This is some standard guidance that addresses the most common Flash issues. I'm sure you've seen some of it before, but just in case you want to get a little bit nerdier:

(1) Make sure all recorders/downloaders that interact with Flash media are as up-to-date as possible, or disable them.

(2) Disable hardware graphics acceleration in Firefox and in Flash

(A) In Firefox, un-check the box here and restart:

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > General > "Use hardware acceleration when available"

(B) In Flash, see this support article from Adobe: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/video-playback-issues.html#main_Solve_video_playback_issues

(3) Disable protected mode (Windows Vista/7/8)

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

Hi JSCHER2000, Not being a techie, I was able to do some of the items, including deleting the Flash files somewhere a few days ago. I've no way of telling which downloaders/recorders are attached to Flash, but I continue to look. Have reset, uninstalled, installed, changed time out, turned off accelerator in Firefox (or was it Flash). I see some improvement in that some Flash content plays. Most of the crashes take place in the sidebars now. Still important to note that both Firefox and Outlook overload in bytes consumed when I try to reload the page as the plug-in crash icon tells me to do. Still working on it. Thank you for the stuff thus far. Had to change hard drives on a newer computer by a tech. Problems began then.

Hi Willowseattle, when you mention sidebars, do they normally contain useful content or ads? If they contain ads, something else -- such as an add-on or external program -- might be filtering/blocking them.

I can't tell whether memory consumption is related to the Flash problems. Do you have a 4GB system? In that case, I don't think Firefox will be shy about using 400+ MB of memory.

Hi jscher2000, I kept at it looking for solutions to Flash crashes. By using a different Firefox response relating to Windows Defender and Security Essentials, I did at least five Firefox-recommended scans for viruses and Spyware (all different scan programs) which did speed up my computer but found nothing much more than cookies and one poss badie. Flash regularly crashes still more often in the sidebar than the main page. Yes, I have a 4 meg memory system (2 year-old laptop) running Win 7.

I've been told that the best thing left to try is to just back up all my files and reformat the HD. Tech friend will help me with that. If you've other ideas, let me know but I'm ready to just start over. Really appreciate your help and learned a lot along the way. Cheers, Will

Hi Will, when making the backup grab your entire Firefox profile folder. You might not end up restoring everything, but better to have it it than not to have it.

• Your active profile folder:
  Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button
• Backup tips: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles
• Recover tips: Recovering important data from an old profile

Meanwhile, on the crashes, if you want to post a few crash IDs for analysis, this article describes how to do that: Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly).