Flash Player 9 crashes Internet Explorer 6.

Forum|Forum|19 years ago
January 26, 2007
4 replies
1377 views

Hello

Previous versions of Flash Player worked fine on my Win98SE system until I upgraded to versions 8 and 9, then it became impossible to use Flash Player without a message popping up saying that there had been an illegal instruction in module FLASH9B.OCX.

Occasionally I had to reboot my system which had become unstable (blue screen - system busy).

I submitted the register dump from the FLASH9B.OCX crash to Adobe and they provided me with an uninstall tool along with instructions on how to (re)install the latest version.

Every re-installation of the latest version always ended with an eventual crash of the FLASH9B.OCX module while visiting different websites,

Adobe advised me to stop using Flash Player on the grounds that there was, in their estimation, something corrupt within my Win98SE operating system and/or Internet Explorer version 6, all of which I have kept up to date with the latest patches from MS.

I downloaded a fresh copy of Internet Explorer and I also ran the Win98 tool that verifies the system files and I replaced the half dozen files that were flagged as being suspect (checksum error, no doubt).

In spite of this, Internet Explorer still crashes when I visit a website which has Flash media on it (static images).

I have resigned myself to living in a world without Flash Player.

But the price to pay for not keeping Flash Player installed on one's system is that there are constant requests to download Flash Player via a pop-up window, and even my pop-up blocker can't hide these constant interruptions.

Has anyone else had this same problem and if so, have you found a better way to live with or without Flash Player?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

UPDATE: When I go back to version 8, then module FLASH8B.OCX crashes in the same way as version 9.
If I go back to version 7 (7.0.19), everything works perfectly. So what was changed in version 8 that makes my Internet Explorer crash?

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer montreal_2

I believe I have found the explanation which I hope may help others.

Flash Player 7 does not specify a minimum hardware requirement, but Flash 8 and newer call for Pentium II 450mhz.

It may not be the number of mhz. that is critical, rather the instruction set which comes with a 450mhz Pentium II processor (MMX and/or SSE).

Unlike my Pentium II (200 mhz.) computer , my wife's computer is a Celeron (300mhz). Her computer supports Flash 8, but mine does not. One major difference between her CPU and mine is that her's supports MMX (but not SSE) and mine does not support MMX.

Therefore I conclude that MMX is the essential feature I am missing in order to support Flash 8 and newer.

A

Anonymous

galahs: thanks for the update. Alas, I do not have any Pentium II Overdrive processors to upgrade my Pentium Pro systems. If you know a good line on any please do tell.

G

galahs

Participant

I got mine from ebay.

To help web searchers find this topic.

I have had no troubles with Flash 9 since I upgraded my processor to one with MMX.

So yes, Flash 9 does not work / crash / crashes without MMX

Flash 9 needs MMX

M

montreal_2Author

Inspiring

GALAHS,

I appreciate you posting your observation that the MMX hardware instruction set is essential for the operation of FLASH9.

Without MMX, you need to use no Flash Player more recent than version 7.61.

I have two icons on my desktop. One to remove all remnants of the Flash plugin, and the other to re-install FLASH 7.61.

Every so often I come upon a web site which will takes exception to my Flash 7.61 version and download some additional component which corrupts my version, thus I have to rapidly reinstall Flash 7.61.

The other problem with version 7.61 is that some websites will bring up a publicity animation graphic created for Flash 9, and it can take up to 2 minutes for the graphic to play out on my Flash 7.61 before allowing the rest of the web page to follow.

Otherwise, I can survive nicely with Flash 7.61.

Too bad Adobe can't make a Flash Player which contains software to work with older processor without MMX.

A

Anonymous

I am also hoping they correct the check for MMX back into Flash player (and it would really be nice if they have a non-MMX supported code path too). Perhaps I should pull the ActiveX module up in a debugger and look for a non-MMX code path and see if I can patch one to work.

I thought of "back-reving" to the latest Flash 7 player to see if the issue goes away but I have yet to do that.

M

montreal_2Author

Inspiring

quote:

Originally posted by: Erik Engineer
I am also hoping they correct the check for MMX back into Flash player (and it would really be nice if they have a non-MMX supported code path too). Perhaps I should pull the ActiveX module up in a debugger and look for a non-MMX code path and see if I can patch one to work.

I thought of "back-reving" to the latest Flash 7 player to see if the issue goes away but I have yet to do that.

Good luck looking for a non-MMX code path hidden upstream of the offending MMX instruction.

Going back to Flash 7 is relatively easy and you will suddenly be able to visit places you haven't been in years, but there are still some sites that will block you unless you have Flash player 8 or 9.

First use the Adobe uninstaller to clean up which is found at .

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14157

Then find a copy of :

flashplayer7r61_winax.exe

and run it. That will give you the latest Flash 7.

G

galahs

Participant

I was having the same problems too. Internet Explorer and Firefox would randomly crash on certain pages. I noticed it was the flash9b.ocx that was causing it.

At first I blamed flash crashes on Windows 98, so I tried on Windows 2000. The crashes persisted.

I returned to flash7 and the problems went away.

but of late I have noticed more and more pages that require flash 8 or flash 9.

I then posted my error I was receiving in the MSFN forum and someone promptly replied it was an MMX issue. So then I started hunting down pages of the internet and found this one.

My computer was a Pentium Pro 200Mhz. It does not have MMX support. Thankfully I was able to obtain an Intel Overdrive chip for the PC. It upgraded my PC into a Pentium II 333Mhx with MMX.

Guess what!

Flash 9 sites now display without errors.

So yes, Flash Player 8 and Flash player 9 DO require MMX.

D

dvdf62

Participating Frequently

The one thing a lot of people running 'older' versions of Windows have to bear in mind...Microsoft no longer supports anything before XP. Therefore as time continues and updates come along, anyone running pre-XP systems will often be unable to use the new features, and in some cases not be able to use the application at all (Quick Time won't even download to anyone that doesn't have at least Windows 2000[service pack 4]/XP for an example)!!! So, if you are having problems, you might consider updating to at least XP (which for some people might even mean purchasing a newer computer). Cheers...

M

montreal_2Author

Inspiring

I can't remember exactly when I upgraded to Flash Player 8, but by last July, I started asking Adobe for help and after all Adobe's advice ended up being a dead end, they wrote their final conclusion as:

"With regard to this problem, there could be a number of reasons that can cause this; application conflicts, conflict with an operating system component or even a problem with the browser. You may want to try first to reinstall or update your Internet Explorer. This should help you determine which is the cause of the problem. For further troubleshooting, please check the Microsoft website for assistance."

Isn't it ironic that no one connected an illegal instruction in module FLASH9B.OCX with a missing MMX hardware arithemetic unit in the CPU?

So for the last 7 months I was constantly looking for some corruption in my OS and/or browser.

I even started suspecting my Nero authoring program, my AVG firewall.

Seven months of hell.

Hope Adobe adds checks for missing essential hardware to their future installation kits.

M

montreal_2AuthorCorrect answer

Inspiring

I believe I have found the explanation which I hope may help others.

Flash Player 7 does not specify a minimum hardware requirement, but Flash 8 and newer call for Pentium II 450mhz.

It may not be the number of mhz. that is critical, rather the instruction set which comes with a 450mhz Pentium II processor (MMX and/or SSE).

Unlike my Pentium II (200 mhz.) computer , my wife's computer is a Celeron (300mhz). Her computer supports Flash 8, but mine does not. One major difference between her CPU and mine is that her's supports MMX (but not SSE) and mine does not support MMX.

Therefore I conclude that MMX is the essential feature I am missing in order to support Flash 8 and newer.

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