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My several open tabs suddenly don't load in anymore, they are just empty pages if I click on them. How do I fix this?

  • 4 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by Tallis

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I have about 10 tabs open all the time. My Firefox crashed, and now only 2-3 tabs show the actual webpages I had open. The rest of the tabs are still there, but they open to empty white pages instead of the webpages they used to be. (like new tabs)

Have attempted to reload Firefox while having a different, one of the seemingly empty tabs open. This resulted in that tab loading in properly: the right website comes up, can click the go back one page button; but the rest of the tabs come up as empty white pages.

Tried installing the newest version (12), but it still didn't help. Tried downgrading to version 11, then upgrading to version 12 again. Still no dice.

Websites include Facebook, Amazon, a few craft blogs. I also have a properly working antivirus, update it properly, yadda yadda.

I have about 10 tabs open all the time. My Firefox crashed, and now only 2-3 tabs show the actual webpages I had open. The rest of the tabs are still there, but they open to empty white pages instead of the webpages they used to be. (like new tabs) Have attempted to reload Firefox while having a different, one of the seemingly empty tabs open. This resulted in that tab loading in properly: the right website comes up, can click the go back one page button; but the rest of the tabs come up as empty white pages. Tried installing the newest version (12), but it still didn't help. Tried downgrading to version 11, then upgrading to version 12 again. Still no dice. Websites include Facebook, Amazon, a few craft blogs. I also have a properly working antivirus, update it properly, yadda yadda.

Chosen solution

A possible cause is a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

You can also try to repair the places database with this extension:

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All Replies (4)

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Do you see any URL text in the location bar with the blank tabs?

The pages may be loaded via JavaScript.

It is possible that there is a problem with the files sessionstore.js and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.

Delete the sessionstore.js file and possible sessionstore-##.js files with a number and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.

Deleting sessionstore.js will cause App Tabs and Tab Groups and open and closed (undo) tabs to get lost, so you will have to create them again (make a note or bookmark them).

See also:

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Thank you for your reply!

Yep, I do see the URL text in the location bar with the empty tabs. They just don't load, and the "back" button is greyed out. But if I close Firefox while standing on one of these blank pages, when I open Firefox again, the page loads in and the "back" button works properly.

So, before I do something permanent that kills my tabs and all the browsing history of each individual tab (there is a reason why I haven't attempted to just close them all, remove Firefox and reinstall it), could it be a Java issue? Should I try to fiddle with Java first?

I'll wait for your answer, but if you say the tabs have to go, I shall do as you have written in your (first) answer.

Modified by Tallis

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Chosen Solution

A possible cause is a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

You can also try to repair the places database with this extension:

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Thank you so much, the maintenance solved it! I'll save this page just to be safe in case this happens again, but I really, really appreciate all your help.

Thank you once again!!