Ubuntu
firefox package

Firefox crash still running in background how do I kill it

Asked by Greg McKay

Have recently made fresh install of xubuntu "feisty".Firefox has been working ok but to day I tried to open it and got message that it was already running and to reboot to start again.I have rebooted several times but still no firefox, just repeat of message.I have uninstalled it and reinstalled it and got same result.I saw some where in my attempt at a solution that it was occupying space in the cache.I was going to try and kill the process from the command line but I am very new to this and can not find what I need to proceed.I have been reading tutorials and "Man" and probably will eventually find a solution if I study long enough .My immediate problem is ,some programmes are calling up firefox to load "docmentation & help files" and are still calling even though I have installed "Epiphany" and made it the default browser.I actually like "Epiphany" and will keep using it but I need to put firefox to sleep, it is obviously dragging on system resources .When I was running straight Ubuntu "Feisty",Firefox crashed a lot but I could always get it back ok.From my end with what little experience I have it feels like the problem is Firefox itself not the environment its running in.Any clues out their?Please.

Cheers Greg

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Diogo Matsubara (matsubara) said : 		#1

It's possible that a stale lock file is in place.
Care to check if there's a lock file or .parentlock file in your .mozilla/firefox/$default_profile_directory/ ?

You can remove or rename those files if you're sure that no other firefox process is running.

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- (a--deactivatedaccount) said : 		#2

try

pidof firefox-bin

then sudo kill -9 ID

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Greg McKay (gkmckay) said : 		#3

Worked out how to kill it from "process manager" in Xforce desktop which fixes my immediate problem.

"pidof firefox-bin

then sudo kill -9 ID" would have worked too.

  I am a Bit of a dummy with this one."Care to check if there's a lock file or .parentlock file in your .mozilla/firefox/$default_profile_directory/ ?"I dont know which directory to start in to look for this and it may be the reason? firefox is crashing?(which it still is intermittently ).
   So I still have a bit of a problem with firefox crashing and some confusion in my system about which is the default browser but at least I can kill firefox when it runs on.
  The latest version of firefox has crashed regularly on both Ubuntu and Xubuntu "feisty" is this something that should be reported as a bug or is this the right place to deal with it.Is this crashing caused by my machine (older HP Compaq notebook 2800 mhz Celeron 750 meg Ram shared with graphics I think)If it is a machine resources issue should firefox be the default browser in a Ubuntu fork (xubuntu) which by definition is supposed to be a "light" dektop suitable for older machines.I installed Xbuntu as a clean install from the alternate CD.There are no other O/S on machine to chew resources or cause conflict.
   Anyway ,thanks again for the support ,
                                                                    Cheers Greg

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- (a--deactivatedaccount) said : 		#4

What he means by that is,

if you open up a terminal try Alt + F2 and type gnome-terminal in the window

then change to the hidden mozilla directory in your home folder

which is

cd .mozilla

then recommends you to go firefox folder with cd firefox and then into the..

default profile one (can vary) and see if there's a lock file you can remove.

Greg gives this all in one command to explain where it is :)

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manny (estelar57) said : 		#5

just type in terminal

killall firefox-bin

you might want to add a shortcut in the desktop or panel with this command

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