448985 - Flash invariably crashes browser, even when only embedded on page

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: File Handling, defect)

Description

[Bill Farnham]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1

This issues was present on previous versions Firefox, but is more pronounced on this latest version. ANY - yes any - website on which is an embedded Flash-using document or if flash is purposely chosen (such as on YouTube or any other video viewing page using Flash) the Firefox browser immediately crashes. The example I gave - like many others - that merely has Flash advertisements on the borders of the page crashes the browser. Many sites I navigate to or am linked to (such as newspaper websites) have flash somewhere on their page, and it crashes Firefox without fail. Every time. I much prefer Firefox to IE, but if I have to get the browser crashed whilel merely using the internet just because I happened to enter a page with Flash content, I will have to give it up. I have uninstalled Firefox and re-installed. I have done the same with Flash. I have updated - when prompted to - to make sure I have latest Flash versions running. I have seen discussion boards saying the only answer is to install some old version of Flash. That is unacceptable. Plus the fact is that when using old versions of Flash, browsing is interrupted by more prompts to upgrade Flash to latest version so it will work on that page. It is simply unacceptable to have browser that simply quits and crashes any time it opens a page on which resides a Flash call-up. When Flash works exactly right on IE (God help us) and everybody else's browser, and it won't work on Firefox, the problems is Firefox's, NOT Flash's. If you're making Firefox to help people use something other than IE - which is entirely laudable - you must, MUST fix it so it works with Flash reliably, every time, like Flash works with IE.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Go to any website with Flash. www.qrz.com, for example. 
2.
3.
Actual Results:  
I'm not doing it right now, because I don't want the browser to crash while I'm typing this bug report. I work in IT/IS as an application analyst for a university hospital. I'm used to dealing with workarounds, and I know repetitive issues when I see them. 

Expected Results:  
When I perform any step that takes the Firefox browser to a page that uses Flash whenever a browser lands on the page, the browser instantly and irretrievable crashes.

It should not crash. It should let the browser continue working and doing the job a reliable browser is supposed to so. I really want to continue supporting, using, and recommending Firefox as the superior browser. I can't do that if Firefox can't make a version that won't crash with Flash.

Comment 1

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

If you report a bug about a plugin then must include the used plugin version.
That it works in IE means nothing because IE is using an activeX flash plugin while all other browsers are using a NPAPI plugin. Type about:plugins and post the used flash version. 
Please don't start discussions here about users and problems etc. because this is bugzilla a tool for the developers, we don't give any support here and we fix only technical problems in Mozilla.org products.

Comment 2

[mhonline]

Adobe Flash 9.124 on www.bild.de crashes immidiatly
uninstall/disable the plugin will let run browser

seamonkey 1.1.10 on win2k

Martin

Comment 3

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

no response