First tab open becomes a "dead" tab, can't close it

[siegbrunn]

I couldn't find this in the archive because the search mask says "Tab" is too common to use as a search word. So here's the question.

I'm using FF 4.01 on VistaHP with all Vista updates. In the last few days I noticed that I can no longer close the oldest tab open in FF. It doesn't make any sense at all. I've gone into session manager and turned off everything so to speak. It shouldn't be saving anything. I've requested start with blank page and no former session in the options.

I use Tab Mix Plus and have not changed any of the settings I've used for a long, long time, but I checked thru to see if everything looked OK anyway. I then disabled it, but no difference. I have no other recently installed add-ons I can remember.

But I still have a "dead" tab (dead that is, after I've tried once to close it. At that point I can no longer open it, although the tab highlights when I pass the cursor over it.) FF then automatically (?) creates a "new tab" which is apparently as far as FF knows, the only one that's open.
************
After a further bit of fishing around, now FF starts with ONLY the blank "new tab" (which is what it should do) but the new tab still converts to a "dead" tab as soon as I load a website.
I think I'm starting to lose it. I see a new installation coming my way, right?

If anybody has experienced something like this, I'd love to hear about it.

Karen

[BruceAWittmeier]

Sounds like you may not be using the right versions. You might post here and get pointed to the TMP version for that FF version. I believe you can post as a guest without registration.

http://tmp.garyr.net/forum/viewtopic.ph ... start=2740

[siegbrunn]

Thanks for the reply Bruce. I don't think it relates to TMP because I disabled TMP and the same thing kept happening.

At the moment for instance, the first forum tab I opened (all the way to the left) is no longer openable since I tried to close it and went to another tab. After that FF somehow knows it shouldn't be there and doesn't allow me access again.

I'm beginning to think that the best thing to do is to back up my profile and reinstall. I'll wait maybe tho till tomorrow, since the problem is annoying but not fatal. Maybe in the meantime someone can figure out where the problem is.

Karen

[ghostintheruins]

Same thing here on XP. Same issue with a LOT of other people (try a google search on "cant close first tab firefox 4" or similar ): http://support.mozilla.com/questions/664386 <-- in this case seems it was related to "invisible hand" extension (maybe it works for you).

I do not have TMP (I think I have tab browser preferences though) and I tried disabling some of the other extensions since I do not remember after which update this started to happen with no luck yet.

Of course when having 40+ extensions this is crazy work... Also all of the sudden private browsing mouse click does not work and the key shortcut (ctrl+shift+P) only when it wants.

Interesting enough, in safe mode this does not happen so I guess there is an extension / plugin doing this but with no error message logged to error console.

I though it might be session manager or corrupt localstore.rdf but it seems not. I will try noscript next or wait untill an update fixes the damn issue.

The weird part is that almost the same extensions I have (beside the ones that are not compatible and other which are especially for 4.0.1) on another profile with 3.6.17 and this is not an issue.

Cheers.

[VanillaMozilla]

I'm beginning to think that the best thing to do is to back up my profile and reinstall.

Reinstalling won't hurt anything, but it rarely fixes anything because most problems are in the profile. Test with safe mode to disable extensions (DON'T check anything!). If that fixes it, your problem is an extension. Otherwise, you will have to create a new Firefox profile and move your data (bookmarks, etc.) to that.

Interesting enough, in safe mode this does not happen so I guess there is an extension.... Of course when having 40+ extensions this is crazy work.

Disable half at a time. Or better yet, start by cleaning house and getting rid of any you don't really need.

[ghostintheruins]

Disable half at a time. Or better yet, start by cleaning house and getting rid of any you don't really need.

Thanks for a great tip, I never thought of using a "pattern" in checking this or this kind of arithmetical progression (half of half of half...)

Based on what you suggested I started to disable based on first letter of extension name, e.g. a to g, and after the first disabled set (about 16 extensions or so) I restarded the browser and... voila, it worked somehow...

I do not think it was actually an extension bug but a browser bug or a mix of the two because I think it was a "hanged install of an extension update - ImageTweak" or maybe a conflict with the one disabled in the process.

After the restart I got opened two tabs: the normal empty page which I use for ffx start and the other from ImageTweak update notifying me about its new features...

All worked OK afterwards even after re-enabling the extensions using the same logic with smaller steps: all "a"-s, all "b"-s and so on.

I remember the same bug on 3.6.x or older when after an update try of the extension, from time to time the update would hang with the message "the extension would be updated on the next restart" but would never complete. I think I used same thing to fix that too - disable a bunch of extensions and than re-enable them.

Unfortunately FFX 4 did not show any message like 3.6.x so it was hard to figure what was the actual problem.

Maybe same thing can be used by the original poster.

Cheers.

PS
I lost almost all my customization of the toolbar and of the addon bar in the process but that was not too much fuss to re-customize.

[vxavia]

siegbrunn
Recently I had a similar symptoms (Firefox 3.6.17), the causes in incorrect NoSquint. After update to v2.1.2 problem disappeared
https://urandom.ca/nosquint/

[siegbrunn]

I've been reading everything posted and thank you ghostintheruins for the link. I suddenly saw that I wasn't alone and it made me feel less crazy.

I've tried everything listed, I deleted the localstore.rdf but that didn't do anything. Although I don't have the most discussed Extensions that have been connected to this problem (such as Invisible Hand), FF seems to work properly in Safemode, so I too think now the problem is with an updated extension. I have 33 extensions installed, as follows:
Adblock Plus 1.3.8
AniWeather 0.8.16
Better Privacy 1.51
Click & Clean 3.6.5.0
Cookie Culler 1.4
Deeper Web 1.3.2
Download helper 4.8.6
Down them all 2.90.6
Fab Tabs 1.4
Find to center 0.2010070901
Flashblock 1.5.14.2
Free Hide IP 1.0
Freecorder tool bar 3.3.3.2
German Dictionary 2.0.2
Image Zoom 0.4.6
Image Tweak 0.22
Is it comapatible 0.4.20110114
Java console 6.0.25
Microsoft Net Framework assistant 0.0.0
Myibay Firefox 1.1.8
Noscript 2.1.1
Nuke anything enhanced 1.0.2
PDF Download 3.0.0.2
RealPlayer Browser Record Plug in 14.0.3
Session Manager 0.7.5
Show picture 2.5
Slim add-on manager 0.6
SmoothWheel (AMO) 0.45.6.20100202.1
Status 4 Evar 2011.04.06.18
Tab mix plus 0.3.8.6
TACO with Abine 3.65
TinEye 1.1
WOT 20110323

I will now attempt ghostintheruins advice and begin disabling my extensions in groups and see what I can discover. It's also a good moment as VanillaMozilla said to do a bit of housecleaning.

[Foxsuporter]

I faced similar problem. By disabling Image Tweak ad don the problem got solve.

[siegbrunn]

Finally got around to disabling and checking add-ons and came (relatively quickly) to Image Tweak as the cause. I've thrown it out and am now once again leading a normal Tab Life. Thanks for the suggestions and help.

[siegbrunn]

Forgot to ask about re-enabling the Java Console add-ons. I seem to have four of them. I re-enabled Java Console 6.0.25. Still disabled are 6.0.18, 6.0.22 and 6.0.23. Are they all needed? If they are superfluous, why doesn't a newer version uninstall the old version, or even disable it?

[Alan Baxter]

None of them are needed or do anything useful. Delete them all with the instructions at this link:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Java#Multiple ... extensions

By the way, you may want to update to Java 6.0.26 first.

[LIMPET235]

It's best to remove all the older versions.
See > http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/rem ... rsions.xml
The new version should remove them.
It does so here.

[VanillaMozilla]

Please be sure to do the right thing and file a bug report. Look here: https://github.com/CAFxX/ImageTweak/wik ... leshooting .