Why adobe flash plugin crashed everytime I try to play Non-HTML5 video?

[hilmizain]

Hello Guys,

My name is Hilmi, I'm having problem viewing non-html5 video as it will always show error adobe flash plugin crash everytime I try to play the video. I am using Dell Inspiron 5400 laptop, adoble flash player 20 NPAPI, mozilla firefox 43.0.1 and windows 7 SP1.

I found one discussion most similar to my issue and they gave instruction to disable hardware acceleration by right click on flash picture in website: Flash Player video playback issues, but the flash picture itself failed to load.

My system restore is not available as there is no restore points has been created. one of the website that i have issue playing the video is http://www.gogoanime.com/dragon-ball-super-episode-24

kindly need assistance from you guys as i dont know what to do to solve this problem anymore. i have tried to uninstall/install flash player and updating my firefox but the error still persist.

Thank you.

[jeromiec83223024]

Please work through the video troubleshooting guide.

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/video-playback-issues.html

If you're still stuck, please follow the directions in the guide on providing the dxdiag report and additional information about what you tested and saw.

[hilmizain]

Thanks for your reply jeromiec83223024. I have worked through the troubleshooting guide just now. I can play HTML5 video but Non-HTML5 video crashed.

I was not able to disable hardware acceleration because flash logo also crashed.

I have added Bug 4102779 in adobe bugbase. Hopefully the issue will be solved soon.

Thank you.

[jeromiec83223024]

Okay, it's probably not hardware acceleration then.

Here's what I'd do:

• In Firefox, go to Help > Restart with Add-Ons Disabled
• Try something that Flash currently crashes on. 
• If it starts working, it's something to do with another plugin in Firefox. 
  • You'll basically just have to disable them temporarily all and re-enable them individually until the crash comes back. 
    Once you've identified the plugin, we can take a look and see what options are available to mitigate it from our side, if any.

If running Firefox in safe mode doesn't resolve the issue, then I'm guessing your Flash installation is damaged.

The first thing I'd do is check for and repair any issues with the local filesystem.  It's always a good idea before doing disk maintenance to make sure that you have good backups of anything critical on the machine.

Check your hard disk for errors - Windows 7:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2641432

Once any problems are fixed, I'd manually remove Flash Player.  This will expose any issues with corrupted/inaccessible files that might otherwise be masked during the automatic installation/upgrade process.

Performing a Clean install of Flash Player on Windows:

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/928315

If you're unable to complete all of these steps and it's a file involved, then we know that there's some filesystem corruption.  This might just be a random thing -- poorly timed power outage, solar flares  , etc -- but it might also be an early indication that your hard disk is on the way out.  Again, a really good reason to make sure that your backups are up to date.

Unlocker is my go-to utility for fixing files that I can't delete on a system:

http://download.cnet.com/Unlocker/3000-2248_4-10493998.html

If it's a registry key that you're unable to remove, then you have a bigger problem.  There are some commercial utilities that advertise their ability to fix these kinds of problems, but Windows already automatically scans and repairs the registry.  I can't recommend any of those products specifically, and personally, that's generally my queue to think about reinstalling the OS.  If it's been a few years, jettisoning all of the junk that has accreted in the registry and removing the fragmentation that occurs over time makes the system run much faster than you've probably gotten used to.  You might think about moving to 64-bit Windows 7 as well, since you have a 64-bit capable machine.  The vast majority of Win7 users are on 64-bit, so offerings from vendors are tested more on the 64-bit OS across the board.  As an aside, Windows 10 is supposed to solve the vast majority of this kind of registry-related pain.

[hilmizain]

Thank you for your kind assistance jeromiec83223024. I have tried to restart firefox in safemode but the adobe flash plugin still crashed. So I did the check and fix hard disk error. After that I performed the clean install of flash player as advised in the link. I managed to complete all the steps without any problem. After installing flash player and restart my browser, I tried to play the Non-HTML5 video but this time there was no indication of flash plugin crashed but the video seems to not load after a while.

I tried to disable the hardware acceleration but now the flash logo didn't load at all:

You can see from the printscreen above the flash logo failed to load but this time there is no notice of adobe flash plugin crashed. Kindly need your assistance again on this issue.

Thank you.

[jeromiec83223024]

Did you download the installer using Firefox?  We serve the payload for the browser you visit with.

If you go to about:plugins, do you see Flash Player listed?  You might need to set it to Always Allow.

[hilmizain]

Actually I download the flash player using internet explorer, as I watched in the video clean install flash player, the guy also download it using internet explorer. I tried to search for flash player in about:plugins but it was not listed there. I also tried to search in firefox add-ons for shockwave flash but it also not listed in add-ons (I tried to search for shockwave flash add-ons but no exact result found). Then I tried to play Non-HTML5 video in internet explorer and it works! So I did the clean uninstall again and this time reinstall flash player by downloading installer using mozilla firefox. After installation complete, I tried to play Non-HTML5 video in firefox but the error adobe flash plugin crashed appeared again. And this time I am also not able to play Non-HTML5 video in internet explorer anymore. So I performed clean install of flash player again by downloading installer using internet explorer and now I am able to play Non-HTML5 video on internet explorer only. Does it mean there is conflict between flash player installer and my firefox browser then?

[Carm01]

I am going to chime in on this as I have found some relief.

I have been crash free as far is this issue.

I implemented a small program which keeps certain prefetch filed deleted. Now I know what some are saying what does this do and how does it help? The answer is I am not entirely sure. I kind of stumbled upon this while troubleshooting the issue. All I know is that i have been crash free since i use something like this myself for several years now.

I have a bat file if anyone wants to test it that just runs in a loop:

@echo off

:start

del C:\Windows\Prefetch\PLUGIN-CONTAINER*.pf >nul 2>&1

:: remove the >nul 2>&1 if you do not want to see messages like files does not exist for example

del C:\Windows\Prefetch\flashpl*.pf >nul 2>&1

del C:\Windows\Prefetch\firefox*.pf >nul 2>&1

del C:\Windows\Prefetch\PLUGIN-HANG*.pf >nul 2>&1

del C:\Windows\Prefetch\AGCP*.pf >nul 2>&1

timeout 30

goto :start

Firefox is the ONLY browser with this issue and i believe it is 100% related to the plugin-container.exe/NPAPI that they use.

I attempted to post this on the forums and some people were willing to try it and most have had success.

There is zero risk deleting these prefetch files

I do have an exe that sits in the system try and runs all the time as well. making and running that bat file should be a good acid test to see how many this has helped or not.

As far as I am concerned this is 100% a Firefox issue, and until they nuke the plugin-container.exe/NPAPI the problem will always exist unfortunately. I will provide my exe that will run in the systray to those who are interested

I thought I would offer this up here in these forums in hope there are some much more tech savvy and open people to do testing and understanding of this issue. If it proves useful maybe this could be built into the NPAPI flash player..

Anyways my 2 cents

Best Regards

[hilmizain]

Hello Carm01,

Where can I download the bat file? I'm interested to test if it works for my issue.

Thank you.

[Carm01]

You can grab it here

It will run as long as you want it to

its called del_prefetch.cmd

I can't say it will fix your issue, but could very well as i had great results with every machine I used and re-imaged.

Best Regards

[Carm01]

Don't forget to right click ans run as administrator, or they will not delete

[hilmizain]

I have downloaded the del_prefetch.cmd and run it as administrator, but it keep showing waiting for 30 seconds.

After that I close the file and tried to play Non-HTML5 video in Firefox but still unable to load.

Actually there is no flash player plugin in my Firefox as I downloaded the installer using internet explorer. Do I need to re-download installer in Firefox?

[Carm01]

It is designed to loop like that! It will keep prefetch files clear, let it do its thing and minimize it, right click and run as admin. You can change the time period if you right click and choose edit, and change it to whatever you like. You will see the timeout period when you right click edit that file, then save.

Yes you need to re-download the files again. If you go back to that link , and click parent folder, it will bring you to a menu and you will see a folder called BAT version. you can get this one downloadFlash_XPandUP.cmd and right click, run as admin, this will preform the clean install of all the flash player versions for you,

Then run that thing that runs in a loop and then launch Firefox. Remember just minimize the thing that runs in a loop

[hilmizain]

I have installed flash player using firefox and I tried to play Non-HTML5 video while minimizing the del_prefetch.cmd but adobe flash player crashed error appeared again.

[Carm01]

Try a different Firefox profile. Perhaps there is something in your profile causing the issue, if not you can go back to the original profile.

1) Close all firefox

2) in the start menu, in the search box type firefox.exe -p

3) The profile manager will appear and just create a new temp profile, and name it whatever.

4) Hit start or launch whichever it is, and then try using that profile you just made to play flash content.

5) going back is easy, just repeat step 2 and delete the temp profile. It is pretty self explanatory.

Lets try this to see if it assists

[hilmizain]

I managed to create new profile for firefox but when I try to play Non-HTML video (I tried both with and without del_prefetch.cmd) the error "adobe flash plugin has crashed" still appear and video is not loading. I am actually satisfied that after I performed the clean install flash player, at least now I can play Non-HTML5 video using internet explorer. I think maybe the root cause is from my Mozilla Firefox browser or my old laptop is not catching up with the new updates anymore (I think my laptop is more than 10 years old now since I bought it second hand 3 years ago). Thanks anyway for your kind assistance Carm01 and jeromiec83223024.

[jeromiec83223024]

It looks like you can disable prefetch with a Firefox preference:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Link_prefetching_FAQ

It seems odd to me that a feature that's been around since Firefox 3.5 is brutally broken.  I'm wondering if it's a symptom of something more simple, like the filesystem in that region is corrupt, so you're consistently running in to garbage prefetch data.

[Carm01]

I am thinking some things have changed in Firefox developer edition as I do not see as much prefetching files being deleted by my script ( it logs what and when it deletes ). I need to do some more testing to verify that or not though. I just actually noticed it as of this writing. I am not sure which prefetch actually causes that crash, my guess flash/plugin-container.

I also do not see any flash player out of process when using Dev edition as well. Just an fyi on that.

[hilmizain]

Hello guys,

I have finally solved the crash issue and now I can play Non-HTML5 without crashes anymore!! After you said the plugin container might be the cause, I noticed there is no plugin container running in task manager. So I googled about plugin container crashed issue and found solution from this page: Plug in Container and Flash Crashing Issue | Firefox Support Forum | Mozilla Support

The cause is actually due to the protected mode feature of the Flash Player plugin where we need to disable it so the plugin container will not crash anymore. I quoted from the page:

Helpful Reply

This worked 100 % Thanks!

jscher

"

Hi nonsaya, thank you for that.

A common problem on Windows Vista and higher is incompatibility with the protected mode feature of the Flash Player plugin. I recommend disabling it.

See this support article from Adobe under the heading "Last Resort": Adobe Forums: How do I troubleshoot Flash Player's protected mode for Firefox?

Or if Windows gives you problems with permissions, try this way:

(1) In a My Computer or Windows Explorer window, open this folder:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash

If that folder does not exist, then you are using 32-bit Windows, and you can open the following folder instead:

C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash

(Note: This folder exists on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, but on 64-bit Windows Firefox uses the Flash player in the SysWOW64 folder instead.)

(2) Check for a file named mms.cfg:

Note: If you do not see file extensions such as .ocx, .dll, .exe, and .cfg on the files in this folder, then Windows may be hiding these from you. In order to work with file names accurately, it is best to unhide the extensions. This Microsoft support article has the steps: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/865219.

(A) If mms.cfg exists, drag it to your Documents folder where you can edit it without being bothered about administrator privileges

(B) If mms.cfg does not exist, open your Documents folder, right-click > New > Text File and name the new file mms.cfg

(3) Open mms.cfg from Documents into a text editor such as Notepad.

Add this on its own line (I put it last):

ProtectedMode=0

Save the file and close Notepad.

(4) Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the mms.cfg file back to the Flash folder to make a copy there, keeping the original in Documents

This change will take effect once the Flash plugin is completely unloaded, which may require exiting and restarting Firefox (allow a few minutes for all the Flash processes in memory to terminate after exiting Firefox). "

[Carm01]

This does not technically totally disable the plugin container all together. My tests show that it still runs, flash does not run out of process now, meaning that it will not show up in task manager, plugin-container.exe still will though.

I don't fully understand what it does, but it does work for some, most people don't like to or understand how to create that file mms.cfg file... I do have a script that will perform this though nevertheless.

Anyways, I am glad that is working for you. I normally don't recommend that b/c it is a security risk

Have a Great New Year

[hilmizain]

Yeah I also don't understand about it either.. Maybe it will work for some and not for some people. Anyway for me this issue is solved. Happy New Year.

[jeromiec83223024 · Accepted solution]

Flash Player Protected Mode on 32-bit Firefox is an important defense against malware.  You significantly increase your risk of infection by disabling it.

You would be far, far better off moving to either 64-bit Firefox for Windows, which includes a native NPAPI plug-in sandbox (we use Firefox's sandbox instead of the one we had to retrofit to 32-bit Firefox), or to another browser.

You can find the 64-bit Firefox Beta here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/beta/all/

[jeromiec83223024]

You can find the 64-bit Firefox Beta here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/beta/all/

[Carm01]

Interesting so that might explain why it works so much better in my 64bit dev edition of Firefox. I did not think about beta 64 bit though, might be a good alternative to people at work having plugin crashing on Firefox.

thx

[jeromiec83223024]

Yeah, I really haven't had anyone complain after switching.  I can't wait for it to be the generally available version for Windows users.

My theory for years has been that we were pushing the edge of the amount of IPC communication you can generate reliably on the system.  In analyzing crash and hang dumps, we'd see that messages that were expected on either the Flash or Firefox sides were either never received, or delivered out of order.  If one side of the conversation needed a response and didn't get it, the browser/plug-in communication would hang.

We did a lot of stability work sitting with Firefox engineers over the last year, and we discovered a latent bug in Firefox that reduced the hang rate by about 50% in 32-bit Firefox, but I think that the vast majority of what we're left with at this point boils down to the sheer volume of messaging and the number of intermediate processes, for which each of them basically adds a multiple of that messaging volume. 

Once Windows 8 launched, we saw another big uptick in hangs, but again, there's no smoking gun.  When users on those versions complain and then move to 64-bit Firefox, they're generally happy.

Moving to a more efficient sandboxing architecture with 64-bit Firefox means that we have significantly less IPC traffic happening, and the anecdotal observations indicate that things are more stable overall.  For users with more than 2GB of memory on their systems, we also get the added benefit of all processes involved having a larger memory limit, and that larger memory address space also confers some additional protection against malware (one of the reasons I've been pointing people to alternative browsers), as it's much more difficult for attackers to abuse memory in a sparse address space.