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heavywulf
Participant
March 12, 2015
Question

Firefox keeps telling me my Shockwave Player is "unresponsive"?

  • March 12, 2015
  • 12 replies
  • 70305 views

So for the last several months my Firefox browser (running Windows 😎 keeps crashing on me everytime I try to watch an embedded video on YouTube or anywhere else.

Everytime I try to watch a video, everything just freezes and this message pops up that says:

"Warning: Unresponsive Plugin"

"Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding. You can stop the plugin now, or you can continue to see if the plugin will complete.

[Continue] [Stop plugin]

This message pops up at least three or four times before my video finally loads or it crashes. Clicking either option makes no difference.

I've tried updating my Firefox browser, my Adobe Flash, my Adobe Shockwave and nothing ever changes! I'm seriously at my wits end! Has anyone else here had this problem before? Did you actually fix it?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    12 replies

    C
    claudeh76228770
    Participant
    December 24, 2015

    I had the same problem on my computer ( Desktop Win 10 pro insider updates ) and my wife's Computer ( Laptop Win 10 Home ). Spent many hours trying all the fixes with no luck. Then a friend told me he had no problems since he installed add blocker plus. I installed it on both computers and no more crashes. Turn it off and crashes within minutes. Both have been running for three days with 0 crashes. Latest version software firefox and flash. Sad part is I don't want to block adds as I use them to keep me in mind of things I'm thinking of buying.

    benb46654231
    benb46654231
    Participant
    December 24, 2015

    The short answer is to remove the Adobe Flash install.

    I was completely struggling with this.  In my situation it seems like there's a conflict somewhere between the Windows 10 integrated Flash and any separately installed Adobe Flash.

    I had no end of problems, I'd tweak it back and forth, reboot, etc. to get it to stabilize only for it to revert back to the same plugin problems following fresh Windows 10 or Flash patches.  I had been running a separate Adobe Flash install really just for Firefox and ended up removing that and just using IE/Edge/Chrome for Flash content.  So far no problems.  With Adobe Flash installed I had problems with all browsers, they work fine with Flash content (except FF of course).

    Carm01
    Carm01
    Legend
    December 24, 2015

    I am on WIndows 10 and have zero issues

    1) This is not a conflict as Firefox uses NPAPI version of flash and Windows 10 has it built. Firefox will never use the built in version to windows period! You have to download and install it period, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

    2) NEVER remove the Windows 10 integrated version of flash unless you want your system to get borked up period.

    IF you are on a 64 bit system I would suggest you use the Firefox 64 bit developer version as it will handle running flash content a little differently, meaning there is NO out of process flash player running in taskmanager as shown below with the standard Firefox build:

    Go here to get the 64 bit developer version. It works the same, the icon is blue instead of orange. It just works much better ( https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/developer/all/ )

    3) the plugin unresponsive as state above is a Firefox issue period! It happens with no other browser.

    4) If you want to do a clean install of Flash for any version go here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/adobeflashupdater/

    This is 100% automated and safe. Will do all the work for you easily. All the references are in the GUI of the program.

    Best regards!

    benb46654231
    benb46654231
    Participant
    December 25, 2015

    1)  Right, I, like a lot of other people desiring Flash support in Firefox specifically installed Adobe Flash to provide Flash support to Firefox because it *does not* use the integrated Flash on Windows 10.

    2) Who said to remove the Windows 10 integrated Flash?  Is there even a way to safely remove the integrated version?  Suggesting that everyone use a developer version isn't the greatest advice.

    3) I don't know how else to describe it, I had problems with all browsers using Flash.  I'd typically see the plugin hang first on Firefox and it was stick-a-fork-in-it time after that.  If I went to the same site even a moment later using IE, Edge or Chrome the site would hang.

    4) Thanks, and no offense, but if the install is not working as produced straight from the vendor why would anyone install it from some third-party?  That advice ranks out there along with disabling protected mode.

    Carm01
    Carm01
    Legend
    November 25, 2015

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

    Up until recently 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 up until that past month or two this has been my solution 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 that they use.

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

    The forum moderators on the firefox forums wanted to sit around and debate this and try to understand why this works; and ZERO were willing to even attempt to try it, which I gave up on the noobs over there. There is zero risk deleting these prefetch files period, yet they wanted to sit around and debate something that was beyond their comprehension.

    I do have an exe that sits in the system try and runs all the time as well. The 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 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

    I
    IamaGunslinger
    Participating Frequently
    November 25, 2015

    Thank you for your solution and although I found another, changing the information on Adobe's protection info, I will keep yours for backup. Thanks

    From: Carm01 <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

    To: Roger Scarbrough <the.45gunslinger@yahoo.com>

    Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 11:21 AM

    Subject: Firefox keeps telling me my Shockwave Player is "unresponsive"?

    Firefox keeps telling me my Shockwave Player is "unresponsive"?

    created by Carm01 in Using Flash Player - View the full discussionI am going to chime in on this as I have found some relief.Up until recently 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. All I know is up until that past month or two this has been my solution for several years now. I have a bat file if anyone wants to test it that just runs in a loop: @echo off:startdel 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 exampledel C:\Windows\Prefetch\flashpl.pf >nul 2>&1del C:\Windows\Prefetch\firefox.pf >nul 2>&1del C:\Windows\Prefetch\PLUGIN-HANG.pf >nul 2>&1del C:\Windows\Prefetch\AGCP*.pf >nul 2>&1timeout 30goto :start Firefox is the ONLY browser with this issue and i believe it is 100% related to the plugin-container.exe that they use.I attempted to post this on the forums and some people were willing to try it and most have had success.The forum moderators on the firefox forums wanted to sit around and debate this and try to understand why this works; and ZERO were willing to even attempt to try it, which I gave up on the noobs over there. There is zero risk deleting these prefetch files period, yet they wanted to sit around and debate something that was beyond their comprehension. I do have an exe that sits in the system try and runs all the time as well. The 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 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 centsBest Regards If the reply above answers your question, please take a moment to mark this answer as correct by visiting: https://forums.adobe.com/message/8215572#8215572 and clicking ‘Correct’ below the answer Replies to this message go to everyone subscribed to this thread, not directly to the person who posted the message. To post a reply, either reply to this email or visit the message page: Please note that the Adobe Forums do not accept email attachments. If you want to embed an image in your message please visit the thread in the forum and click the camera icon: https://forums.adobe.com/message/8215572#8215572 To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit the message page at , click "Following" at the top right, & "Stop Following" Start a new discussion in Using Flash Player by email or at Adobe Community For more information about maintaining your forum email notifications please go to https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1516624.

    SabbathFanatic
    SabbathFanatic
    Participating Frequently
    November 3, 2015

    I have made a new thread:

    Firefox 41.0.2 Adobe Flash Player crashes on Windows 10

    SabbathFanatic
    SabbathFanatic
    Participating Frequently
    October 21, 2015

    Tried installing a new version of Firefox 41.0.2 and installed a new version of Adobe Flash Player and it still freezes. Can you please fix this issue?

    yuvarajmani
    yuvarajmani
    Participant
    October 7, 2015

    I am having the same issues with all the browsers(Edge, Chrome and Firefox) in windows 10. Disabling the shock wave plugin works in most cases. What is going on?

    jeromiec83223024
    jeromiec83223024
    Inspiring
    October 7, 2015

    Well, disabling Flash would be one way to deal with it.  Without any specific on your personal situation, I can't really venture any guesses.  Are you also using a Lenovo Yoga laptop?  I've posted a lot of troubleshooting steps and background information on the relevant threads.

    Some basics would be really helpful:

    https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1195540

    N
    nemod2403986
    Participant
    October 18, 2015

    Hello Jeromie. I'm having a very similar problem, the difference being that my flash player crashes. To the best of my recollection, the problem started after updating from Win 7 to Win 10 about 3 weeks ago. I have submitted bug report 4075490 at https://bugbase.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=bug&id=4075490‌. I have run through all the trouble-shooting steps I'm aware of. The only "solution" is to disable Protected Mode, which is obviously not a proper solution.

    Very frustrating!

    Is there anything further you can suggest other than disabling Protected Mode or using a different browser?

    T
    TonyGottlieb
    Participant
    October 6, 2015

    Is it just me or does it seem that the problems with Shockwave Flash are everywhere? Nothing with its use seems to operate consistently.

    Attemps I've made to ameliorate the problems seem to work temporarily, but then return within a day or two. If Adobe cannot address these concerns I think it behooves everyone to begin the moves away from its use however painful.

    jeromiec83223024
    jeromiec83223024
    Inspiring
    October 6, 2015

    Well, you're certainly welcome to do that.  I'd recommend that you try a different browser or two to see if your stability issues go away first.

    SabbathFanatic
    SabbathFanatic
    Participating Frequently
    October 3, 2015

    I have the same problem. I am using Firefox 41.0.1. Here are the list of things I tried:

    Safe Mode

    Refreshing Firefox

    Disabling hardware acceleration and protected mode

    Nothing helped.

      jeromiec83223024
      jeromiec83223024
      Inspiring
      October 3, 2015

      If you have a consistent set of repro steps, those would be useful.

        SabbathFanatic
        SabbathFanatic
        Participating Frequently
        October 5, 2015

        Hello Jeromie Clark, you need to look into Firefox 41.0.1 about the Flash Player crashes.

        A
        Anonymous
        September 30, 2015

        I have the same issue, and none of the suggested workarounds mentioned above has removed it (and I tried them all).  With Shockwave Flash 19.0.0.185 activated for general browsing, Firefox freezes up and I get "Plugin Container for Firefox has stopped working".  This is extremely annoying and until this version of Shockwave Flash was installed, I had not noticed it at all.  When I deactivated this plugin, the issue immediately disappeared, but obviously this is not a solution, as so many sites require Shockwave Flash to work properly.  The only workaround I've found which works (in a lame fashion) is to select "always ask" as the default activation permission mode and to selectively approve SF for the sites I visit which require it.  Am still not sure this workaround will work when I have multiple windows open, but it's the best I have for now.  I really think the folks at Adobe have changed their code in such a way as to make more problems for the Firefox community and the onus is on them to find a universal fix.  I've also noticed that this seems to happen most often when I have multiple browser windows open.  Is there a 'crosstalk' issue at work?

          A
          Anonymous
          September 7, 2015

          We are facing similar issue, in few workstations Flash on Firefox works fine with Flash Protection Mode Enabled, but on few machines Flash on Firefox is not working if the protected mode is on, but when uncheck it works fine. As per understanding the Protection Mode just reduces the performance but not sure why flash itself not working when the Protect Mode is Enabled and on few machines.

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