551214 - "Firefox is already running" error when attempting to open external links

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Joe Blaugh]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.8) Gecko/20100202 Firefox/3.5.8
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.8) Gecko/20100202 Firefox/3.5.8

Running two profiles -- FF 3.0 and 3.5 for different add-ons, security settings, etc.  If Firefox is launched prior to clicking an external link (e.g., from email, chat, etc.), the "Firefox is already running" error appears thugh the browser instance is functioning properly and links can be pasted into the URL window.  

If browser is launched via a link, this behavior does not seem to take place, and external links open properly.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Set up two instances of Firefox with separate profiles
2. Launch one instance
3. Attempt to open link from another source (not from within Firefox)
Actual Results:  
Displays "Firefox is already running" error window.

Expected Results:  
Open new tab in existing Firefox instance.

Comment 1

[Joe Blaugh]

May be related to Bug 526697

Comment 2

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

Reporter, are you still seeing this issue with Firefox 3.6.13 or later in safe mode or a fresh profile? If not, please close. These links can help you in your testing.
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles
Also, ensure you update all your plugins (Flash, Reader, java, quicktime, etc) to the latest version available on the vendor's website.

Comment 3

[Joe Blaugh]

Still see this issue when attempting to run multiple 3.6.x versions of Firefox (with different profiles).  I have created "clean" installs with minimal plugins and all plugins have been updated.  I have confirmed the issue on multiple machines, as well, though I have had some success running 3.6.13 and 3.0.18 concurrently on one machine.

(In reply to comment #2)
> Reporter, are you still seeing this issue with Firefox 3.6.13 or later in safe
> mode or a fresh profile? If not, please close. These links can help you in your
> testing.
> http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
> http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles
> Also, ensure you update all your plugins (Flash, Reader, java, quicktime, etc)
> to the latest version available on the vendor's website.

Comment 4

[Joe Blaugh]

I also experience the same error message when attempting to launch another browser window through the OS (vs. through the browser file menu or Ctrl+N).  This does not occur when opening 3.0.1 or 3.0.18 with 3.6.13 already running.

Comment 5

[Tim (fmdeveloper)]

Joe -> What commands are you starting to open the Firefox instances?

Comment 6

[Tim (fmdeveloper)]

Closing bug as Incomplete - if you are still experiencing this issue or have more information to provide feel free to post back here and we can re-open the bug. You can also get assistance by visiting the Firefox help site -> http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Ask+a+question

Comment 7

[Joe Blaugh]

(In reply to Tim (fmdeveloper) from comment #5)
> Joe -> What commands are you starting to open the Firefox instances?

Apologies for the delayed response.  I use -p to select the desired profile and -no-remote (not default profile).  I assume those are the commands referred to, but would be happy to check other settings if it would help.  I work around the issue by copying and pasting external links since I still prefer Firefox despite the occasional problem.  It may be that too few people experience this issue to make it worth a lot of effort (alas).

Comment 8

[Tim (fmdeveloper)]

Joe -> Is this still an issue with Firefox 6?

Comment 9

[Tim (fmdeveloper)]

Closing bug as Incomplete - if you are still experiencing this issue or have more information to provide feel free to post back here and we can re-open the bug. You can also get assistance by visiting the Firefox help site -> http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Ask+a+question

Comment 10

[Joe Blaugh]

This issue still crops up on occasion.  I tried to resolve it by eliminating the default profile from all versions, with no luck.  It is apparently not a common issue, so probably deserves the fate of closed/unresolved, but I confess to some curiosity about the cause.  I have reproduced it on multiple machines and OSs (different versions of XP and 7), so it is not specific to hardware or OS software, best I can tell.  Just a strange issue that arises because of my determination to continue using multiple profiles...