Flash 10.1 crashes Safari, how to remove and reinstall

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Flash 10.1 crashes Safari, how to remove and reinstall

11 August 2010 8,483 views 6 Comments

Earlier today Adobe updated Flash, which promises improved security and radically better video playback performance for newer Macs. However, for this user at least, installing the new version of this ubiquitous and almost equally despised plugin led to repeated hard crashes in Safari that required me to force quite the browser — hello, frustration and lost data.

Flash Player 10.1.82.76, in addition to patching three vulnerabilities described as critical, takes Flash hardware accelerated video playback out of beta and makes it mainstream. That said, H.264 acceleration is available only to owners of new and recent Macs, specifically:

• MacBooks shipped after January 21, 2009
• Mac Minis shipped after March 3, 2009
• MacBook Pros shipped after October 14, 2008
• iMacs which shipped after the first quarter of 2009

After installing Flash Player 10.1.82.76 on my 2007 iMac with ATI X1600 graphics running OS X 10.6.4, I experienced repeated hard crashes in Safari 5.0.1 that required me to force quit (Command + Option + Escape) the browser. Thankfully, Adobe offers a Flash uninstaller, which alleviated the immediate problem.

I re-installed the June golden master release of Flash 10.1 and that returned everything back to the insecure normal that is Flash.

Having troubles with Flash? If you’ve got a better workaround for Flash Player 10.1.82.76 crashing, leave us a note in the comments.

6 Comments »

zahadum said:

yep, safari on my ATI X1600 also crashes (plus: cant create new tabs or new windows).

adobe is the epitome of FAIL!

# 11 August 2010 at 1:21 pm

Terry Grosenheider said:

“If you’ve got a better workaround for Flash Player 10.1.82.76 crashing, leave us a note in the comments.”

ClickToFlash

# 11 August 2010 at 6:30 pm

Steve Chavez said:

I was having frequent crashes as well. I decided to reset Safari and it worked without a hitch.

-Steve

# 11 August 2010 at 10:09 pm

bbb said:

Wait a minute…
Adobe made their new version of flash so that it would actually crash Safari?!!
i’m shocked!; Shocked, I tell you!!

# 11 August 2010 at 10:20 pm

the rocr (author) said:

I might have thought of that, but Safari was locking up as soon as it started. Good tip for those experiencing less severe problems — thanks.

# 11 August 2010 at 10:25 pm

John Dowdell said:

You should expect to run as others do.

For troubleshooting, the best first step is an uninstall/reinstall sequence, to guarantee that any damaged bits are removed.

If this doesn’t change it, a concise troubleshooting guide is here:
http://blogs.adobe.com/jd/2010/02/troubleshooting_player_stabili.html

If it only occurs while watching video, then please check that your ATI X1600 drivers are up to date as well.

If this still doesn’t reveal the difference, then we’d like your help in identifying the cause, thanks:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/838/cpsid_83808.html#main_known%20issues
http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/

I’d strongly urge against running older versions… criminals do seek to exploit older software. You should expect to run as others do. The problem should be addressable.

jd/adobe

# 12 August 2010 at 2:16 pm