Profile In Use

I had a similar experience recently. I was opening a site (while in Mozilla) that said I needed to download and install Java SE, which I did. When I started up again, I got the window saying to pick a Mozilla profile. I picked the sole entry, "default," but it said it was "in use" and I could not use it (this even though no other window was open). I made a new profile but it was void of all my adjustments and bookmarks. When I tried to open the default, it kept saying it was in use. I managed to get it back by rebooting, but it was a strange event.

Anybody know why it did this?

 

JRG ...

If you had opened Task manager and clicked on the Processes tab, I'll bet you would have found that Mozilla was still running, even without any windows open or buttons visible on the Taskbar. You could have killed it there, or just logged off and back on, without rebooting.

 

JRG,

Do you by chance use the parent.lock "lock" or ".parentlock "? If so, this too will generate the error: "The Profile is in use ".

Mozilla may have shut down abnormally, leaving the lock in place. To fix this, find your profile and delete the file named "parent.lock" (Windows) or "lock" (Linux). This file contains no information, and deleting it will unlock the profile.

See this KB Article: Profile in Use

Ramona

 

I read the article and looked everywhere; I cannot find my profile, even after I set the view for all files........

 

JRG,

If you are using Windows XP, this your Profile is located here:

C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles

Windows 98:

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles

Ramona

 

I have Windows 2000 Pro. I found the file; if I attempt to delete it, it says access denied, sharing violation. If I close my browser and then go there again to delete it, it's gone. There when Mozilla is on, gone when it's closed. Unable to delete it when a browzer is open, but that's when it's there......

Any other suggestions?

 

I want to make this clear. Are you saying that you found the "parent.lock" file in the .slt folder, and you are not allowed to delete it? You should not not try to delete any file with Mozilla open. Just from Windows Explorer, and then open Mozilla. The file is there with Mozilla open, but it does nothing to me.
And, please give a minimum of details. A bit more than Mozilla, Java SE, and what is the name of the folder. The path should be something like this:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename( probably "default ")\xxxxx.slt.
The xxxxx is a variable combination of letters and numbers. When you open that you should see the file.
But your problem been solved. Don't worry about the presence of the file.
As for the other profile, it is normal to have a generic one. It is up to you get your stuff from the default profile.You don't have to do a thing with it, but, may be you may want to set it up , just in case.