.)

You can file a bug at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/, but if you have no intention of restoring your session the next time, perhaps we should clear some files first and then test whether the problem recurs.

I always suggest restarting Windows as the first step in case we are dealing with a file lock. Usually doing a regular shut down/restart of Windows will clear those locks.

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Use one of these to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox Title bar, especially if you have multiple windows open to prevent losing tabs in unnoticed windows.

  • "3-bar" menu button -> Exit (Power button)
  • Windows: File -> Exit
  • Mac: Firefox -> Quit Firefox
  • Linux: File -> Quit

You can check if you have a user.js file in the Firefox profile folder that sets the browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once pref to true.

  • browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can click the button to "Accept the Risk and Continue".

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As FF ended normally I have no sessions to restore. What file(s) to clear? How? I have restarted Windows. Issue still exists.

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I have created Bugzilla account and submitted bug report.

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Reply to cor-el. Yes I am terminating FF correctly. There is no user.js file in my profile directory.

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MasterHarp said

As FF ended normally I have no sessions to restore. What file(s) to clear? How? I have restarted Windows. Issue still exists.

During a normal shutdown, Firefox creates a file named sessionstore.jsonlz4 in your profile folder that lists the open windows and tabs, and recently closed windows and tabs, from non-private windows. It does not matter whether you set Firefox to restore your session automatically at the next startup; this file exists to also support the "Restore previous session" entry on the History menu.

You could try hiding all session files as follows:

(1) Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > More Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, find the Profile Folder row. On that row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows File Explorer.

(2) Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then:

(3) Right-click > Rename the following files to hide them from Firefox (or you could move them out of the folder or delete them):

  • sessionstore.jsonlz4 => sessionstoreOLD.jsonlz4
  • sessionCheckpoints.json => sessionCheckpointsOLD.json

(4) Right-click > Rename the following folder to hide it from Firefox (or you could move it out of the folder or delete it):

  • sessionstore-backups => sessionstore-backupsOLD

At your next startup, finding none of the earlier session files, Firefox should show your home page.

Success?

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To jscher2000

Renaming files "worked" the first time. Close FF and restart. Issue returns.

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What is the content of the sessionCheckpoints.json after you have closed Firefox ? This file keeps track of the tasks done when Firefox gets closed and there should be no pending task left when Firefox closes properly.

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Peculiar update. Updated to 96.0.1. Issue has not reoccurred. Unsure why?

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Sorry. Thought is was fixed. Contents of file:

{"profile-after-change":true,"final-ui-startup":true,"sessionstore-windows-restored":true,"quit-application-granted":true,"quit-application":true,"profile-change-net-teardown":true,"profile-change-teardown":true,"profile-before-change":true}

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I miss "sessionstore-final-state-write-complete":true and this could indicate that sessionstore isn't working and that Firefox shows the page to restore the session.

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Am I supposed to do something with that code snippet? Problem is now intermittent.