Flash player freezes in Firefox

[Guest]

Flash player is causing Firefox to freeze for about 30 seconds whenever I access a website which uses flash.

I am using the latest version of Firefox (v19.0.2) and the latest version of Adobe Flash (v11.6.602.171). This same problem has existing for at least the last 5 versions released by Firefox and Adobe Flash Player. My OS is Win7 64-bit.

I am 100% certain that flash is the source of the Firefox freezing problem because I can cause the Firefox freezing to stop and start again by disabling and enabling the Adobe Flash plugin. In order for me to make Firefox usable, I always disable the Adobe Flash plugin.

I have read on the web that many other Firefox users in the Win7 environment have the same problem that Firefox freezes when Adobe Flash is installed and enabled. There are many reports that the freezing in Firefox can be solved by disabling protected mode in Adobe Flash.

Unfortunately, the method available for disabling protected mode will not work for myself or anyone else that works on computers issued and supported by my Fortune 500 company. The method of adding a line to the mms.cfg file requires users to have admin rights to editing files in the \windows\system32 directory structure. The company I work for has all computers without such admin privileges. Since there is no alternate for disabling protected mode, myself and all 4000 of my colleagues have no options for fixing this freezing problem.

Can you please solve this issue by either 1) working with Firefox so that the browser will no longer freeze when Adobe Flash player is installed, enabled, and protected mode is enabled, or 2) make protected mode a configurable feature that can be enabled or disabled by any user group in Windows Control Panel.

Thanks in advance for you consideration,

jlavie5555

[chris.campbell]

Hi jlavie5555,

I'm sorry you're encountering these pauses.  We work very closely with Mozilla and have been hard at work trying to solve all related protected mode issues since this security feature was released.  We do have a few additional troubleshooting steps you might want to consider taking (in addition to disabling protected mode.)  Please see this faq for details:

How do I troubleshoot Flash Player's protected mode for Firefox?

We also have a new 11.7 beta available that contains significant changes to improve protected mode.  I suspect you might be blocked from installing it, but if this option is available to you I would recommend giving it a try.

3/7/2013 - Flash Player 11.7 Beta

Thanks,

Chris

[Guest]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your help on this flash freezing issue!

My employer has a method (Avecto) for temprarily elevating my Windows user privileges on demand when installing applications. So I was able to download and install the beta version of flash player that you referred me to.

The results of using the beta version are good news and bad news. The good news is that the Firefox/flash player freezing problem appears to be fixed. The bad news is that the plugin was not stable and Firefox often reported a crash of flash player.

I realize that any beta version is a work in  progress, so there is still time and oppportunity to fix the crashing. I will await patiently for the production version of flash v11.7.

Thanks for your support!

John

[chris.campbell]

Hi John,

Thanks for the feedback.  If possible, we'd really appreciate it if you could submit your Firefox crash logs. 

http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Mozilla%20Crash%20Reporter

We're in the process of fixing bugs for the upcoming 11.7 release and I'd like to make sure we get a chance to see the crashes you are running into.

Thanks,

Chris

[Guest]

Hi Chris,

I will be happy to submit at crash report every time the Flash plugin crashes. Note that only the Adobe Flash plugin crashes and not the entire Firefox Windows application. I still see a button available for crash reporting even if it is only the plugin that crashes.

I want to do everything I can to help you fix the bugs for the upcoming 11.7 release.

Thanks for your support!

John