Resolved Can't close or blank final tab - the webpage stays displayed

The tab that is open at the left of my Firefox 3.6.12 window (whether it's the last one open or is just one of any number) can't be closed or blanked. It stays there, no matter what attempt I make to either close it or blank it. If I close FF and restart it, that page reappears, even though I've set FF to come up with a blank page. The blank page ( "Untitled ") that I've called for appears at the immediate right of the unkillable tab.

The tab at this moment, which I've been unable to kill for three attempts now (although it will change from Windows boot to Windows boot) is http://windowssecrets.com/comp/101104#loung0.

Any thoughts?

Frank D

 

I, always, have , at least one Tab open. I am sure what you want. Firefox with no Tabs, at all. But, I think that your settings in Options|Tabs should be self-explanatory. Read each line, and decide what goes checked or not.
And, of course, check Options|General, the upper portion called "Statup ". You got three choices, from the dropdown.

 

If Westside's suggestion doesn't put things right I would try this.

If that doesn't work I would try uninstalling Firefox and reinstalling it, this will put all settings back to default. Make sure you save your favourites first.

If the problem still persists I would go to our Malware and Virus forum and follow the instructions as you may have an infection.

 

I'm a little confused about what you're asking. Are you saying that after you close all tabs, you get this one tab called (Untitled)? If so, then that is normal.

 

Ummmm . . . , all your settings are kept within the Firefox profile. This profile is kept outside of where the program is installed. When you uninstall and reinstall, all you're doing is removing the program. The profile is not touched. So, what settings are put back to their default?

 

Z Purple Hippo, you have just educated me, thank you, I didn't know that. And in that case, perhaps my instruction should read, delete the profile and create a new one. Can you advise how to do that?

 

Sorry I don't have the time (until tomorrow AM) to answer any one of your suggestions in detail, but right now, just to clarify: I know that one tab will always stay open -- BUT that tab should be a blank one, named "Untitled ", which I would be (always have been) happy to have. My problem is that I can't get rid of the open, named, webpage-showing tab that for the past two days (never before) has persisted at the left of the tab bar.

More tomorrow, until then thanks for your ideas. I'll be back.

Frank

 

Now that the OP has replied on what exactly his problem is and is not, we can start to trouble shoot.

actually, I would start with something else first, namely looking in the config editor. Create a new tab, then in the address type in:

about:config

hit the enter key. Click on the "I'll be careful, I promise" warning button. On the filter line, type in the address of the website that is causing you problems. Do you see anything there? IF so, then right click on it and rest it. If you can't do that, then double click on it and remove the entry. Restart FF. Any better?

If that doesn't work then start FF safe mode operation first: close FF, then click on the windows start button, then run and enter:

firefox.exe -safe-mode

start FF in that. That will disable all extensions and addons and themes that you may have. Does the problem continue in that mode?

If yes, then create a test profile: close FF, then click on the windows start button, then run and enter:

firefox.exe -p

this will start the FF profile manager. From there, you can create a test profile, and start FF in that profile. Does the problem continue?

 

So, are you saying that you went into Tools|Options|General, and your Startup choices, of "When Firefox starts have been changed to "Show blank page ", and still you get something else? Please, confirm that you did that simple check.
It works work for me, if I click OK after making the change, and restarting FF.

 

All you good folks, I finished my other business early and am now back, ready to take up the suggestions that have been posted for me.

I'll start with Westside's latest post, because it's right above this Reply window, and it's easy to answer.

Yes, that's what I did, I chose the "Show a blank page" option. However, when FF reopens, there at the left is the page I referenced earlier (not that it's the only page, it's just the latest page that I went to that won't go away). Next to it, at its right, is the "Untitled" tab that I expect to get.

I don't know how else to describe this, it's so (on the surface) harmless. But it's eerie that I can't be rid of it unless I reboot and restart FF. Then it appears, but I can click on the "x" in the tab, which closes it -- until it happens again.

Now I'll get back to tackling your posts from the top down. Thanks to all!

Frank

 

I have done as you suggested, and I've chosen the "blank tab" option, the one that results in just one tab, labeled "Untitled ", being open in a blank FF window.

Frank

 

Markmadras said:

OK!!! I tried this suggestion, limited it to just one day's worth of stuff, and Voila! it did the trick!

Now I'm going to "keep tabs" (I know, bad joke!) on this fix to see if it sticks! If it doesn't, I'll follow the subsequent suggestions and report back. In fact even if it does work I'll report back to confirm that it works.

Thanks to markmadras!

Frank

 

Your welcome Frank, if it doesn't stick I would be looking for a virus or malware.

 

I'm reporting that after 16 hours, about 8 FF restarts and one Windows 7 reboot, it's still working!

Frank

 

Good news!

Please mark the thread as resolved from the Thread Tools tab in the top right hand corner of the first post.

 

You learn something every day. I tried the procedure which I had suggested, on the fly, i.e. without doing anything extra, and I was able to go, back and forth, from two tabs to untitled, back to two tabs, back to untitled, to the original two tabs. Maybe it was a persistent website, due to login, or whatever. Anyway, glad that things are ok, for now, at least.

 

Never before and (I hope) never again.

Westside, this FF quirk was too weird. It hadn't happened before (I couldn't find it in Google) and it may never happen again (so be it!). Thanks for your help.

Frank

 

Frank D,
glad to help.

 

Still working! Multiple reboots (PC) and restarts (FF) with no problem.

Frank D

 

Sad to say, not true. Better minds than mine have tried and failed to fix this problem of the Unclosable Tab.

See this thread at the Firefox Support Forum:
https://support.mozilla.com/sr-LATN/questions/664386#answer-116225

The "fix" did not hold. Nothing I've tried has worked. It's not due to add-ons. I have two machines, one WinXP Pro (old) and one Win 7 (new). Both are using Firefox 3.6.12 (the latest version at this time) with different add-ons, and BOTH have the same, identical problem with the unclosable tab. So the problem with Firefox and its fix are the responsibility of Mozilla, not of us its end-users.

Frank D