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Is Adobe planning to fix the overheating problem?

Guest
Sep 21, 2012 Sep 21, 2012

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Does anyone know if Adobe is planning to fix the overheating problem?

I responded to another post related to this issue but I thought it would be better to have a post dedicated to this specific question. My laptop is overheating when I use flash; I have the latest update; cleaned out the dust; unchecked Enable hardware acceleration; set Local Storage to Unlimited. Flash is the problem!

I installed a program to monitor my computer's temperatures. The temp goes up over 90 degrees Celsius; that's over 190F. Then the computer performs an auto-shutdown in an effort to reduce the damage Flash is causing. It only happens while watching videos with Flash (especially on nbcnews.com but several other sites as well). If I pause the video, the temp goes down; start the video again, the temp goes back up. There is no doubt that Flash is the culprit. Adobe needs to fix it.

Flash has been having a lot of problems over the past few months; overheating is only latest. Adobe never owns up to these problems; they always blame the websites. If it is happening at more than one website, then something is wrong with Flash. The excuse that they can't duplicate it in their labs just means they are not trying or don't want to admit it. I used to like Flash and still use other Adobe products but now I am wishing every website in the world would dump Flash and get on the HTML5 bandwagon. I don't normally make such sweeping comments. But seriously, how much do we have to endure?

I can't help but wonder how many computers Flash is damaging. Btw, my son has the same problem on his desktop pc and I've seen a lot of complaints about it on the internet; it is affectin IE, Chrome and Firefox. Google flash player 11.4 overheating and you'll get over a 1.2 million hits. Shame on Adobe. They keep coming out with crash-causing releases and blame the problems on everyone else. I can't imagine why any company would allow outside developers to affect their software in a way that damages users' computers. It's suicide and I think it will hasten the downfall of Flash.

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Enthusiast ,
Sep 22, 2012 Sep 22, 2012

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Hello

you should leave hardware acceleration enabled and update your graphics/cpu drivers and interface (DirectX, VDPAU, ...) if possible.

Most websites using h.264/AVC video content.

Any hardware older than ~5 years does not fully support it (biuld in hardware decoder).

That is the reason that the cpu will do all the work.

The "size" of the videos are important too, because not all resolutions/aspect ratios will be hardware accelerated.

And contact the webmasters of these websites that they should use wmode=direct or gpu.

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash/kb/flash-object-embed-tag-attributes.html#main_Using_Window_Mode__wmode...

example:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ou6_MkIvKOo?wmode=direct&hd=1 (= hardware [GPU] accelerated)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ou6_MkIvKOo?wmode=opaque&hd=1 (= no hardware [GPU] acceleration)

(use at least 720p HD)

With Flash Player 1.4.402.278 (windows) it is now better than .265 on my three different devices.

More informations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX_Video_Acceleration

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDPAU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_PureVideo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Video_Decoder (ATI/AMD)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Clear_Video

Update:

And try different browsers with the Flash Player.

For example IE9/10 use normally less cpu than other browsers.

http://www.7tutorials.com/test-comparison-which-browser-will-make-your-laptop-battery-last-longer

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Guest
Oct 04, 2012 Oct 04, 2012

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My laptop is only about a year old; IE9; Flash 11.4.402.265. I normally have hardware acceleration on (but sometimes off works better); I have local storage set to unlimited. Btw, why doesn't Adobe allow us to save our settings and let us change at different sites if we so desire. Forcing everybody rush to change setting before viewing videos on different pages is a terrible idea. The default should be the safest and most effective settings while leaving users the option to change them if desired.

Pat, perhaps all your customers don't have a problem, but 1.2 million hits on the subject indicates your customers are exceptional. Also, perhaps that one customer's is the only one you know with problem, but the website does make a difference. I can watch several hours on Hulu (at full screen) and my laptop's temperature generally runs between 75 and 85 centigrade tho sometimes hotter. Some website run cooler. However, on nbcnews.com (not full screen), it jumps to 90+ within a few minutes and tonight it reached 100 (which is what reminded to come back and check on my post).

MrX1980, your information is helpful. I will indeed contact nbcnews.com with that info. What amazes me is that Adobe appears to be making no effort to solve the problem. They are opening themselves to litigation and worse if anyone were to be injured or killed due to a fire caused by their software. All the blame can't be placed on website developers.  How could Adobe be so irresponsible as to allow developers to use their software in an unsafe manner that can actually cause physical damage to computers?

Maybe someone at Adobe could summon the courage to reply to this post. More importantly, they should address the problem and fix it before someone loses their possessions or worse in a fire caused by Adobe's irresponsible inaction.

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LEGEND ,
Oct 04, 2012 Oct 04, 2012

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Flash Player, as any other complex software, does contain bugs; nobody can deny that.  The next version 11.5 is basically a bug-fix release, currently in beta.

Can you try the 11.5 beta and see if the heating problem gets better?  If it does not, you can communicate with the developers directly in the beta forum.

Flash Player 11.5 beta: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1073204

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Guest
Oct 05, 2012 Oct 05, 2012

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Pat, I tried your suggestion and tried the 11.5. My computer's temp is ranging between 85C to 98C. I'll report back after I know how it works out. Thanks for the info.

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Enthusiast ,
Oct 05, 2012 Oct 05, 2012

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The laptop / tablet / smartphone vendors have to design their products to run at least many hours at 100% without shutting down/overheating.

It could be that the cooler has no right contact with the cpu / gpu die.

So I would say it is a design/technical problem and you should contact your vendor or give it back and buy a better one.

You can test it with "burn-in" tools like Prime95, FurMark, Aida64 (System Stability Test) , ...

If you have the same overheating problem it will be a design problem.

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Guest
Oct 06, 2012 Oct 06, 2012

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The overheating only occurs while running a Flash video on certain sites (e.g. nbcnews.com). When I pause the video, the temp begins to cool immediately. It's not the hardware; it's Flash.

I've been using Flash 11.5 beta; the problem continues. Apparently, Adobe has once again failed to address the issue.

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 09, 2012 Oct 09, 2012

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My guess here is that you're seeing a difference between videos using hardware acceleration for video decoding and rendering (your GPU is purpose-built and much more power efficient) and software decoding and rendering, which uses your general-purpose CPU.

The thing is though, Flash Player is not imbued with magic powers that allow it to somehow overclock your system or something.  It uses the resources available on your system to the capacity that is necessary and  available.  Even in the most extreme possible circumstance, when your system's CPU is being used at 100% of it's potential, it shouldn't be overheating.

Your fans and cooling system are controlled at the hardware level, and have no relation to Flash Player.  If you're experiencing heat-related issues, consult a repair expert or your computer's manufacturer.

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Guest
Oct 10, 2012 Oct 10, 2012

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Flash has everything to do with it. Overheating only occurs when using Flash; when I pause a Flash video, my computer immediately starts to cool down. Btw, both my CPUs and graphics card are overheating.

This problem happens on nbcnews.com and some other sites. Within minutes the temp rises up to as much as 100C. Yesterday, my laptop overheated and shutdown automatically twice because I dared to pay attention to my work instead of staring at the temp gauge. Yet, I can watch hulu for literally hours without the temp going above 87C. The problem is not my hardware.

Have you read MrX1980's post above? I sent that info to nbcnews and their techs are looking into it. If the settings can be set in a way that causes overheating, then Adobe is responsible for setting limits on those settings. Any developer worth his salary should be able to put a limit on settings. At the very least, Adobe should contact those sites and work their techs on how to resolve the problem. Instead, Adobe pretends the problem is everybody else's fault.

Your post says you are on staff. You should know better than to write sarcastically to customers. Do you really think I'm so stupid as to think Adobe needs magic to fix this problem. Your sarcasm doesn't make Adobe look any better.

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 10, 2012 Oct 10, 2012

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Your machine should not overheat, even if running full-bore.  If your machine is overheating and shutting off, you have a hardware problem.

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Guest
Oct 10, 2012 Oct 10, 2012

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You are wrong Jeromie.

It is a common problem that other people on other computers on Windows and Linux in three different browsers. Google it and you'll get over a million hits. Undoubtedly, all those hits won't be about this precise problem but it gives an indication of the scope of this problem. Read this entire thread and some of those other threads all over the web discussing Flash overheating problems. Maybe you'll learn something.

Btw, I started building computers in 1984. I've been working in IT for decades. I know a few things about hardware, software and networks. Adobe should put a leash on you.

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New Here ,
Nov 06, 2013 Nov 06, 2013

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perhaps the leash should be on you, Adobe has a big problem and so far have not come up with a fix.  This and the fact that Adobe is causing videos to lock up or no sound is happening to every one in my aera.  Its time for a alternative to Adobe Flash Player.

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Guest
Oct 14, 2012 Oct 14, 2012

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Jeromie, you are dead wrong. There are computers all over world with this problem. Get educated; get the problem fixed. Stop sending me emails (especially flagged as high priority); you are beginning to look like a stalker.

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New Here ,
Oct 20, 2012 Oct 20, 2012

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I just wanted to add that I have two seperate computers with this same issue. One is 3 years old, the other is 3 months old.

My most recent Win7 computer, which is an AMD FM1 processor, sees CPU usage max out ONLY when using Flash. I have had to make many modifications to prevent it from overheating to a point where it is unusable. This PC was built as an over-powered home theater PC and yet flash makes it crumble.

Very much aggitated by this issue... and can defintaely state it is an adobe flash issue.

Also note, that my computer runs below 40C idle, using a stock amd cooler.

My other PC is also a Win7 computer, it is an early AMD Quad-core computer, with upgraded cooler. To keep it usable when surfing the web, I had to disable all overheating alarms/auto-shutdows.

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Guest
Nov 06, 2012 Nov 06, 2012

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DarrylB, you are right; it is a Flash problem. Apparently, for unimaginable reasons, Adobe lets Flash developers (not Adobe's own staff developers) set the program in ways that contribute to overheating. It is stupid. I use SpeedFan to monitor my laptop's temps and it alerts me when they get near critical levels so I can pause or shut down Flash Player.

Also, do you notice the problem on some but not all sites? Some videos on nbcnews.com were causing overheating. I contacted them and the issue was sent to tech support; a few weeks later, the problem subsided. I made no changes to my hardware; Jeromie's claim that it is a hardware problem is completely false. I also noticed that on tradestation.com, their banner uses Flash and if left on the home page for too long, it will cause overheating. I changed to a forum page and the temps immediately began decreasing.

There is no question about it. Flash is the culprit. Adobe needs to take responsibility and fix the problem. Instead of blaming hardware or claiming that it's the websites fault for using incorrect settings, they need to fix their program so that it does not allow Flash to be set incorrectly. I myself have developed Flash programs; I like it; I wish it hadn't become the outdated monster that it is now. Wishing won't make it happen; only Adobe can fix this.

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Guest
Apr 27, 2016 Apr 27, 2016

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LATEST

Personally I think your both right and wrong. What your right probably almost invariably about is that the issue particularly in terms of overheating to shut down levels is likely rooted in hardware issues.such as dust or poor ventilation design/configuration. What your wrong about and its apparent to me and so many others by way of EXPERIENCE is that Adobe flashplayer is doing something..in some way interacting with the system hardware and or software to cause noticeable changes in the heat production of the machines. Now clearly these spikes are probably well within safe operating levels in the typical machines doing typical functions but not eveyrone uses their machines the same way some activities bitcoin mining for an offhand example might require some people to micromanage certain aspects of their machines' functioning. My problem turned out to be a maintenance issue with the dust. I already pretty much knew it but was hooping to learn how to micromanage my machine a bit so I could put off opening it up and cleaning just a few hours or days longer because I have a busy schedule lately but it was not to be an i had to sacrifice a pair of projects to take the time and clean it out. No big loss but I still want to know what i can do to micromanage flash players resource consumption rate. Which brings me to my suggestion, as far as customer service goes while I definitely second your position to point out that crashing and overheating needs to be dealt with hands on and that Adobe is not the ultimate cause of such major technical issues, I suggest you should switch your focus as a mod or CS agent to answering the overriding question of what is adobe flashplayer probably doing that causes it to spike and what if any solution is there for those who want to be able to micromanage it or prevent it from going beyond the "norm" of calling for resources that ultimately are causing the system to somewhat dramatically/noticably raise some temperatures in the machines. Perhaps there IS NO solution and whatever its doing is so integral to its function that it cannot be reduced or disabled. very well then that would be the bad news you could deliver to those waiting for an answer, or perhaps you just don't know if there is a solution or not in which case you could admit this to yourself and others and seek the advice of a technician or coder who could definitely provide an answer if they are so inclined, or lastly perhaps there is a solution that may involve tweaking some settings or disabling some line of function that the program uses when it ramps up like this, THEN your responses could provide some instructions with whatever stiff warnings and disclaimers you might feel is appropriate to add, such as the warning that: experiencing noticeable changes in heat output that are severe enough to affect the overall performance of the machine is not a consequence that is possibly the result of any function or feature of adobe flashplayer and should be investigated for hardware or setup problems. In that case you'll basically be saying: "This is what our technicians found that are the most frequent causes of adobes most dramatic increases on system heat loads although in the controlled environments these increases never resulted in any changes beyond safe and typical operating ranges, and they were also able to identify following techniques and adjustments to the program to better control Adobe's heat generating activities-Use these techniques at your own risk...." and "here also are the most simple and effective techniques for proper system heat load maintenance on the most common devices used by members of our community." That is hopefully the most hopeful scenario I can think of that could satisfy most of those concerned. IF it were me I'd even throw in a link to some helpful tech blog specifically addressing heating and cooling issues for old pc's eg http://lifehacker.com/5866009/control-your-computers-fan-speeds-for-better-performance-when-you-need...

Thank you for all your input, that is all.

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New Here ,
Oct 04, 2014 Oct 04, 2014

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This is the exact issue I am having and it isn't even necessarily sites/videos I am choosing. The Flash video is playing in advertising in the margins of the page I am reading. In fact there might be two different ads both trying to run videos. It has gotten so bad that I go to Windows Task Manager and crash the Flash programs running just so my laptop (also 1 year old) won't shut down from over heating.

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Guest
Oct 28, 2014 Oct 28, 2014

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Been searching for a solution or cause for months.  Think I have found one.

system specs

amd 8 core processor at 4.0

16gb ram

gtx 770

i was running windows 7 and had constant high temps when ever using flash and in fact after using flash like it was running in the background.   Ended up frying my motherboard.   New one fitted.   Same problem.   At a loss like many on here.

last night I decided to give windows 10 a try, I do enjoy getting my hands on stuff early!  What a difference !!!!

my gpu and cpu are both running cooler just by switching to w10.  When idle and when multi tasking and gaming.   

idle temps:

GPU - 32

CPU - 35

using flash temps;

GPU - 35

CPU - 37

a world of difference !!!!!!!!!!!!   The temps on idle are actually quite a bit lower than idle temps using windows 7.

my conclusion based only on my own experience.   An issue between windows 7 and my hardware compounded and increased issues with flash that would cause massive heat issues.   That's as best as I can explain.   But changing operating system, using same software and hardware resolved my issue.   Flash has not been changed to a different version after windows upgrade

hope this helps someone as I am pleased as punch the issue is now resolved for me

thanks

stephen

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LEGEND ,
Sep 22, 2012 Sep 22, 2012

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Flash 11.x uses more resources than earlier versions, and if you use Flash a lot, cooling becomes important.

I have a customer that uses a very old computer to play music all day long on a Flash radio station.  The website is not the problem, Flash is not the problem; the old computer with insufficient cooling is the problem.  Dust has been cleaned, but probably the heat sink needs to be reseated, and perhaps the fan replaced.

All other computers I know have no such problems, despite using Flash a lot.

Overheating is a hardware problem.

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New Here ,
Nov 06, 2012 Nov 06, 2012

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Flash Player is so poorly optimized that it consumes a lot of cpu cycles when downloading streaming content, even when the video is paused. I have it pretty well configured and when trying to watch a video on Vimeo or Youtube (HD) it goes to 50% CPU with hardware acceleration on. If I turn it off more CPU power is used.

When using Firefox, protected mode MUST be turned off. This mode consumes even more CPU. Flash is the real CPU hog on any computer, is the worst plugin ever made.

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Guest
Nov 15, 2012 Nov 15, 2012

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I would like to confirm that this overheating ONLY happens when Flash adverts are displayed on IE. I use Flashblock on Firefox but use IE for certain sites, and Chrome for others, one of which has Flash adverts, and without fail, my laptop fans kick in hard and the average CPU usage increases exponentially until I close the window. I shouldn't have to start fiddling around with hardware acceleration and stuff, it should just work. I am running all the latest software on a top spec Qosmio X770 with under-fan. I DO NOT have a hardware problem. Flash Player DOES. It's simple. So stop obfuscating and sort it out Adobe.

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Guest
Nov 15, 2012 Nov 15, 2012

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In my own experience it only happens on specific sites and specific videos. In particular, nbcnews.com; most videos are are ok but some of Hardball videos do cause overheating. I don't have any problems on Hulu; periodic problems on YouTube. Also, streams of live video don't overheat. It happens in both IE and Chrome. The overheating happens exclusively while using Flash; if I pause Flash both GPU and CPUs immediately start cooling down.

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Guest
Jan 26, 2014 Jan 26, 2014

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Try to disable 'Hardware acceleration' in settings (right click on the flash window, and choose Settings from menu). With that setting 'on', graphic card works hard and heat quickly especially if its integrated.

Hope that helps all of you

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New Here ,
Aug 11, 2014 Aug 11, 2014

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I have the same problem. When i open a video, game, movie that uses flash, it-s overheating my pc very bad, and i must stop that video.

Examples: youtube full screen, other flash players

I have 3gb ram, 500Mb video card and my pc is very very hot, i barerly can touch it and i must use a little table with fans to cool it down, but even with that its overheated.

I hate this very much, I almost destroyed my pc with your software.

And dont tell me disable that, ebale that. I've done all the possible things!

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Guest
Sep 22, 2014 Sep 22, 2014

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Having same issue with Dell Latitude E4200 (with SSD) 1.6Ghz DUO Intel but it mostly only happens when using external monitor (1 or 2 with Docking station) which of course is much more demanding on the video.  It happens from the Equalizer at www.di.fm on any station so I either don't keep that tab open or better use a media player like VLC player to stream it at much cooler temps.  I've asked Di.fm to make the EQ an option we can disable but they haven't/won't.  Have same issues watching streaming video from various sites, using Realtemp app to alarm me when Temp hits 95C and that helps me prevent the shut down.  This is really annoying and it seems to happen to many PC's (How about Macs?) even newer models.  I guess it will just get worse before better and push consumers to upgrade hardware again.  Still love using XP though, long live XP.

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