Firefox / Flash / Win7.64-bit lag fix...

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Useless

Useless

Bravo
Jun 14, 2002
5,886
63
Scotland
I know it's unusual for me to actually post a solution, rather than a problem, but here goes.

For the last few days Firefox has been lagging enormously, and it turns out it's because of the latest Flash version it's using. Assuming you keep Firefox and its plugins up to date you are probably using Firefox 15 and Flash 11.4.402.278. You probably find that it lags hugely, particularly on Flash-heavy sites like Youtube.

Anyway, you need to rollback to an earlier Flash version and stop it from auto-updating. The version I found most stable was 11.2.202.235 - this is for Win7 64-bit only. Uninstall Flash (through Add / Remove Programs) and then install this version. When the installer asks you to keep Flash up to date choose not to.

You can also configure Flash updates manually. Look in:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg

Open it with Notepad and make sure all it contains is these lines:

AutoUpdateDisable=1
SilentAutoUpdateEnable=0
ProtectedMode=0

This all worked for me, Firefox is now far less laggy with no mouse or keyboard drag. Mozilla are 'working on the problem' so at least they're aware that this has affected lots of people.

Please, let me know if this works.
 
So this is the latest problem mym has helped you out with and now you're bragging to the rest of us on the forums? :hm:
 
I used to have a similar problem a year or so ago, didn't help that I had a bunch of addons in firefox.
Never had such problems with either chrome or opera, the ones I use now.
 
I had the exact same problem about two weeks ago. Tried reinstalling flash player, configuring browser interval settings etc etc. Eventually reinstalled Firefox and it helped me, not sure if they purposely pushed a different, earlier version of Firefox, because I didn't specifically have to downloaded an older version. Nice post though :D All I could find at the time were random year old posts :)
 
Ye BN I tried reinstalling Firefox 11 (on 15 atm) and about:config and all this stuff. The above solution isn't a dramatix fix but it at least makes it bearable. Hopefully Mozilla release a fully compatible version soon :crap:
 
Update to this.

Reverting to an old install of Flash helped but it wasn't a proper fix - lag was still there, just not quite as bad. One thing that might actually fix the problem entirely (or at least make it far better) would be this:

  1. Type about:config in Firefox address bar
  2. Accept any warning message
  3. C&P dom.ipc.plugins into the search bar
  4. If any of the shown values are set to true, double-click to set them to false
  5. Restart Firefox

This amounts to disabling Firefox's plugincontainer.exe, which usually runs as a task in Windows. So far it has removed all Flash lag effects for me in Firefox. Fingers crossed it stays working.
 
Geez, I just did a full format, installed Firefox, but got the same choppy youtubes now and again. Totally can make Firefox hang for maybe 10 seconds. Mostly has problems with embedded videos or multiple vids on the same page.

Tried your solution but it actually made some not play at all.

I don't get how 1 update can screw the whole usability. Even on a fresh install. Maybe time to switch to Chrome
 
It's not recommended to downgrade to lower flash versions, a lot of exploits are used on sites which need old flash versions. Always keep those things updated.
 
@ Bn - you can also try certain other things with Flash:

  • Downgrade to a lower version (v9 or v10 for example) - I know it might not be recommended but people have reported that this fixes the lag, plus you're already having major problems with the current version so it makes no sense not to try another solution. You can find old versions through old-apps.com (I think).
  • Disable hardware acceleration in Flash - richt-click on a Flash video, go to Settings, disable it there.
  • Disable hardware acceleration in Firefox - Tools > Options > Advanced > General, disable.
  • Set CPU affinity for Flash / Firefox / Plugin Container to 1 core, rather than 2.
  • Try installing Flash through Firefox, rather than by any other means. So, close Firefox, uninstall all Flash versions through Control Panel, open Firefox, let it install the very latest version of Flash (I am using the latest and my lag problem is now totally gone).
  • Avoid using two Flash-based apps at once (eg. Firefox + Steam).

If none of this helps let me know and I'll try to find out what else to look at.
 
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