After installing Chromecast, Firefox no longer does PDFs or Flash
Almost immediately after using Chromecast for the first time, I noticed that Firefox had lost some of its most important functions.
For instance, it no longer displays PDFs. When I click on a PDF, nothing happens for about two minutes. Then, a box appears, labeled “ENU” at the top. Inside the box it says “Adobe PDF Document” with a place to click “OK.” When I click on the OK, nothing happens.
With Flash, the Flash plug-in crashes anytime I try to use it in Firefox, for example, when I try to watch a PBS video online.
Also, there is a black bar at the upper right of the Firefox window where the Microsoft controls (minimize, resize, close) should be. Even rebooting the computer does not make them come back. When trying to minimize Firefox, I could be closing it instead.
I can't believe this is an accident. It's too much of a coincidence that Firefox's display and streaming capabilities stop working when a rival browser company's software is installed.
Is there a fix for this yet, or do I have to uninstall Chromecast?
Techlady
由 thetechlady 於 修改
被選擇的解決方法
Jscher,
Just to be sure I did check for updated graphics drivers (my computer is just 9 months old), but there were no updates. Perhaps the issue is Windows. I haven't tried it with my Android tablet yet, but Windows does a much broader range of functions than Android, which also makes for greater complexity. Still it seems fixed, but I haven't tried to watch anything again.
jscher2000 said
I haven't installed a Chromecast so I don't know what the installer might do to your system settings or graphics drivers. I also have no idea whether uninstalling will undo that. You might want to search around first and see if you can find more information.從原來的回覆中察看解決方案 👍 0
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Hi thetechlady, the blacked out buttons can indicate an incompatibility between Firefox and your graphics card/chipset driver software. The standard test/workaround is to disable Firefox's use of hardware acceleration. Here's how:
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced
On the "General" mini-tab, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available"
That takes effect the next time you exit and start Firefox up again.
Problems with Flash can have a wide range of causes. For Flash crashes, Firefox typically will record details about the crash that you can share with Mozilla and then forum volunteers can view that data if you provide us with the crash report IDs (or links). The last section of this article describes how to find those crash report IDs: Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly).
Hello, jscher,
I seems unlikely that, after a year of good performance, Firefox would suddenly have problems with hardware acceleration just after I install Chromecast. But I'll try your solution and reply.
Techlady
jscher2000 said
Hi thetechlady, the blacked out buttons can indicate an incompatibility between Firefox and your graphics card/chipset driver software. The standard test/workaround is to disable Firefox's use of hardware acceleration. Here's how: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced On the "General" mini-tab, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available" That takes effect the next time you exit and start Firefox up again.
Problems with Flash can have a wide range of causes. For Flash crashes, Firefox typically will record details about the crash that you can share with Mozilla and then forum volunteers can view that data if you provide us with the crash report IDs (or links). The last section of this article describes how to find those crash report IDs: Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly).
I did get one video and one PDF to open. But the question remains: How did Chromecast make Firefox suddenly incompatible with my graphics hardware after months of no problems? And, will I now have poorer performance on videos without the hardware acceleration? I'm still thinking of uninstalling Chromecast.
Techlady
On a side note, I see some crash reports that are related to crashes with the Shockwave Flash plugin: [01]: bp-e1c39271-e3d1-46f3-b063-3bd7d2141227 Dec 27, 2014 [02]: bp-b107dbb2-8bfc-4f95-a203-e21552141227 Dec 27, 2014 [03]: bp-216e5488-6187-4fbe-81b3-5021c2141226 Dec 26, 2014
You can check for problems with current Shockwave Flash plugin versions and try this:
- check for 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)
- disable hardware acceleration in the Flash plugin
See also:
I haven't installed a Chromecast so I don't know what the installer might do to your system settings or graphics drivers. I also have no idea whether uninstalling will undo that. You might want to search around first and see if you can find more information.
選擇的解決方法
Jscher,
Just to be sure I did check for updated graphics drivers (my computer is just 9 months old), but there were no updates. Perhaps the issue is Windows. I haven't tried it with my Android tablet yet, but Windows does a much broader range of functions than Android, which also makes for greater complexity. Still it seems fixed, but I haven't tried to watch anything again.
jscher2000 said
I haven't installed a Chromecast so I don't know what the installer might do to your system settings or graphics drivers. I also have no idea whether uninstalling will undo that. You might want to search around first and see if you can find more information.