Problem with Ccleaner & Firefox

[shortstop]

When I run CCleaner Custom Clean it keeps saying Firefox need to close.  I ran CCleaner this morning after I turned my computer on.  I had not yet used Firefox.  This has been going on since I updated to version 5.86.9258

[hazelnut]

When CCleaner says FF needs to close, open your Taskmanager and see what is running that belongs to Firefox.

 

[shortstop]

14 minutes ago, hazelnut said:

When CCleaner says FF needs to close, open your Taskmanager and see what is running that belongs to Firefox.

 

 

14 minutes ago, hazelnut said:

I did that and there is nothing running that belongs to Firefox.

 

 

[nukecad]

Which Firefox version and which Windows version please?

I have noticed that Firefox has occasionally been behaving oddly for a couple of weeks now.

It seems to be not fully closing and leaving something running even though it's not showing in Task Manager.

Opening and closing Firefox again usually sorts it out - till next time.

I first noticed it with cookies.

I have Firefox set to clear them on closing, and then part of my own cleaning routine does it again to make sure.

But occasionally for the last few weeks CCleaner will still find Firefox cookies to clean despite those two already supposed to have cleared them. Obviously something is still open (at least for a while) and preventing them being cleared.

I've also a few times recently had Firefox say that it's already running when I've tried to open it after turning on the computer.

Personally I believe that it may be a bug related to the way they have changed Firefox version updating to happen even when Firefox is closed. I've not looked any deeper yet.

 

[shortstop]

I am running Window 10 pro 21H1 version 19043.1288 and Firefox version 94.0.1.  I just update Firefox in the last two days, but the problem was also with the previous version.

I also have Firefox to clear cookies when I close Firefox and have CCleaner do the same when it cleans.

Thanks for the responses.

[nukecad]

As I say I think it's probably something to do with a new "background agent" in Firefox that wants to deliver version updates when Firefox is closed. (Why they want to do that is another question).

Quote

On Windows, there will now be fewer interruptions because Firefox won’t prompt you for updates. Instead, a background agent will download and install updates even if Firefox is closed.

[shortstop]

I have Firefox set up to not automatically update but to notify me when an update is available,

[nukecad]

So do I,
but I believe that this new functionality is still running in the background even if it may not be meant to. It's ticked by default, even though greyed out.
(I think that may be a bug, I don't think it should be ticked if you didn't already have 'Automatically install' set).
This is what I saw following the update to v94.0.1

What I have just done now is:
Select 'Automatically Install updates', untick the new setting for 'When Firefox is not running', reselect 'Check for updates ...'.
So the new function should now be definitely turned off:

I'll watch to see if that changes the behaviour, but as it's only occasional here it will take time to evaluate.

Having read more about how this new updating is supposed to work I personally suspect that it is launching the background task on a schedule, (even if you have told it to notify only it's still checking if there is something to notify- as long as that box is ticked), but in some instances it's not closing again or at least not closing as quickly as it should.

Of course I could be wrong, but when an app/browser suddenly starts behaving differently I look for what has recently changed in that app/browser that might explain the different behaviour.

[shortstop]

I have mine set this way too.  But only changed it about 4 days ago.  Just ran CCleaner a minute ago and it still said I need to close FireFox.   Hopefully Firefox can correct the problem with the next update.

[nukecad]

Just to be sure, do you have any extensions/addons that may be continuing in the background after Firefox is closed?

Also, are you using Thunderbird for emails?

[shortstop]

no to the first, and yes I use Thunderbird for emails

[shortstop]

and yes I have Thunderbird set to not automatically update just like Firefox

[nukecad]

I seem to recall that in certain circumstances Thunderbird can link to Firefox and cause CCleaner to say Firefox is still open?

I'm not at home at the moment, you could try the searchbox above to search these forums for 'Thunderbird' to see if you can find anything about it.

[shortstop]

ok will see if I can find out anything

[shortstop]

I could not find anything.

But when I normaly update CCleaner I usually just run the new version and install it, because I want to keep the same settings keep the same cookies settings in the options tab.

I went and uninstalled CCleaner and then re-installed it and then ran CCleaner and this time it ran normal.  It did not say that FireFox need to close.

Not sure if you uninstall the older version then install the new version, but that may be the thing to do when it says a program needs to be closed when it is already closed

[nukecad]

2 hours ago, shortstop said:

.... this time it ran normal.  It did not say that FireFox need to close.

Like I said above I think the cause is an occasional glitch in the last 2 Firefox versions, not in CCleaner.

From what I've been seeing here, with the last Firefox version and with this one, then sometimes but not always Firefox is not closing like it should do and is leaving some files open.
If/when it does that then CCleaner will say that Firefox is still running, because some part of Firefox hasn't been closed properly.
(You may also occasionally see the 'Firefox is already open' message when you try to launch Firefox, I've been getting that occasionally with the last 2 Firefox versions).

If a Firefox bug is the cause then it's for Mozilla to fix it.