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Firefox opens a new, blank, pointless, Window on start-up, while also also restoring my previous session on seperate window.

Everytime I start Firefox, it restores my previous session, but also opens a new, blank, and frankly pointless 2nd window which i have to close, before going back to my restored session, it's quite annoying, and I can't find a setting to stop it from starting this new session when i open the application.

Everytime I start Firefox, it restores my previous session, but also opens a new, blank, and frankly pointless 2nd window which i have to close, before going back to my restored session, it's quite annoying, and I can't find a setting to stop it from starting this new session when i open the application.

தீர்வு தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டது

iSaff said

Unfortunatley I am unable to open https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html, I recieve a Problem loading page error when trying to load the page which reads: "Secure Connection Failed An error occurred during a connection to www.jeffersonscher.com. PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR"

I don't know what causes that error. I think PR refers to a proxy, but I haven't researched it in detail and other recent threads seem inconclusive.

Can you access the page on Github? https://jscher2000.github.io/Firefox-File-Utilities/scrounger.html

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All Replies (6)

Hi iSaff, it's difficult to determine why you have a blank window. Perhaps a page is supposed to load but it's being blocked?


If you check your Firefox shortcut (the icon you use to start Firefox), are there any extra parameters on the command line? What I mean is:

Either:

  • Right-click a Firefox desktop shortcut, then click Properties
  • Right-click a Firefox icon pinned to the Taskbar then right-click Mozilla Firefox, then click Properties

Windows should show the Shortcut tab and select the Target field. The Target usually is along the following lines:

  • "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
  • "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

Is there anything extra after that?


To see whether the blank window is in your session history file recovery.jsonlz4 or sessionstore.jsonlz4 after you close Firefox, before you start the new session, you could use my Scrounger page to list out its contents. Here's how:

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

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > 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, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.

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 look for a file named

sessionstore.jsonlz4

If you do not see that file, double-click into the sessionstore-backups folder and look for

recovery.jsonlz4

Make a copy of whichever file you have for analysis. For example, right-click > Copy, right-click > Paste (either in the same folder or somewhere more convenient).

When you restart Firefox, open the Scrounger page at

https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html

Drag and drop the copied file onto the box there and click Scrounge URLs. Does the list show an unexpected second window, or only the main window?

Hi, Jefferson, thank you for replying, and sorry for my belated reply, I hadn't checked in until just now.

The Target Field reads: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

So nothing extra after that.

Unfortunatley I am unable to open https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html, I recieve a Problem loading page error when trying to load the page which reads: "Secure Connection Failed

An error occurred during a connection to www.jeffersonscher.com. PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR"

தீர்வு தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டது

iSaff said

Unfortunatley I am unable to open https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html, I recieve a Problem loading page error when trying to load the page which reads: "Secure Connection Failed An error occurred during a connection to www.jeffersonscher.com. PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR"

I don't know what causes that error. I think PR refers to a proxy, but I haven't researched it in detail and other recent threads seem inconclusive.

Can you access the page on Github? https://jscher2000.github.io/Firefox-File-Utilities/scrounger.html

PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR means that Firefox wasn't able to find a cipher suite that works with available ciphers. Possible causes are security software that acts as a man-in-the-middle or using a proxy or VPN.

You can test your browser.

--- did you try to rename/remove sessionstore.jsonlz4 in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed in case this is a problem with the sessionstore file ?

jscher2000 said

iSaff said
Unfortunatley I am unable to open https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/scrounger.html, I recieve a Problem loading page error when trying to load the page which reads: "Secure Connection Failed An error occurred during a connection to www.jeffersonscher.com. PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR"

I don't know what causes that error. I think PR refers to a proxy, but I haven't researched it in detail and other recent threads seem inconclusive.

Can you access the page on Github? https://jscher2000.github.io/Firefox-File-Utilities/scrounger.html

Hi, yes, it was my VPN, disconnecting it allowed me to access your site. And it worked. So sorry.

Yes, the tool does show the 2nd Window under the "Closed Windows" heading, near the bottom.

Of note, it also didn't open the 2nd Window this time when I rebooted and opened Firefox again, i've had this issue for a month, so i'm at a loss how diagnostics could have solved the issue, if it is resolved.

P.S I thought perhaps it was my VPN triggering the 2nd window, so tried turning that off and on, and it doesn't appear to have an effect, however, the 2nd Window is still no-longer opening.

I can't thank you enough! Merry Christmas Jefferson, seasonal cheer to you and your loved ones.

iSaff மூலமாக திருத்தப்பட்டது

Hi iSaff, glad to hear things are back to normal, and Merry Christmas to you, too.