Here are some simple steps to fix Shockwave Flash crashes in Google Chrome. The problem occurs when browsing a Flash-based website e.g. Facebook games or YouTube – the Flash plugin crashes with a message saying: “The following plugin has crashed: Shockwave Flash“.
Ignore the reference to Shockwave – the error message means that the Flash Player plugin has crashed – it has nothing to do with Adobe’s Shockwave Player which is a separate program.
What Causes The Crashes? As noted previously 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 Adobe Flash Player which is intended for non-IE users.
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/Other web browsers – and this would include Chrome.
Updated Feb 2013 – Since the release of new features in Chrome 24, the ‘experimental’ PepperFlash plugin is now the default player for Flash content – there is no longer an integrated Chrome Flash Plugin.
Chrome may therefore have 1 or 2 versions of Flash Player installed – the new PepperFlash plugin and maybe the standalone Adobe version too. Having two versions enabled may cause the error message because they conflict with each other. Some users report audio and video problems with just the PepperFlash plugin too.
To fix the flash crashes, the aim is to disable all except one Flash plugin and retest. Follow these simple steps:
- Open Chrome and type about:plugins into the website address bar at the top then press the ENTER key to display Chrome’s Plugins page.
- Look down the list of Plugins for ‘Flash’ – if it says ‘Flash (2 files)’ you have Adobe and PepperFlash versions of Flash installed. If it says ‘Flash (1 file)’ you only have the default PepperFlash – both cases 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 up to two versions of Flash:
PepperFlash and Adobe Flash installed
- Look at the ‘Location:’ of each version – the PepperFlash version is in (…Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application etc) whilst the standalone Adobe (formerly Macromedia) version is in the …Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash etc directory.
If you have 1 version – PepperFlash:
- 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 this Adobe Flash you just downloaded. At the end of the installation it offers the option of ‘automatic updates’ – highly recommended to keep it up to date in future (see automatic silent updates for details).
- Open Chrome and go back to about:plugins – you should now have 2 plugins (PepperFlash and Adobe).
- Click on ‘Disable’ just under the Location of the PepperFlash version to disable it – it will become greyed out. Ensure that the Adobe version is enabled – if it is disabled (greyed out) click the ‘Enable’ link just under its Location to enable it. Now close the Plugins tab.
If you have 2 versions – PepperFlash and Adobe:
- Click on ‘Disable’ just under the Location of the PepperFlash version to disable it – it will become greyed out.
- Ensure that the Adobe version is enabled – if it is disabled (greyed out) click the ‘Enable’ link just under its Location to enable it. Now close the Plugins tab.
Final Steps
Visit the Adobe Flash Player test page to check that Flash is now properly installed and working ok.
Tip: From version 11.2 onwards, Adobe Flash offers automatic updating – however, it is still worth installing 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, Java etc.
Other Tips – Updated March 2013
From readers’ comments, the above fix has worked for most but there are many different reasons for Flash crashes in Chrome so, if it doesn’t work for you, here are some further tips that may help:
1. Try the ‘How To Fix It’ steps again but the other way round i.e. this time Enable the integrated PepperFlash and Disable the Adobe version – then test to see if Flash no longer crashes.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Test Flash on another browser such as IE or Firefox – if it crashes there too then skip to step 7. If it does not crash there, 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 24) 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.
If you do still have problems with Chrome, you may have to wait for a specific fix from Google or Adobe. In the meantime you could use the other browser (e.g. Firefox or IE) if necessary.
7. If the crashes are NOT just in Chrome – see our separate article Flash Crashes in ALL web browsers.
Do you have Radeon HD graphics? If yes, which model and driver version? 12.8 or 12.9 beta or older?
Display Adapter: AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
Driver Date: 9/29/2010
Driver version: 8.770.2.2000
When I select: Update Driver/Search automatically — results say I have the most up to date driver.
@Sandra, this article has helped the majority of our readers but, as you still have issues, you need more individual support – best way forward is to post in the official Chrome support forum so Google can investigate your specific Chrome logs.
If Google can’t fix it – consider the compatibility of using up to date generic AMD Catalyst Mobility drivers via AMD tool http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-64.aspx (note that generic drivers are not recommended for laptops so only try if you are prepared to troubleshoot and repair any problems)
Thank you so much! I only had one version of Flash Player. I’ve downloaded and installed the standalone version, disabled PepperFlash, and now everything is working fine.
THANK YOU! Spent hours trying to get rid of “static” sound while listening to YouTube videos w/ Chrome. Followed instructions on downloading latest Adobe standalone version of Flash, then disabling other and it finally sounded normal! Thank You…..
You’re welcome
Hopefully Google will fix the problematic Pepper plugin in the future
Thank you thank you thank you!! I have a “laptoposaurus” so I always attribute problems to the computer being so old…it’s so nice to actually be able to fix something!
Omg thank you.. -.- was so tired of hearing the static in my youtube videos I couldn’t believe it one day it just started doing that. Thanks honestly.. What’s a computer a without youtube or flash player right?
thank you! its a big help =)
Thanks alot! MUCH better so far LOL …It was driving me nutso and im half way there now ;O)
For me, Flash only crashes when I restart Chrome and it has to load up all the tabs I have open (and I always have a LOT of them). This started happening after I recently installed Flash “standalone” for use with Dreamweaver so when I went to disable Flash after reading this article, it made sense to me to enable only the Pepper version but that didn’t fix the issue. So I went back and disabled the Pepper version and enabled one of the 2 standalone versions (one was showing as installed in the Chrome directory and the other wasn’t; I enabled the one that was installed in the Chrome directory) and that fixed the issue. That’s interesting since if installed Flash standalone for use with Dreamweaver were the issue, going to the Pepper version should have been the answer. But I would have thought that I would have had Flash installed before the point at which I did it for Dreamweaver so maybe I did and it was the addition of that 3rd plugin, the one not installed in the Chrome directory, that got things out of whack. Who knows–all I know is that enabling only the non-Pepper Flash install in the Chrome directory is working for me! I’m still seeing Chrome give me page not responding issues as it starts up and that never happened before I installed Flash standalone but maybe it’s just that I have more tabs open now than I used to. If I just give it a little bit of time, it works its way through those issues and thereafter everything works properly so no big deal.
@Josh – glad you found a way around the problem.
Odd that you still appear to have the integrated plugin (gcswf32.dll) in Chrome directory as it was replaced by Pepper… My guess is Chrome doesn’t always update properly and has left it in for some people?
Maybe worth checking the version of it (should be 11.5 if up to date)
I have Chrome 23.0.127.95 m version of Google Chrome. Under the plug-ins, I only have the following plugin. My browser shows the plug-in error message every time I use it. I have tried every way I know to remedy the situation, but have not had any success yet. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Adobe Flash Player – Version: 11.5.31.2
Shockwave Flash 11.5 r31
Name: Shockwave Flash
Description: Shockwave Flash 11.5 r31
Version: 11.5.31.2
Location: C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\23.0.1271.95\PepperFlash\pepflashplayer.dll
Type: PPAPI (out-of-process)
Disable
MIME types:
MIME type Description File extensions
application/x-shockwave-flash Shockwave Flash.swf
application/futuresplash FutureSplash Player.spl
@Donald – did you follow the guide to install the Adobe version of Flash then disable Pepflash? Did it make any difference? Perhaps you could run Adobe’s own Flash uninstall utility to completely remove any remnants then install and enable the latest Adobe Flash.
You didn’t say if your problem is just Chrome or you have errors in IE etc too?
I did. And I don’t show a Pepflash on my computer. Or at least I cannot find it.
I don’t quite understand the uninstall and reinstall technique. Sorry. I will try to do that too.
I only use Chrome, so I am not sure if it happens on other browsers.
Thanks again.
I never would have thought it was an extension that was causing the issues! I got tired of having to open links in Incognito Mode to go on Yahoo or sometimes eBay. I synced my Google account on Chrome on my brother’s Windows computer so when he began installing all these extensions, they were downloaded on to my MacBook Pro. I left the more interesting ones enabled, but that obviously wasn’t a good a idea. The extension that was giving me a hard time is Linkification. Checking out the details of it in the Chrome store, it hasn’t been updated since May 2011. I found your article from this discussion here: http://goo.gl/888FO
Thank you again!
@Franklin – glad you got it sorted
Extensions certainly can cause problems if they are coded badly or, as you say, not updated.
Flash working only in Incognito is a great clue that an extension is to blame, just a matter of time to work out which one is bad