Hmm, no, I don't see that. Is it always there, or only when there has been a software change that might require restarting Firefox?

If it is persistent, do you have any extensions related to restarting Firefox? You can view and enable/disable extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions. Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right side and disable or remove anything unknown, suspicious, etc..

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Does that help?

A "Restart Firefox" menu item in the File menu would have been added by an extension. Firefox doesn't provide that menu item by default.

carol426 said

I have a question I updated firefox last week to version 44.0.2, and a few days later I noticed there was a "Restart Firefox" option under the file menu. I did not notice this in the days immediately after downloading the newest version, and I would have noticed because I always close firefox through the exit menu under the file menu.

Hmm, when you say you downloaded the newest version, was it a web download rather than the typical "behind the scenes" download done by the auto-updater? If so, that may have been a fake update and a complete malware shakedown would be in order.

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help surface undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Hello, Thank you for the responses, it seems that my Classic Theme Restorer extension (that I use to get tabs on the bottom of the address bar) created the restart button, I disabled it because I did not see any mention of this in the profile for the extension. When I update I always do it manually and from the publisher, (with firefox I just updated from the help menu).

I do have a new problem though, to start fresh, I cleared my recent history and now all my previous windows and tabs are gone. I went to the backup folder, and it was updated after I cleared, and I have no other backups. However, I do have all my windows and tabs bookmarked, do you know of any ways or add ons that I could use to open a large number of tabs in about 5 windows?

I ask because I am a researcher, and when I have all my windows and tabs are open (not necessarily loaded), I can see the titles of the pages if I look on the tabs menu.

I really appreciate the helpful information you have provided, and I hope you can help guide me on this issue as well.

Thank you, Carol

Also, do you have any recommendations about a spyware cleaner, I currently use Glary.

Thank you, Carol

When you say "the backup folder" which one do you mean? Could you check as follows:

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

In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button.

In the window that launches, scroll down and double-click into the sessionstore-backups folder. Save all files here to a safe location, such as your Documents folder. In particular, one of the recent upgrade... files may be the best place to start, if it still exists.

The kinds of files you may find among your sessionstore files are:

• recovery.js: the windows and tabs in your currently live Firefox session (or, if Firefox crashed, your last session)
• recovery.bak: a backup copy of recovery.js
• previous.js: the windows and tabs in your last Firefox session
• upgrade.js-build_id: the windows and tabs in the Firefox session that was live at the time of your last update

Could you take a look at what you have and the date/time of the various files to see whether you think any of them would have the missing tabs?

Note: By default, Windows hides the .js extension. To ensure that you are looking at the files I mentioned, you may want to turn off that feature. This article has the steps: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/show-hide-file-name-extensions

carol426 said

I do have all my windows and tabs bookmarked, do you know of any ways or add ons that I could use to open a large number of tabs in about 5 windows?

If they are bookmarked in discrete folders, you should find an item at the bottom of the folder to Open All in Tabs. If you launch a new window for each folder you want to restore and then use that item, that's probably the best you can do. If that's too many windows, you may need to merge some of the bookmark folders first.

Also, do you have any recommendations about a spyware cleaner, I currently use Glary.

You could try the ones in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. Each seems to focus on different things, so it's hard to say what would be the best supplemental cleaner for you.

Hello,

I followed the directions you gave and changed it to show extensions; and the recovery folder has two files recovery.bak and recovery.js; both of them are updated every minute it seems. Last update was 4:15pm.

Thank you, Carol

Nothing older than the recovery.js/bak files? I didn't realize Clear Recent History was so thorough.

If you want to try to get those erased files back, you could try an undelete utility like the following: https://www.piriform.com/recuva

Otherwise, it would be Plan B, Bookmarks.

Okay, thank you so much for the information. I think I will just open up the bookmarks.

Best, Carol