This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

FireFox .exe fails to close when the window is closed.

more options

The firefox.exe is not closing when I click on the X in the application window. The window closes but the next time I try to open FireFox I get a message that the application is running ... close the application or restart... Windows Task Manager shows the firefox.exe still running. If I force it to close, I can then open FireFox and run it OK.

(I just tried to submit this and a message said it failed - we try again)

The firefox.exe is not closing when I click on the X in the application window. The window closes but the next time I try to open FireFox I get a message that the application is running ... close the application or restart... Windows Task Manager shows the firefox.exe still running. If I force it to close, I can then open FireFox and run it OK. (I just tried to submit this and a message said it failed - we try again)

All Replies (2)

more options

Close Firefox properly and you won't have to use the Task Manager very often. Continue trying to close Firefox with Close Window and you're looking for trouble. For additional help see item #38 in

http://dmcritchie.mvps.org/firefox/firefox-problems.htm#close_firefox

Closing Firefox (#close_firefox), avoid getting Firefox already running messages:  To properly shutdown Firefox when multiple windows or closing the last window use File → Exit/Quit (or Firefox button → Exit).

more options

Yes, I know I can close FireFox from the file menu instead of the X. But this isn't a solution. Every application since Windows was announced has been able to be closed with the X. It would take a long time to retrain this 82 year-old to quit using the X and go to File>Close. This process is so ingrained in my actions that it would not be possible in my lifetime - and I expect to live till 103! If I was still managing a development team instead of being retired, I would fire the developer that released a product that didn't adhere to convention that has been ingrained for 30 years. Please fix soon. In the meantime I'll have to use an alternate browser...