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Firefox fails to restore session after crash or task manager quit.

  • 4 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by JMJimmy

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In FF 3.6 I had it configured so that when I closed the program normally all history/etc was cleared. If I closed the program via the task manager (or when FF crashed/Windows shut it down) it would save my session and offer to restore it upon re-loading the program. This was especially useful when FF would stop responding/become slow due to memory leaks. This feature does not work since I updated to FF15.

I've read the kb article, checked similar questions for possible solutions, etc. Nothing seems to make the "restore previous session" available to me. I don't get the "this is embarrassing" page, the option under "History" to restore previous session is greyed out, and about:home doesn't offer the option.

These are my about:config settings:

browser.sessionstore.enabled;true browser.sessionstore.interval;15000 browser.sessionstore.max_resumed_crashes;1 browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo;5 browser.sessionstore.max_windows_undo;3 browser.sessionstore.postdata;-1 browser.sessionstore.privacy_level;0 browser.sessionstore.privacy_level_deferred;1 browser.sessionstore.restore_hidden_tabs;false browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand;true browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand;false browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash;true browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once;false services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand;true

In FF 3.6 I had it configured so that when I closed the program normally all history/etc was cleared. If I closed the program via the task manager (or when FF crashed/Windows shut it down) it would save my session and offer to restore it upon re-loading the program. This was especially useful when FF would stop responding/become slow due to memory leaks. This feature does not work since I updated to FF15. I've read the kb article, checked similar questions for possible solutions, etc. Nothing seems to make the "restore previous session" available to me. I don't get the "this is embarrassing" page, the option under "History" to restore previous session is greyed out, and about:home doesn't offer the option. These are my about:config settings: browser.sessionstore.enabled;true browser.sessionstore.interval;15000 browser.sessionstore.max_resumed_crashes;1 browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo;5 browser.sessionstore.max_windows_undo;3 browser.sessionstore.postdata;-1 browser.sessionstore.privacy_level;0 browser.sessionstore.privacy_level_deferred;1 browser.sessionstore.restore_hidden_tabs;false browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand;true browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand;false browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash;true browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once;false services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand;true

All Replies (4)

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When using "Clear history when Firefox closes" do not clear the "Browsing History" because in that case Firefox won't restore tabs from the previous session (tabs are considered as history, so that prevails).

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By doing that it won't clear the history when closed normally (which is what I want). Firefox is supposed to be able to distinguish between a normal close and a forced close/crash.

ie: when I'm done using Firefox I want my browsing history to be deleted. when firefox crashes I want it to restore my session

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If you force Firefox to close and Firefox isn't able to clear the recent history then Firefox notices that and does it on the next start instead.

Firefox creates this pref on a successful shutdown:

  • user_pref("privacy.sanitize.didShutdownSanitize", true);

There is also this pref:

  • privacy.clearOnShutdown.sessions

I don't know what it is meant for.

Modified by cor-el

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privacy.clearOnShutdown.sessions is the same thing as your first answer. When you toggle Tools > Options > Privacy: History: [X] Clear history when Firefox closes > Settings that's the setting it changes to false.

Is there any way of preventing FF from clearing recent history on start so I can actually restore a session when FF crashes/hangs?