Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding error. Can the Mozilla team fix this for Firefox 34?

  • 11 replies
  • 12 have this problem
  • 24 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

Hello people, sometimes I would get the message "Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding". There is no way I can fix this. I have tried Google and they don't show tutorials on how to permanently fix this. What year is this? 2002? Not it's not. It's almost 2015. Can you please fix this for Firefox 34 or newer?

Hello people, sometimes I would get the message "Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding". There is no way I can fix this. I have tried Google and they don't show tutorials on how to permanently fix this. What year is this? 2002? Not it's not. It's almost 2015. Can you please fix this for Firefox 34 or newer?

All Replies (11)

more options

If you have problems with current Shockwave Flash plugin versions then check this:

  • see if there are updates for your graphics drive drivers

https://support.mozilla.org/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration

  • disable protected mode in the Flash plugin (Flash 11.3+ on Windows Vista and later)

https://forums.adobe.com/message/4468493#TemporaryWorkaround

  • disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/891337 See also:

more options

FredMcD, I can't even disable protected mode, my computer updated yesterday morning and I have hardware acceleration disabled. God I hate Fartwave Crash.

more options

Why can't you disable protected mode?

Start your Computer in safe mode. Then start Firefox.

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia

more options

FredMcD, I just want this piece of junk fixed.

more options

Shockwave Flash is an Adobe product - it's up to them to fix it. All we can do here at Mozilla Support is offer suggestions that have worked for us and other users.

Have you tried Adobe Support? https://forums.adobe.com/community/flashplayer

Mozilla is working an a project code named Shumway - http://mozilla.github.io/shumway/ - that will play SWF files and eliminate the for having the Flash Player installed for Firefox.

more options

the-edmeister, here is my report on the error: https://forums.adobe.com/message/6962585

more options

the-edmeister, I am on Firefox 34 and it still crashes.

more options

Did you disable smooth scrolling as mentioned here? https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1648411 Plus there's two places to disable hardware acceleration; in Flash abd in Firefox.

Also, Adobe has [once again] released a new version of Flash. Version 16.0.0.235 https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

more options

sabbath99 said

Hello people, sometimes I would get the message "Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding". There is no way I can fix this. I have tried Google and they don't show tutorials on how to permanently fix this. What year is this? 2002? Not it's not. It's almost 2015. Can you please fix this for Firefox 34 or newer?

Most people forget about the "Online Setting" you can do http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html

more options

sabbath99 said

Hello people, sometimes I would get the message "Shockwave Flash may be busy or it may have stopped responding". There is no way I can fix this. I have tried Google and they don't show tutorials on how to permanently fix this. What year is this? 2002? Not it's not. It's almost 2015. Can you please fix this for Firefox 34 or newer?

I'm now using Firefox 35 and it still crashes.

more options

In Firefox 35 and later you can toggle this pref to true on the about:config page to disable protected mode in the Shockwave Flash plugin:

  • dom.ipc.plugins.flash.disable-protected-mode = true

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

See: