I am using KDE with Linux. I can log into my profile with my setting on different computers. Today I logged into one computer then logged off and back into another and when I tried to open mozilla thunderbird and firefox it told me the program was already running. I have already killed the program numerous ways and it is not running on the task manager. Every time I try to open the program it tells me the program is already running. I have already rebooted the computer. What can be causing this problem?

Programs in the Mozilla suite control running multiple copies of the same program by using lock files. It looks like Thunderbird and/or Firefox crashed and left a lock file(s) set. Then when you try to start them again the new copy finds a lock set and thinks that there is a copy already running.

To check this out, have no copy of any Mozilla based program running. Use this command to find any errant lock files:

find /home/username/.mozilla -iname "*lock*"

Delete any lock files that you find. Then try starting the program again.

-----------------
Steve Stites