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After Firefox has been on for awhile, the Firefox tabs on the task bar disappear even though the pages are still running. I have to use Ctrl+Tab to fix it

  • 4 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by stealthcat

stealthcat
stealthcat
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I have started using Firefox recently. My computer is running XP. I notice that whether I have one Firefox window or multiple windows open, after awhile the Firefox tabs on the bottom task bar just disappear. In order to get them back I have to use Ctrl+Tab to select each window one at a time and then they re-appear again on the task bar. Then after awhile they will disappear again.

I have started using Firefox recently. My computer is running XP. I notice that whether I have one Firefox window or multiple windows open, after awhile the Firefox tabs on the bottom task bar just disappear. In order to get them back I have to use Ctrl+Tab to select each window one at a time and then they re-appear again on the task bar. Then after awhile they will disappear again.

All Replies (4)

Andrew
Andrew
  • Moderator
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It sounds like you may be in full screen mode. Could you please check that you are not in full screen mode (f11)

stealthcat
stealthcat Question owner
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I am not in full screen mode. The task bar itself doesn't disappear, only the Firefox tabs. My other tabs - Excel, Word, etc. don't ever vanish. Something else is going on.

Andrew
Andrew
  • Moderator
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Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that turns off some settings and disables most add-ons (extensions and themes).

(If you're using an added theme, switch to the Default theme.)

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu by clicking on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item:
FirefoxSafeMode

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode" Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.

Thank you.

stealthcat
stealthcat Question owner
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I did two things and so far after the computer being on for almost 8 hours the tabs have not disappeared. One thing I did was disable an add-on for a 'one-click' link to Amazon.com. The other was to turn off hardware acceleration. My computer is 9 years old and I suspected my graphics card couldn't take it. Not sure which one appears to have solved the issue but I am leaning more towards the hardware acceleration. I will post further if the issue reappears. The age of my computer seems to be the cause of most of my problems in general, and not just related to Firefox. I do periodically get warned by Norton 360 of high CPU usage by Firefox.