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If I drag the boundaries of the window of an app such as notepad in Windows, the app will remember this and adjust its window to this size next time it is run. But this is not the case for Firefox. I adjust the window of firefox, close it, then restart firefox, the window is of a fixed size that is smaller than what I want. I notice when firefox is just starting, the window size is normal, i.e., the size I adjusted. But after firefox finishes starting, i.e., when the menu/toolbar, etc., are usable, the window is shrunk to a smaller size. How could this happen?

Update:

The problem seems to be caused by my enabling the resistfingerprinting option. If I disable the option, the problem disappears.

William
  • 323

2 Answers2

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There are multiple reasons why Firefox cannot save some (or even all) preferences.

Global Solution: Refresh Firefox to fix the problem

  • Click the menu button, click Help and select "More Troubleshooting Information".
  • Click "Refresh Firefox" then "Refresh Firefox" in the confirmation window that opens. Firefox will close to refresh itself.
  • When finished, a window will list your imported information. Click the Finish button. Firefox will open.
  • Select whether you want Firefox to restore all or some windows and tabs and click the Let's go! button.

In the article, you will fin additional information about the following cases:

Causes and solution for "Specific preferences are not saving"

  • Third-party programs changing Firefox settings
  • User.js file overriding Firefox settings
  • Firefox program file locks or prevents changes to certain settings

Causes and solution for "Unable to save any preferences or settings"

  • Locked preferences file
  • Corrupt preferences file

Other causes and solutions

  • Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware

Have a look at this article from Mozilla support on this specific topic, one of them certainly apply to your problem. But be careful not to loose any data so backup your data just in case.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-fix-preferences-wont-save

ZivkoK
  • 201
3

The answer is that you are using the resistFingerprinting project, which sets the window size of Firefox every time that you start to a unique and same size. The reason for that is that the window size is one of the parameters that allow your browser to be uniquely identified on the internet. The project resistFingerprinting aims to make you indistinguishable from all its other users world-wide - but it is bound to fail.

To evaluate the efficiency of this project, I suggest visiting the site AmIUnique to evaluate how easy are you to identify among the (currently) 108580 fingerprints in their entire dataset. (I am found as unique every time I visit this site.) For more information see Unique Browser / User ID.

In fact, resistFingerprinting also modifies other troublesome parameters:

  • It changes the User-Agent parameter of your browser, making it look as if you're using another browser than Firefox, so some sites will malfunction for you.

  • Logging into some websites may not "stick", requiring to login again on every visit.

  • It changes your time-zone to UTC, which may cause problems when scheduling international calls, or when consulting your schedule on another computer or on your phone, if you're not living in that time-zone.

All in all, resistFingerprinting is troublesome and not worth the effort (in my opinion). If you're concerned with privacy and anonymity, using the Tor Browser will give better results.

harrymc
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