Hi Bob, is the problem with the domain filled in the address bar itself, or with the listings on the drop-down of suggestions?

The address bar should only show history accumulated in non-private windows. If you visited a site in a non-private window, then type part of its address in a private window, you will see that non-private history suggested.

If you visit a site you've never seen before in a private window (for example, my site: https://www.jeffersonscher.com/) then navigate away from that tabpage (open a different page in the same tab), when you start typing part of that domain in the address bar, Firefox should NOT suggest it as a match.

Is yours not working as intended?

Hi Mark: yes, the problem is the domain filled in the address bar itself. It happens with more than one address.

Thanks Bob

Did you get my reply?

Yes. Did you have any thoughts about my comments after that question?

Good Evening I responded to your first comments but never saw a response.

Are any of the pages still open in a tab in case switch to tab is active?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

• Switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
• Do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

bob.pipercoltyahoo.com said

Good Evening I responded to your first comments but never saw a response.

I meant this part:

The address bar should only show history accumulated in non-private windows. If you visited a site in a non-private window, then type part of its address in a private window, you will see that non-private history suggested.

If you visit a site you've never seen before in a private window (for example, my site: https://www.jeffersonscher.com/) then navigate away from that page (open a different page in the same tab), when you start typing part of that domain in the address bar, Firefox should NOT suggest it as a match.

Is yours not working as intended?

I just cleared the history in my regular Firefox history page and then I started to type an address in the Private window that i have used only in the regular Firefox and after only 2 letters the entire address domain showed up

bob.pipercoltyahoo.com said

I just cleared the history in my regular Firefox history page and then I started to type an address in the Private window that i have used only in the regular Firefox and after only 2 letters the entire address domain showed up

Yes, the in-URL-bar autofill feature remembers server names even if you deleted the history of specific URLs visited on that server. It's actually somewhat difficult to clear that. (See: I cannot delete browsing history that is 5+ years old)

But the issue here is private-to-private: does the address bar of the private window show servers that you only visited in a private window?

no, it will show addresses that I have visited in the regular window also

bob.pipercoltyahoo.com said

no, it will show addresses that I have visited in the regular window also

Right, it's normal to see regular window visits in all windows. But you should not see private window history in any window.

Thanks for all your help, time for some sleep. TTYL

It is getting worse. Now I can't delete anything from my normal history. What should I try now?

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite database (bookmarks and history) in the Firefox profile folder.

• https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/places-maintenance/

See also:

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Bookmarks+not+saved#w_fix-the-bookmarks-file

If the Places Maintenance extension can't repair the places.sqlite database then remove all places.sqlite file(s) in the Firefox profile folder to make Firefox rebuild the places.sqlite database from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

• keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created

bob.pipercoltyahoo.com said

It is getting worse. Now I can't delete anything from my normal history. What should I try now?

I don't think you can delete normal history from a private window. Are you doing the deletion in a regular window?

Yes I am trying to use the delete function in the normal window.

Hi bob.pipercoltyahoo.com, what method are you using to delete history entries in the regular window? You could try using the Library dialog, either Ctrl+Shift+h or "Show All History".

I tried using the same method that has worked in the past. I select "history" then "clear recent history" then "clear now" and it does not work. It use to work until about a month ago. I tried your last suggestions and that did not work either. I tried shutting down the computer and that did not help either. I am lost as to what to try next.

Did you try to use the Places Maintenance extension to see if that could fix the places.sqlite database?

• https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/places-maintenance/

If that didn't help then you need to rename/move all places.sqlite files, including places.sqlite-shm and places.sqlite-wal, to make Firefox rebuild the database like I wrote above.

First of all I want to thank you for sticking with me to try and fix this problem. I really appreciate it. I am not very computer literate. I don't have any idea what you meant in your last reply. As soon as I send this reply I will try the Places Maintenance link.