If your copy of Google Chrome has taken on a sudden and inexplicable
hatred for Shockwave
Flash, we’re here to help. Read on as we show you how to tame Chrome and get it
to play
nice with Flash.
More so than other browsers, Google Chrome is particularly susceptible
to a specific but not uncommon situation in which it simply will not coexist
peacefully with Adobe Flash—frequent
slow downs and annoying crashes are common as a result. The following tutorial
will help you get Chrome back to its speedy
self.
What’s Causes The Issue?
The reason we’re talking about Chrome and not, say, Firefox is because
of the way Chrome handles Flash content. While other browsers call upon the
Flash installation of the host
system, Chrome includes an internal Flash installation. When everything goes
smoothly this
isn’t a problem—the internal Flash
installation is updated with every new Chrome release.
Unfortunately things can fall apart pretty easily if Chrome gets
confused and attempts to
utilize both the OS installation of Flash and the internal Chrome installation
of Flash. The
result is serious browser lag, temporary
lockup, and then a browser-wide crash of all active
Flash instances. You don’t realize how many
web sites use Flash until every single tab locks
up with a crash warning—”The following
plug-in has crashed: Shockwave Flash”
How Do I Know A Conflicting Flash
Installation Is Causing The Crashes?
First of all, despite the warning about Shockwave, the actual warning
has nothing to do with
Adobe Shockwave which is a separate program/multimedia system from Adobe Flash.
Second, while not every instance of flash flaking out in Chrome can be
attributes to a Flash install conflict, we’ve found it to be the most common
reason users are experiencing Flash-related problems.
How can you tell if a Flash conflict is the source of your trouble? Run
Chrome. In the address
bar, type about:plugins in the address bar. After you press enter you’ll be greeted with a
listof all the plug-ins installed in Chrome (this is different than user-installed
Extensions). Look down the list of plug-ins for the Flash entry. If the entry looks like flash (2 Files) there is a
very good chance the source of your
Flash-related crashes is a conflict between the two.
In the upper right hand corner of the browser window there is a small
toggle labelled
Click on that toggle to expand the entries for all the plug-ins. Return
to the entry
for Flash.
You should see something like the screenshot above: two entries for
Flash, one for the internal Chrome installation (highlighted in here) and one
for the host OS’s installation (seen below the highlighted entry).
You need to click on the Disable link for Chrome’s internal
installation of Flash (make sure you disable the one located in Chrome’s
AppData folder and not the separate stand-alone Flash installation). Once you
do so the entry for the internal installation should look like so:
Go ahead and close the tab and then close Google Chrome. Restart Chrome
and resume normal browsing—visit Adobe’s test page to ensure everything looks
good:
Remember, you’ll no longer be getting automatic updates with each Chrome
upgrade. Make sure to check for updates at Adobe’s Flash download page and/or turn on the
update check in your local installation of Adobe Flash.
If for whatever reason disabling the built-in Flash doesn’t help, we
suggest playing around with different combinations. Try turning off the OS
Flash installation instead of the built-in Flash installation for example.
Also, try visiting a flash-based web site while Incognito Mode (when you enter
Incognito Mode it turns off all your Extensions which may or may not be causing
issues with Flash). Finally, as a last ditch effort, you can reinstall Chrome
(if Flash works in every other browser but Chrome, this is likely the only
option you have left).
