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V6.01, Windows 7, click on icon, "firefox is already running but not responding" Task manager doesn't know about it. I can't quit it or get it to load. Brand new install. What to do?

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Brand new Lenovo computer, Windows 7 Home. New install of Firefox 6.0.1, set as default browser, don't launch when I click done. Icon appears in tray. I click the icon, and a message says "firefox is running but not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing process, or reboot". It's not obviously running. I can't find a way to make it quit. Task manager doesn't list it as a current application. Uninstall using the control panel uninstall function and then reinstalling gives the same message. Rebooting doesn't fix the problem and gives the same message. Firefox had been working until I tried to update my bookmarks.

Brand new Lenovo computer, Windows 7 Home. New install of Firefox 6.0.1, set as default browser, don't launch when I click done. Icon appears in tray. I click the icon, and a message says "firefox is running but not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing process, or reboot". It's not obviously running. I can't find a way to make it quit. Task manager doesn't list it as a current application. Uninstall using the control panel uninstall function and then reinstalling gives the same message. Rebooting doesn't fix the problem and gives the same message. Firefox had been working until I tried to update my bookmarks.

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Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.

See Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile:

There may be extensions and plugins installed by default in a new profile, so check that in "Tools > Add-ons > Extensions & Plugins" in case there are still problems.

If that new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile (be careful not to copy corrupted files)

See:

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No can do. I can delete the current profile and install Firefox, which should create a new blank profile. The message still says "Firefox is already running." I can place my old profile in the proper folder, and Firefox will still be already running. I can't actually use Firefox, because even though the message says it is running, there is nothing on the screen I can access.

After uninstalling Firefox, deleting the two items left in the Programs folder, and deleting the profile again, it still didn't work. I then got frisky and from the Roaming folder I deleted the Mozilla folder which contains the Firefox folder which contains the now empty Profiles folder. That worked, and a new set of folders with a new blank profile were created. So apparently it was the empty folders that never got deleted that were causing the issue.

Thanks for your suggestion. It got me thinking.

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You can't just place back an old profile.
Firefox will only find a profile that is registered in the file profiles.ini

If the profile that is marked in profiles.ini as default=1 is missing then you will get an error message that Firefox is already running.
You need to use the profile manager and create a new profile.
If you want to use an existing profile then click the "Choose Folder" button and select that profile for the location of the new profile to make Firefox recognize it.

See "Profile folder is unavailable"