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

Èròjà atẹ̀lélànà yii ni a ti fi pamọ́ fọ́jọ́ pípẹ́. Jọ̀wọ́ béèrè ìbéèrè titun bí o bá nílò ìrànwọ́.

Multiple, persistent instances of Firefox in Windows' Volume Mixer

  • 2 àwọn èsì
  • 4 ní àwọn ìṣòro yìí
  • 7 views
  • Èsì tí ó kẹ́hìn lọ́wọ́ cor-el

more options

As you can see by my image, Windows' Volume Mixer does not get rid of Firefox instances even if I close Firefox. Is this a known issue? It hasn't always been like this. I think maybe it started since Firefox 46? Can't say for sure.

A few things to note:

The first, is that this only happens if I already have my Volume Mixer open, and then open and close Firefox. On the second time that I open Firefox since having Volume Mixer open, that second instance of Firefox will persist in the Volume Mixer, and not go away. If I close and open Firefox again, a new instance will be next to the second, and so on and so forth. There will also be no Firefox icon in the Volume Mixer. This happens whether I launch private browsing or normal browsing. Every instance after that will stay, resulting in a frustratingly long Volume Mixer, something I need to navigate quickly.

The second, is that instances of Firefox do not persist in the Volume Mixer if I have it closed (not open, not visible). Furthermore, closing and reopening the Volume Mixer window seems to get rid of the persistent, phantom instances of Firefox. A quick fix but a stupid hassle no one should go through.

Finally, you may notice that there is another button to the left of the X to close the Volume Mixer window. That is from a program called UltraMon, but this problem has been going on before I even had UltraMon installed, so I can guarantee it is not related to the issue.

Running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition SP1, and Firefox 50.0. I've tried restarting my computer (as this has been happening for quite some time now), reinstalling Windows, changing install directories for Firefox, disabling/enabling UAC/Windows Defender, Antimalware software, changing audio devices; nothing of the sort helps.

As you can see by my image, Windows' Volume Mixer does not get rid of Firefox instances even if I close Firefox. Is this a known issue? It hasn't always been like this. I think maybe it started since Firefox 46? Can't say for sure. A few things to note: The first, is that this only happens if I already have my Volume Mixer open, and then open and close Firefox. On the second time that I open Firefox since having Volume Mixer open, that second instance of Firefox will persist in the Volume Mixer, and not go away. If I close and open Firefox again, a new instance will be next to the second, and so on and so forth. There will also be no Firefox icon in the Volume Mixer. This happens whether I launch private browsing or normal browsing. Every instance after that will stay, resulting in a frustratingly long Volume Mixer, something I need to navigate quickly. The second, is that instances of Firefox do not persist in the Volume Mixer if I have it closed (not open, not visible). Furthermore, closing and reopening the Volume Mixer window seems to get rid of the persistent, phantom instances of Firefox. A quick fix but a stupid hassle no one should go through. Finally, you may notice that there is another button to the left of the X to close the Volume Mixer window. That is from a program called UltraMon, but this problem has been going on before I even had UltraMon installed, so I can guarantee it is not related to the issue. Running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition SP1, and Firefox 50.0. I've tried restarting my computer (as this has been happening for quite some time now), reinstalling Windows, changing install directories for Firefox, disabling/enabling UAC/Windows Defender, Antimalware software, changing audio devices; nothing of the sort helps.
Ìsopọ̀ yíyà aṣàfihàn

All Replies (2)

more options

This is likely caused by the multi-process feature that is enabled in the current Firefox release.

You can disable multi-process tabs in Firefox by setting the related prefs to false on the about:config page.

  • browser.tabs.remote.autostart = false
  • browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.