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Firefox stalls during online video playback

dichorionic
dichorionic
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During the last 2-3 months Firefox has frequently stalled during video play. I cannot open any more tabs. If I close and try to re-open Firefox it will not do so. My only option is to reboot my PC. Sometimes, but not always the Adobe flash player crashes. I have used Firefox since its introduction and even used Netscape Navigator from when it was first created, but have not had any problems until recently. Any clues?

My 32 bit system has 3GB RAM and 2 GHz processor with Windows Vista and SP2

During the last 2-3 months Firefox has frequently stalled during video play. I cannot open any more tabs. If I close and try to re-open Firefox it will not do so. My only option is to reboot my PC. Sometimes, but not always the Adobe flash player crashes. I have used Firefox since its introduction and even used Netscape Navigator from when it was first created, but have not had any problems until recently. Any clues? My 32 bit system has 3GB RAM and 2 GHz processor with Windows Vista and SP2

All Replies (5)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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This is some standard guidance that addresses the most common issues with Flash in Firefox. I'm sure you've seen some of it before, but just in case:

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

(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 and higher)

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

There are cases in which Flash may hang due to a script error (if you wait for an interminably long period, you may get the dialog to stop or continue the script). I got this issue after a Windows update for some reason. #3 above solved that for me.

dichorionic
dichorionic Question owner
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Thank you. I had already disabled hardware graphics acceleration in Firefox and have since done so in Flash, but it hasn't resolved it (yet).

Thank you for the Adobe link.I had previously disabled the Realplayer add-on anyway. I will see if creating a new Firefox profile works. Otherwise I may still be in the dark.

mariewhitehead
mariewhitehead
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I have the same problem after following all the recommendations. The Youtube video stalls around 25 seconds in and after about 1-2 minutes may go on or not- very erratic. I don't have this with Netflix or Hulu Plus but do notice it with Vimeo videos also.

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Hi mariewhitehead, at some point Youtube started chopping up their videos into different pieces. This could explain why the problem is especially noticeable on Youtube. Have you tested in Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to bypass interference by extensions (and some custom settings). More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using

Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

In the dialog, click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset)

Any difference in how Youtube works?

mariewhitehead
mariewhitehead
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Yes it works fine in safe mode. I have tried to clean out any addons I don't really need which also has helped. Thanks