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Why do certain map pages no longer work after upgrade 55.0.3?

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  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I often visit http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoOttawa/ which provides an interactive map using Flash Player. Since upgrading to Firefox 55.0.3, I have the following problem: The interactive page works fine as long as I stay on it, but if I go to a different tab and return, the page has gone completely static. No controls work, no zoom pan or anything. I can right click to open Flash Player Settings, and the normal window for that opens - but it does not respond, and will not close. I can restore function by reloading the page, but of course I lose the previous location, zoom, etc. It does not seem that Flash Player has crashed - it just seems to have lost connection to that tab until I reload the page. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Flash Player to no avail.

I often visit http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoOttawa/ which provides an interactive map using Flash Player. Since upgrading to Firefox 55.0.3, I have the following problem: The interactive page works fine as long as I stay on it, but if I go to a different tab and return, the page has gone completely static. No controls work, no zoom pan or anything. I can right click to open Flash Player Settings, and the normal window for that opens - but it does not respond, and will not close. I can restore function by reloading the page, but of course I lose the previous location, zoom, etc. It does not seem that Flash Player has crashed - it just seems to have lost connection to that tab until I reload the page. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Flash Player to no avail.

Chosen solution

OK, my problem is fixed. I was about to install the v56beta version when I realized it was 64 bit, and for some reason I was still running the 32-bit version of Firefox on my 64-bit system. So instead of installing the beta, I found and followed the instructions for upgrading to 64-bit Firefox. That was easy. I now have 55.0.3 64-bit in place of my previous 55.0.3 32-bit, and the problem I was experiencing is resolved. So: either it the problem was associated with running 32-bit on a 64-bit system, or it was something corrected by reinstalling Firefox.

Thanks, Fred for the helpful advice.

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Some problems with Flash video playback can be resolved by disabling hardware acceleration in your Flash Player settings. (See this article for more information on using the Flash plugin in Firefox).

To disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player:

  1. Go to this Adobe Flash Player Help page.
  2. Right-click on the Flash Player logo on that page.
  3. Click on Settings in the context menu. The Adobe Flash Player Settings screen will open.
  4. Click on the icon at the bottom-left of the Adobe Flash Player Settings window to open the Display panel.

    The image "fpSettings1.PNG" does not exist.
  5. Remove the check mark from Enable hardware acceleration.
  6. Click Close to close the Adobe Flash Player Settings Window.
  7. Restart Firefox.

This Flash Player Help - Display Settings page has more information on Flash Player hardware acceleration, if you're interested.

Does this solve the problem? Let us know.


Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration in Firefox. Since this feature was added to Firefox it has gradually improved but there are still a few glitches.

You will need to restart Firefox for this to take effect so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.,) and then perform these steps:

In Firefox 54 and below:

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac, Linux).
  2. Select the Advanced panel and the General tab.
  3. Uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available.
  4. Close Firefox completely and then restart Firefox to see if the problem persists.

In Firefox 55 and above:

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu and select Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac, Linux).
  2. Select the General panel.
  3. Under Performance, uncheck Use recommended performance settings. Additional settings will be displayed.
    Fx55Performance-disableHWA
  4. Uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available.
  5. Close Firefox completely and then restart Firefox to see if the problem persists.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

If the problem is resolved, you should check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in these Knowledge base articles:

Thank you.

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Turning off hardware acceleration did not help. It never appears to be the case that Flash Player is misbehaving. It always functions perfectly. It is only on the interactive map page http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoOttawa/ that I have the problem. And again, it seems I lose all communication with Flash Player when I move to another Firefox tab (or window) and return. As long as I stay on the http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoOttawa/ tab, everything works perfectly, as it always has.

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Firefox v55 has been having problems with graphics drivers and protection programs.

Check out Firefox v56 beta, some of the issues with Intel drivers have been fixed. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/beta/all/

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I would gladly go back to my previous version of Firefox, but there seems to be no easy way to roll back an upgrade. If I go to v56 beta, can I go back? If so, how?

Modified by jkolk

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Install Older Version Of Firefox {web link} Be sure to read everything here.

If you still want to downgrade, look under; I still want to downgrade. Click the Directory of other versions and languages link. Look for the directory of the version that you want. But, remember that old versions may have security issues.

You should also check out Firefox; Extended Support Release {web link} ESR Notes System Requirements

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Chosen Solution

OK, my problem is fixed. I was about to install the v56beta version when I realized it was 64 bit, and for some reason I was still running the 32-bit version of Firefox on my 64-bit system. So instead of installing the beta, I found and followed the instructions for upgrading to 64-bit Firefox. That was easy. I now have 55.0.3 64-bit in place of my previous 55.0.3 32-bit, and the problem I was experiencing is resolved. So: either it the problem was associated with running 32-bit on a 64-bit system, or it was something corrected by reinstalling Firefox.

Thanks, Fred for the helpful advice.

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That was very good work. Well done.

32-bit should have no problem running on 64-bit systems.