'Adobe Flash plugin crashed'

[never/ever]

I'm running Firefox on XP and the eternal bane of my computer's existence is the long time before my browser kicks in when I start it up and the ages it takes to load pages at times. For periods on time Firefox is 'Not Responding', usually if I have two tabs open and one of them is Youtube-related. After several minutes the computer unfreezes but any page that uses Flash have the corresponding screens wiped out with the message 'The Adobe Flash Plug-In Has Crashed'
It looks to me like this program is clashing with one setting or another program on my system but what could it be? Any way I can stabilize this?

[JQW]

It's Flash. Crashing unexpectedly is its speciality, no matter what system you are running. It also has a tendency to consume vast amounts of memory.

Updating to the latest version of Flash will fix some problems, but won't eliminate all. I don't run Firefox as my primary browser, but I assume that there's several Flash blocking extensions available that will help to alleviate the problem.

[jude]

Agree with Paul, updating Flash is the first step. Updating Firefox is probably a good idea too. The current version is 13, so if you're anything behind that, you're effectively running outdated software.

Fx is a bit sluggish if it's trying to open page(s) that demand a large amount of memory. Flash does just this. As Paul suggests, you can block Flash, but that would mean compromising the functionality of a lot of websites (YouTube, embedded videos on here, etc.).

How old is your PC? How much memory does it have? This could be an indication that your PC is starting to slow down and it might be worth taking measures such as uninstalling some programs, upgrading its memory, or maybe even buying a new one. I'm not saying it definitely IS, but it could be an early warning.

[never/ever]

How old is your PC? How much memory does it have? This could be an indication that your PC is starting to slow down and it might be worth taking measures such as uninstalling some programs, upgrading its memory, or maybe even buying a new one. I'm not saying it definitely IS, but it could be an early warning.

I fear that this is the crux of the problem- my mainframe is about 8 or 9 years old and even though I've been taking good care of it and don't have too many programs running on it, it has developed these issues in the last year or so.

I have the latest Firefox and Flash-updates so it looks like I may have to get a new processor.

Thanks!

[jude]

8 or 9 years before getting to this stage is pretty good.

You might want to look into more memory before looking at upgrading your processor. Unless you've got a ridiculously slow processor and a large amount of memory, it'll probably be your RAM that's the limiting factor.

If you go to Crucial's website (http://www.crucial.com/) has a scanner that determines the number of RAM slots you have, and what's installed in them. It also provides options (and prices) for memory upgrades. So, for example, if you have 4 memory slots, each of which can hold a 1GB module, and you only have 2x 512MB modules installed, it will tell you. Worth a look.

[never/ever]

I've got 3 memory slots with only one using 512 MB, the other two are empty. I could upgrade to 1GB according to the scan. Sounds like an efficient plan to start with! Thanks Jude!

[jude]

No worries, hope it helps.

I did, IIRC, exactly the same thing (right down to upgrading from 512MB to 1.5GB) on an ageing PC a few years ago. The results were immediate and impressive. Be aware that the performance will deteriorate again, but this should hopefully prolong your PCs life.