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My Plug-ins are interfering with eachother

Donnti
Donnti
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The only thing i can think that could be causing the problem i have right now is that my plug-ins are interfering with eachother. when i am on facebook videos will not play, and when i am on twitter pictures won't open, if i go on any websites through a video/article on facebook my mouse continually loads and it keeps giving me the (not responding) message until i can close that page and then it goes back to normal. for some reason, youtube is working perfectly fine. Running in safe mode DOES NOT help because i only have two extensions installed and they are not causing my problem; running in safe mode doesnt not disable plug-ins. every other browser works but Firefox. All my bookmarks are on firefox and i know how to use it so i want to be able to use this browser. i have refreshed it a million times and it doesnt help. i dont know what plug ins i need to have and which ones i can delete or how to delete them.

i shouldn't have to refresh my browser and have to re-install my extensions every single day so there must be another fix for this problem. what plug ins do you need to do those things? should they be on always activate or on ask to activate? when i am on facebook and twitter it has never, ever asked me to allow plug ins so how do i ensure they will work on these sites properly? is there anyway i can contact anyone to get some real help?

The only thing i can think that could be causing the problem i have right now is that my plug-ins are interfering with eachother. when i am on facebook videos will not play, and when i am on twitter pictures won't open, if i go on any websites through a video/article on facebook my mouse continually loads and it keeps giving me the (not responding) message until i can close that page and then it goes back to normal. for some reason, youtube is working perfectly fine. Running in safe mode DOES NOT help because i only have two extensions installed and they are not causing my problem; running in safe mode doesnt not disable plug-ins. every other browser works but Firefox. All my bookmarks are on firefox and i know how to use it so i want to be able to use this browser. i have refreshed it a million times and it doesnt help. i dont know what plug ins i need to have and which ones i can delete or how to delete them. i shouldn't have to refresh my browser and have to re-install my extensions every single day so there must be another fix for this problem. what plug ins do you need to do those things? should they be on always activate or on ask to activate? when i am on facebook and twitter it has never, ever asked me to allow plug ins so how do i ensure they will work on these sites properly? is there anyway i can contact anyone to get some real help?

All Replies (2)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Sorry to hear about the video problems. A couple preliminary questions:

  • Did using Refresh ever make any difference? I assume if you did it every day it must have had some short term benefit. Was there a pattern, for example, videos worked until you exited and restarted Firefox, or any other pattern?
  • YouTube is primarily using the HTML5 video player for Firefox users, so it is mostly not affected by Flash issues.

Reducing Your Plugin Load

The Flash plugin is set to "Always Activate" by default, so you should not need to activate it. However, you still would usually see the plugin notification icon (looks like a Lego block) toward the left end of the address bar. That icon does not appear for you on Facebook?

Does it make any difference if you disable the less important plugins? You can make the switch on the Add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. Then try setting everything except Shockwave Flash, QuickTime and Silverlight to "Never Activate" to completely disable it.

Sometimes this takes effect immediately, while other times, you need to exit and start Firefox up again, or at least test in a new window (Ctrl+n).

Flash Troubleshooting

Next, try disabling the Flash plugin's protected mode feature. It has security benefits, but seems to have compatibility issues on some systems. There is a hidden setting for this to try it out:

(A) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(B) In the search box above the list, type or paste flash and pause while the list is filtered

(C) Double-click the dom.ipc.plugins.flash.disable-protected-mode preference to switch its value from false to true.

This might not take effect until all Flash has been unloaded for a few minutes, or you close Firefox.

Any improvement?

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Another thing to consider is a:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(1) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 38.0.1 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(2) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(3) Rename the program folder --

(64-bit Windows folder names) 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to 

C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

(32-bit Windows folder names) 

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

to 

C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(4) Run the installer you downloaded in #1. It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Does a cleanly reinstalled Firefox work better on Facebook and Twitter??

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that OldFirefox folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

  • \OldFirefox\Plugins
  • \OldFirefox\browser\plugins