Problem with Firefox
July 31, 2020 3:18 PM   Subscribe

I asked this question not long ago, but was unable to fully describe what was happening. Now, it's happening again so I've attached a YT video that better explains what is going on. I hope somebody can help me figure out how to fix it. Here is the link.
posted by CollectiveMind to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)
 
Response by poster: I put the mouse over the Firefox taskbar icon. A minimized Firefox screen comes up. I click it and it doesn't appear fullscreen. I put the most over the Microsoft Edge icon. A minimized MSEdge screen comes up. I click it and it appears fullscreen. Firefox just started doing this yesterday.
posted by CollectiveMind at 3:20 PM on July 31, 2020


I've seen that happen when an app's window has been moved off the screen (let's call it Firefox, but it wasn't Firefox when I saw it).

At some point the user had accidentally moved the Firefox window off the screen (you can do that by holding a click on the very top of Firefox's top bar and moving the mouse down). Clicking the icon in the Windows Taskbar did the usual thing, but you couldn't see it because the Firefox window was hidden.

How to fix it depends on where the Firefox window went off the screen: top, right, left, or bottom. You just have to guess and try.

Press and hold the Alt key and press the Tab key to flip between the different open apps. When you've see Firefox, stop tabbing and let go of Alt.

Now guess which side Firefox may be; for this example I'll guess it went off to the right.

Press and hold Alt again then tap the spacebar: this brings up a menu which you may not see but let go of Alt and press M .. now you've selected the Move Window command, and you can move the Firefox window using the cursor keys.

So if Firefox is off the the right you press the left-arrow cursor key to move Firefox back onto the screen; you may need to press the cursor key a few times. If pressing the right cursor doesn't do it, try another direction. When you can see Firefox again press the Enter key to quit the Move command.

Maybe that will work?
posted by anadem at 4:33 PM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]


Second vote for window that has been moved offscreen. That looks like Windows 10, in which you can right click the task bar and get some options to auto arrange the windows. "Cascade" is probably the one to try.

If your window doesn't appear in the stack, then your problem may be something else.
posted by Horkus at 4:52 PM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you all. Now that I think about it, there was a time, a few days ago, when for some reason, the screen was oversized. I minimized it so it would fit. But over the last day or so, when I clicked it, it wouldn't open. Never thought the two were connected. Still not sure how they are since this seems to be a new wrinkle I've never experienced before; oversized screen, that is.
posted by CollectiveMind at 5:10 PM on July 31, 2020


^sounds like your screen resoloution got reset ? maybe after a recent video card driver update?
posted by some loser at 5:22 PM on July 31, 2020


Now that I think about it, there was a time, a few days ago, when for some reason, the screen was oversized. I minimized it so it would fit.

I'm having difficulty understanding the idea of minimizing a screen to make it fit.

When you say the screen was oversized, do you mean that (a) everything on the whole screen - desktop icons, task bar, application windows, everything - looked bigger than usual or (b) the Firefox window appeared to be extended beyond the edges of the screen or (c) both or (d) something else?

Sorry to sound nitpicky, but diagnosing Windows video misbehaviour while not being able to see it is already difficult enough without non-standard terminology acting as a barrier to mutual understanding.
posted by flabdablet at 9:26 PM on July 31, 2020


Yep, seconding the off-screen window idea, and anadem's steps to recover it. One simplification - you don't need to guess which arrow to press, just press any arrow, then wiggle the mouse. The window will be attached to the cursor, and you can drop it wherever you want.
posted by yuwtze at 9:28 PM on July 31, 2020


Mod note: Fixed video link. (Reminder to flag if you notice a malformed link or similar and mod on duty will try to fix, if possible)
posted by taz (staff) at 4:49 AM on August 1, 2020


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