Many users of the Google Chrome web browser report problems with the Adobe Flash Player plugin – the problem has continued from Chrome 10 through to the current Chrome 19.
UPDATED 18th May 2012 – updated example picture and text to include the experimental PepperFlash plugin.
What Is The Problem?
When trying to browse a Flash-based website e.g. Facebook games, YouTube or use tools like Google Mail (which also rely on Flash), the Flash plugin crashes with a message saying: “The following plugin has crashed: Shockwave Flash“.
What Does That Mean?
Ignore the reference to Shockwave – the error message ‘the following plugin has crashed: Shockwave Flash’ means that the Adobe Flash Player plugin has crashed – it has nothing to do with Adobe Shockwave Player which is a separate program.
What Causes The Crashes?
As I noted recently in updating Adobe Flash, Google Chrome already includes an integrated version of Flash Player which is automatically updated by Chrome – there is normally no need to download the standalone version of Flash Player which is intended for non-IE users (primarily Firefox).
However, if Firefox or a similar web browser is (or has ever been) installed on your computer, then you have likely also installed the standalone version of Flash for Firefox and other web browsers – and this would include Chrome.
Therefore Chrome tries to use two versions of Flash Player – its own version built into Chrome and the standalone Adobe version you installed for Firefox/others. Having both versions active often causes ‘the following plugin has crashed: Shockwave Flash’ error message because they may conflict with each other.
Note: just to make things slightly more confusing, Chrome 19 also reintroduced the experimental PepperFlash plugin – this is still under testing and should be left disabled.
How To Fix It
- Open Chrome
- Type about:plugins into the website address bar at the top and press the ENTER key to display Chrome’s Plugins page
- Look down the list of Plugins for ‘Flash’ – if it says ‘Flash (3 files)’ you do have both versions of Flash installed (and PepperFlash) – this may cause Chrome to crash when accessing Flash-based websites
- Click on the ‘+ Details’ link at the top right of the Plugins page to expand the list of all Plugins
- Scroll down the list to find the Flash plugins – you should now see the full details of the Flash plugins which may display three versions of Flash as in the example below:
Flash Plugins (including the disabled Pepperflash)
- Look at the ‘Location:’ of each version – the integrated Chrome version is in (…Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application etc) and the standalone Adobe (formerly Macromedia) version is in the …Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash etc directory.
- Click on ‘Disable’ just under the Location of the Chrome version to disable it (and it will become greyed out)
- Ensure that the standalone Adobe version is enabled – if it is disabled (greyed out) click the ‘Enable’ link just under its Location to enable it) then close the Plugins tab
- Download and save to your computer the latest Adobe standalone version of Flash from Filehippo here (this is the non-IE version)
- Close Chrome and then install the newest standalone version of Flash you just downloaded. The recent Flash 11.2 version offers the option of automatic silent updates – recommended to keep it up to date automatically in future (see here for details)
- Finally, start Chrome and visit the Adobe Flash Player test page to check that Flash is now properly installed and working ok
Tip: From version 11.2, Flash offers automatic updating so it can update itself on a regular basis – however, it is still worth installing Filehippo’s Update Checker to automatically check for new updates as it can check for updates to many other common free programs e.g. Adobe Reader, QuickTime etc.
Other Tips – Updated 18th May 2012
From readers’ comments, the above fix has worked for most but there are many different reasons for Flash crashing in Chrome so, if it doesn’t work for you, here are some further tips that may help:
1. If you only have 1 Flash plugin (or 2, including the disabled Pepperflash) it must be the integrated Chrome one. Download the latest Adobe non-IE standalone version of Flash from Filehippo here then close Chrome and install that downloaded Flash program. Then just follow the steps in the ‘How To Fix It’ section above – effectively you will be switching off Chrome’s Flash and utilizing Adobe’s Flash instead – hopefully that will resolve the problem.
2. Try the ‘How To Fix It’ steps again but the other way round i.e. this time Enable the integrated Chrome Flash and Disable the Adobe standalone version – then test to see if Flash no longer crashes.
3. See if Flash works ok in Incognito mode (click the Wrench/spanner in menu bar and choose ‘New Incognito Window’ to start Incognito Mode). Incognito mode disables all Chrome Extensions – if Flash now works without crashing then one of your Extensions must be causing the problem so, once back in normal Chrome mode, disable your extensions one at a time and test Flash until it stops crashing. The last extension disabled is the one causing the problem – leave it disabled and enable the others again.
4. Disable all Plugins except Flash. If Flash now works without crashing then one of your Plugins must be causing the problem – enable your Plugins one at a time and test Flash until it starts crashing again. The last Plugin enabled is the one causing the problem – disable it and enable the others again.
5. Update yours graphics card drivers (especially if they are old). Driver updates are often released to fix an issue with how Windows or individual programs work with a piece of hardware (e.g. graphics card) or to enable new features for it.
6. Disable Flash hardware acceleration to eliminate hardware or driver compatibility problems with Flash Player – untick ‘Enable Hardware Acceleration’ in the Flash Display panel. To view the Display panel, right click the picture (application image) during playback of a Flash video and, from the context menu, select ‘Settings’. The Display panel is the first panel (tab) shown at the bottom of the Settings window.
7. The nuclear option. Test Flash on another browser such as IE or Firefox – if it doesn’t crash there and all the above steps failed then your version of Chrome may be corrupt. The last resort is to uninstall Chrome and ensure you clear the browsing data during uninstall. Then, reinstall the latest stable version (currently Chrome 19) and the problem will hopefully be fixed. Remember to backup all your bookmarks/passwords etc BEFORE you uninstall – you could also sign into your Google account and sync settings for use later.
From comments received, the above fixes have worked for the majority of people. If you do still have problems with some sites (especially Facebook games), you may have to wait for a specific fix from Google. In the meantime you could use a different browser like Firefox or IE if necessary.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you.
The problem was the plug-ins. The plug-in that was screwing with flash with some Skype Toolbar or whatever.
The problem has since remedied itself, and I thank you for your help.
Thanks for the input and welcome to Techlogon!
Badly written/tested plugins and extensions are a common cause of this error – it wouldn’t surprise me if the Skype click-to-call plugin was responsible, it caused Firefox to crash a couple of months ago too…
So meaning that you disabled the MacroMedia version, and enabled the Chrome version? This crash has been getting so annoying recently
Everytime I try to close a youtube tab, My Chrome freezes >:(
In this case I believe uninstalling or disabling the Skype click to call extension cured the problem
I tested plug-ins and the extensions. Those werent the problem. And firefox works just fine with flash. Im now going to try the acceleration option.
Thank you! This was a recent problem and was driving me crazy. I tried the first step, didn’t work, but enabling only the Chrome version fixed the problem.
thank you a lot, it worked!
Glad it helped you. Welcome to TechLogon!
I think it worked. Followed the instructions last night and have had no crashes all day! Whooppeee!!! Thanks a million.
Thank you SO MUCH for taking care of this problem. It really helped me out
I love the detailed instructions on this page. Have a great day!
i like how precise and user friendly your directions are
thank youu.
Thank you SO much for this – really appreciate these clear and straightforward instructions. Problem solved
It is not working
More info needed. What version of Chrome? What steps have you tried? Does Flash work in Firefox? What about in IE? Have you tried ALL the tips above? Have you reinstalled Chrome?
Thank you so much. This has been bugging me for months and after a few simple steps my computer is trouble free. Thanks again!
You’re welcome Jenny, glad it helped and hope you enjoy the rest of the site.
i use google chrome and no other browser but this proplems is happening all the time i checked with what you have said above but both the version are google chrome so what should i do plz help only 1 went grey though
If you have 2 versions, 1 will be Google’s and 1 will be Adobe’s – try disabling the opposite one and retest.
You probably do have another browser installed e.g. Firefox or Safari which is why you have 2 versions – see if Flash works in those.
her is what the location says for both of them n the type i diable the first 1 as it says (out of process) so thought this would be a good one to disable but im still getting the shockwave flash proplems and it only happens when im playing games in facebook C:\Users\tonya\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\PepperFlash\11.1.31.203\pepflashplayer.dll
Type: PPAPI (out-of-process)
C:\Users\tonya\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\17.0.963.83\gcswf32.dll
Type: NPAPI
so which one should i disable or remove plz
Hi Tonya. PepperFlash is experimental so best leave it disabled. The second one is Chrome’s integrated Flash – leave it enabled or you won’t have any Flash at all. You could follow Step 1 in Other Tips above to try with Adobe’s standalone Flash instead.
There appear to be specific problems with some Facebook games – two Chrome updates in the last week claimed to fix crashes in games like Sims Social, Castleville etc but they don’t seem to have worked for everyone
Thank you so much for taking your time to address so many in-trouble people like me.
‘How To Fix It’ worked the mess out.
God bless you.
Use an alternate fix twice, and it works great. On mine the double Flash was not a problem. Turned out the secret to fixing the crash was this:
Chrome Options –> Under the Hood –> Plug ins –> Disable Individual Plugins
Ignore ‘Flash’, scroll down till you get to ‘Shockwave’ (yup listed seperately). You will probably see “Download Critical Security Update”. If you do then there’s your problem. Click on that, follow the standard steps and ta dah! no more crashes!
Strange, a separate Shockwave plugin would be for Adobe Shockwave Player which is NOT Flash Player (though it is also used by some games) – perhaps you were getting Shockwave crashes rather than Flash crashes so the update fixed it?
Most people having Flash crashes will not have Shockwave installed as well – it’s nowhere near as popular.
this fix did not work, I tried disabling chromes flash player and enabling the standalone player…still crashes.
then I tried disabling the standalone player and enabling chrome’s player…still crashes.
chrome is up to date
flash is up to date.
graphics drivers are up to date.
this problem only started a few days ago, the only way I can fix it is to reboot my computer when it happens…I’ve always had the problem with flash crashing but I used to be able to fix it by just refreshing the page or closing and reopening chrome but now it seems I can’t fix it until I reboot.
I also tried Theresa’s fix but I go into Chrome Options –> Under the Hood –> and there is no “plug ins” option
I think Theresa had a problem with Shockwave, not Flash.
The plugins options can be found in Under the Bonnet \ Privacy \ Content Settings \ Plugins but that is a bit long winded – just type about:plugins in the address bar to go straight to the plugin options
Hi there, I have followed this thread for ages and there have been some excellent suggestions which I appreciate. Unfortunately, none of them really worked for me and I continue to have freeze ups etc and mainly work through Firefox these days.
One thing that recently has helped a lot is that I disabled all my Google Labs. All of them set to 0. This really helped me with the freezing scenario.
Very disappointing that so many Google products seem to be so buggy now, it falls way below my expectations of them. And I liked some of those Labs functionality and miss them, but a guy needs his computer to work!
But maybe this trick that has helped me will help someone on this thread.
D
Hi there,
Just read about the option of disabling Google Chrome’s own version of Flash player. soon I tiped in “about:plugins”, I got a message that this website is unavailable……….error has occured…hmmm, what now?
I am using only Chrome because I thought it is faster when I am playing the Pioneer Trail game on Facebook. In the beginning it was fine, than the problems began which I am here now to get help with.I also have another problem occuring with IE (that’s why I came to chrome in the first place). One day I just couldn’t get into the game anymore, it says update your Flash Player (which i did) but it doesn’t help the problem stays???? Really confused now what is going on and how i can solve the problem also with IE
thanks for some ideas
Sylvia
Hi again,
I just like to say that i tried again and this time it worked and i did disable the Chrome version of Flash Player.
thank again for the Hot Tip.
Still the problem stand with IE, perhaps some ideas?
Sylvia
I did all the above, disable and all that, unstalled everything adobe and re-installed the latest versions, my attempt was to rid of any old conflicting versions, but still have problem don’t know what else there is to do and as Sylvia the issues are with Zynga games/PT I used FF and Chrome with the same results=crash
If particular Zynga games crash in IE and/or Firefox as well as Chrome, check that the FF/IE version of Flash is also up to date and that there are no older versions of Adobe Flash or Macromedia Flash still in your list of installed programs (if there are, uninstall them).
IE specifically – if you have IE9 on W7 64bit see if the problem occurs on the other version of IE (32bit or 64bit – opposite of what you have tried to date) – IE 64bit in particular is prone to error imho.
If you have done all that and Flash crashes in 2 browsers, it suggests that the game has a bug which needs fixing (most likely) – or there could be an issue with your graphics card/drivers (see notes 5 and 6). However, if other games run fine it is less likely to be a graphics issue and more likely a Zynga bug
I did have 2 versions running as you stated, so I disabled the Chrome one, and updated the stand alone version. I’m now getting more crashes than I had before.
Try from Step 2 onwards & see if u have the same problem on other web browsers or just Chrome
I can not thank you enough. It was an extremely frustrating few days, mostly because the advice I was being given wasn’t working…and I got here by a simple search that I now wish I had done days ago…Thank You Again
Thanks to Yolanda and Roy!!!!
Yes, it is possible a Bug which Zynga has to come clean with. About the Flsh Player in IE, it doesn’t work anymore on both Pc’s i have Desk and Laptop. I run Win7 on both but with 32 bit. I have the newest version of Flash on both, but it doesn’t work. Now, as funny as it is (or not actually) I had to enable the Flash on Chrom again so i can watch videos and other stuff as well.
So conclusion on my part. I have to re-install my whole computer and stay away from zynga games LOL
Well, at least i know now what’s going on.
Sylvia
Thanks a lot. Almost gave up on chrome and uninstalled it! Very helpful tip.