Firefox 3 Crashes w/ Tekzilla #88

[mic]

Just played today's May 19th "Tekzilla Daily Tip - Episode 356" (which, BTW, doesn't show up when you select all episodes) and it plays without crashing Firefox. Yet, when I select the weekly, episode 88, Firefox crashes.

Why is this happening? Is the weekly and daily shows encoded by two different people and they are using different settings? What could be causing one to work and the other to crash Firefox? It doesn't make any sense.

[rylab]

Can you provide a list of all the Firefox plugins you have installed, and which (if not all) are active when this happens?

[mic]

Can you provide a list of all the Firefox plugins you have installed, and which (if not all) are active when this happens?

Here is the output from InfoLister:

Last updated: Fri, 22 May 2009 10:39:26 GMT

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.10) Gecko/2009042316 Firefox/3.0.10

*** Extensions (enabled: 19, disabled: 0; total: 19)
Adblock Plus 1.0.2
CacheViewer 0.5b4
ChromEdit Plus 2.7.2
Download Statusbar 0.9.6.5
Findbar Basics 1.5.4
FlashGot 1.1.8.7
Go Parent Folder 1.9
Highlighter 0.1.4
Image Zoom 0.3.1
InfoLister 0.10
Java Console 6.0.11
Move Media Player 1.0.0.071101000055
NoScript 1.9.2.8
NoUn Buttons 1.1.2
Nuke Anything Enhanced 0.68.2
Plain Text to Link 1.5.20080618
Print Preview 0.7.1.4
Show Parent Folder 1.5
Tab Mix Plus 0.3.7.3

*** Themes (2)
Default
Mostly Crystal [selected]

*** Plugins
Adobe Acrobat
Java(TM) Platform SE 6 U11
Microsoft® DRM
Microsoft® Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin
Move Media Player
Mozilla Default Plug-in
QuickTime Plug-in 7.2
RealJukebox NS Plugin
RealPlayer Version Plugin
RealPlayer(tm) G2 LiveConnect-Enabled Plug-In (32-bit)
Shockwave Flash
Shockwave for Director
VLC Multimedia Plug-in
Windows Genuine Advantage
Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library

****

I don't think it's a extension issue. The reason I believe this to be the case is that the last time I checked, Tekzilla dailies played without issue, with no change of any setting in Firefox or it's associated add-ons. But, I would not rule it out.

I can't provide a snapshot, so I will describe what I see just before the crash.

After clicking on the link for the page, the entire page builds. The Flash player loads and I see the sets of green horizontal balls moving back and forth on a black video screen.

After a few moments the moving green balls are replaced with what I think is the light green Rev3 backdrop. As soon as the light green backdrop appears, Firefox crashes and the Firefox crash reporter appears in it's place.

Thank you so much for the reply.


Update: As of a few minutes ago, I tried Tekzilla Episode 89. This episode also crashed, but instead of the Firefox crash reporter appearing, a regular crash dialog appeared. I checked the Events log and it pointed to npswf32.dll with the following:

Faulting application firefox.exe, version 1.9.0.3399, faulting module npswf32.dll, version 10.0.22.87, fault address 0x00136425.

After a restart I tried playing episode 89 again, but this time the Firefox crash reporter once again appeared. So maybe npswf32.dll was a fluke.

[mic]

Problem has not gone away.

[rylab]

I've not been able to reproduce this issue yet, in the same build of Firefox on either OS X or XP.

Another piece of info that would be helpful, is the exact version of your Flash player. The latest build (10.0.22.87) will very likely help, if you're not already running it.

Go here to download this latest build:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Make sure to completely quit all your web browsers before installing the flash plugin update.

If updating your Flash player doesn't help, unfortunately the only thing left to try is disabling your plugins one by one to determine which one is causing the problem.

[prime]

Hello,

I am having the exact same issue as described by mic. This issue has been occurring since the re-design of Rev3. I just haven't taken the time to mention it to anyone.

I have the latest version of flash installed (10.0.22.87).

Plugins installed are nothing special:

IE Tab plugin, Adobe Acrobat, Java loader plugin, Silverlight plugin, Win. Media Player plugin.

I am running XP PRO, SP3. No other programs are open at the time. I can replicate the crash over and over. I recently did my annual clean re-install of XP Pro, so machine is bug-free with fresh install of Firefox.

[rylab]

What version of IE?

[thing2]

I too have suffered hard crashing of my firefox browser since the site re-design. It's not everytime - but considering my Firefox only ever hard crashed once before since I've been using it (years now) it's gotta be something here.

I have flash 10 - Firefox 3.0.10
OS: Windows XP Pro. SP3

And run these extensions:
Adblock Plus 1.0.2
FireGestures 1.1.6.2

My Plugins are:
Foxit Reader
Itunes app detector (Disabled)
Microsoft DRM
QuickTime Plug-in 7.6
Shockwave Flash 10.0 r22
Windos Media Player Plug-in DLL

(Using the default theme)

It's not a big deal to me - if I kill the process and restart it typically works - but maybe this can help ya' track it down.

Oh and BTW I've had it crash when loading 'Digg Reel' and when loading 'ROFL'

[hckrmatrix]

I also am having problems with Firefox crashing every time I click on a video to watch. I'm running XP SP3.

[myketuna]

Same here. FF 3.0.10, XP SP 3. Crashes whenever I go to an episode's flash player page *to download it* Seems to only happen the first time though. If I restart and go again, it doesn't happen. However, I think I have more than one tab open before the restart.

[rylab]

Interesting... it looks like everyone with the problem is running SP3? I believe our test windows box is still running SP2... let me look into upgrading that and test some more.

Also for those of you running slightly old versions of the flash plugin, you should upgrade to the latest build-- even if it doesn't fix the crashing issue (which it might) i personally noticed an improvement in full screen playback performance with it, so it can't hurt to upgrade anyway.

[flawlessoddity]

I am on OS X Leopard 10.5.7 with the latest FF and Flash, and it's been crashing for me also.

Weird thing is, if I keep trying it will finally stop crashing and play the video. After 5 or 6 times of relaunching its like nothings wrong.

[ziuck]

I've been crashing on quit a few of the shows, but only the first time I go to the page that day. When I click on say, Tekzilla, the show starts to play the commercial then Firefox crashes.

I am running Windows 7 but everything else is pretty much the same as the others.

[radish]

My FF crashes as well, I'm running XP Prp SP3.

The site work's fine after restoring the session.

[mic]

It's not only SP3, I have SP2 and Firefox crashes. Although, I have now gone into my account manager and disabled autoplay. Now Firefox doesn't immediately crash when visiting the episode page, but if I hit the play button, it then crashes, as it did before. That rules out page load timing.

I don't seem to have the luck of letting it crash enough times to eventually get it to work. If that can even be considered a solution. No matter how many times Firefox crashes, the next time the Flash player attempts to play, Firefox will crash.

As to the version of Flash that is installed, as I mentioned earlier and as of a few minutes ago, I already have the latest version (v10.0.22.87) according to Adobe's own test page. So that's out.

As to disabling your plug-ins one by one, I disabled them all, and Firefox still crashed. So that's out, too.

I can also rule out any conflicts with Anti-Virus and/or Firewall software. Both have recently changed to different providers. Before doing so, I made absolutely sure all remnants (including Registry, orphaned directories and files) of the previous software were removed.

Like others have mentioned, it is only the Rev3 site and their particular use of Flash which causes Firefox to crash. In fact, all this time I didn't know Firefox had a 'Crash Reporter' until attempting to play an embedded Flash video from Rev3.

Whatever the problem is, it persists.

[mic]

Updated to 3.0.11 and Firefox still crashes when clicking the play button. This time with the latest Diggnation page.

Also, the disabling of auto-play should also prevent the file from continuing to download. It's currently sucking up 10 Mbps of both of our bandwidth for absolutely no good reason.

[prime]

What version of IE?

Not running IE. Running Firefox 3.0.11. Post stated one of my plugins was "View in IE tab." Just an add on, but not active at the time of crashes. Problem occurred again today. :( Not a huge deal, since I don't watch a ton of Rev3 shows, though.

[1bad]

I have firefox 3 and no addons and when I try watch shows on this new Revision3 it crashes my browser on windows XP Pro and Vista. Can someone please address this problem. I am about to switch to IE for rev3 viewing....

[mic]

Clearly it's a Rev3 problem, since the Rev3 site is the only site that crashes Firefox. It appears Rev3 is not concerned that their site does this.

[subigo]

I'm having the same issue and came here just to bitch about it. This has been happening for weeks... but on ANY video I try to watch. Always crashes during the first try and then works on the second.

Firefox 3.5
Windows 7
No plugins

/ps - It first started for me after they added the ads to the beginning of all the videos.

[subigo]

Dammit.

I'm here to report my weekly firefox crash. Seriously rev3, do something about this or I'm gonna start getting the shows elsewhere.

[riz]

We're not ignoring you - it's just harder to reproduce this problem than you might think, and problems that are hard to reproduce on demand are often even harder to fix.

That said, we'll have a new version of the player out this week. (Probably Friday, though possibly sooner than that) We don't know for certain that this new version will fix the crashing issue - but it might, and even if it doesn't, it will be useful data in trying to track down the problem.

Thanks for your patience.

[fastoy]

I'm having the same problem on both IE7 and FF 3.5. I did an uninstall of Flash, rebooted, re-uninstalled Flash, fresh install of current Flash and still crashes both browsers.

[fastoy]

Now it works in IE7 but still crashes FF 3.5. Did you update your Flash player?

[rylab]

Yes, a new version of our player went out last night. In addition to some cool new features (check the main site's blog for details) there's hope that it will fix the crashing.

It's extremely hard to reproduce the crashing from any of our systems here, but I haven't seen it happen in this version yet. Hopefully it's at least a step in the right direction.

Are you guys submitting Crash Reports for your browser when it crashes? This seems like something that might best be fixed internally in the flash plugin since it's so rare and random. If more people submit those, it would help get their attention that something's wrong with it, so it gets fixed in an upcoming flash plugin build.

[mic]

After upgrading to Firefox v3.5 and with Rev3's new version of their player, when attempting to play the latest Tekzilla for the first time, the results are the same.

Crash. :(

[fastoy]

FireFox 3.5 works for me this morning.

[mic]

It's working? Which Show? Which episode?

After reading your reply I opened Rev3 in a new tab and then went to Tekzilla episode 96 "Watch Now" page. After the paged loaded I clicked the play button over the still image of Robert Heron and Firefox went away, poof!

Filled out yet another Crash Reporter report. :(

According to the Adobe Flash Player (http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/) about page, Flash Player v10.0.22.87, the one that's been currently installed, is still the latest version. I've upgraded Firefox to v3.5 even though I knew it would break some add-ons. Speaking of which, at one point I disabled all the plug-ins. I've even changed security software (Anti-virus and Firewall).

I've watch Flash videos of different resolutions from all over the net without issue. All these years I didn't know Firefox had a Crash Reporter until I attempted to watch a Flash video from Rev3 a couple of months ago. I don't know what the problem is or how to fix it.

I've disabled the auto-play feature, so at least the page can load. Yet it continues to suck up bandwidth, for both of us, downloading a video that can't be played. That has to be one of the lamest disable auto-play options ever designed. Not only does it waste 14.61 Mbit of bandwidth, but when you reload the page, it does it all over again. :eek:

[subigo]

Your new player still crashes firefox. This isn't just a local problem... It crashes firefox on 3 desktops and 2 laptops in my house.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to re-create. I just set up a new PC last night and it crashed the first time I tried to play a video on rev3.

[mic]

Video at Rev3 site continues to crash Firefox after upgrading to v3.5.1.

[leeb]

Just wanted to add my name to the list. Same problem. FF crashes every time I try to play the video on HDNation. That's the only revision3 site I've visited in a while, but this crash was a total surprise.. Never seen this happen before.

Firefox 3.5.1
OS X 10.5.7 (Macbook)

[subigo]

Going on month three now...

Diggnation... play... crash. Guess I'll have to start loading up IE just for you, thanks a ton.

[frankiethewaffle]

Ok, I don't know why people take this personally. They are working on it.

That being said, I have had this problem too. On Vista and Win7 RC. I actually noticed after, and attributed it to new Firefox and the Rev3 update combined. Maybe, it just has to be synced again. Something is missing. I will wait.

I thought something like, they both upgraded at the same time, Rev3 have the auto view, plus all of the other tab changes and other things I don't get. FireFox was rebuilt to use fewer resources. Those two ideals may conflict, for now.

Plus, for as much info as I can give, it seems to only crash the first time. I sign in, (not literally, I click on my rev3 bookmark), go to the show page (all of them I watch), FF crashes. I click back on FF and it gives me the option to start where I left off. No crash. May be something there. I sill have to cut the auto play. I only watch some shows in the browser. The rest I download for the quality. That is personal. Stop asking! Uh, later.

[mic]

Updated Firefox to v3.5.2. Additionally, updated Flash from v10.0.22.87 to latest v10.0.32.18.

First tested updated v3.5.2 Firefox with old v10.0.22.87 Flash using current episode #99 of Tekzilla. Video would not play, green balls only.

Then tested updated v3.5.2 Firefox with latest v10.0.32.18 Flash using current episode #99 of Tekzilla. Now stupidly reports latest Flash as old, closed popup. Video would not play, green balls only.

[bigworm]

I use chrome for Revision3 video right now... Getting me by for now...

[rylab]

Mic, do you have the AdBlock Plus addon? We've discovered that their latest version causes lots of problems by blocking some of the JavaScript libraries our player requires. If you do have it, add an exception for revision3.com, and our player should work much better.

[mic]

Thanks for the suggestion. At one point I disabled all add-ons and the problem remained. Besides, I added in Adblock Plus "@@|http://revision3.com/|" probably a couple of years ago.

[rylab]

As far as I've been able to test, the latest version of Flash (10.0.32.18) seems to fix this crashing problem. I've not been able to reproduce the problem on any systems or browsers which have updated to that version.

Admittedly, it was extremely hard to reproduce this problem in the first place, so I can't be sure... but I've also not seen any new reports of the crashing since shortly after this Flash update was released. Everyone's working well now?

[mic]

Perhaps it's time to change the subject line to something more accurate. Something such as, ""Firefox 3 Crashes Only At Rev3"?

As far as I've been able to test, the latest version of Flash (10.0.32.18) seems to fix this crashing problem.

Not here, and I suspect not for everyone.

I've not been able to reproduce the problem on any systems or browsers which have updated to that version.

Admittedly, it was extremely hard to reproduce this problem in the first place, so I can't be sure...

Subigo suggested in their post that it is as easy to replicate as installing Windows. Have you tried that?

but I've also not seen any new reports of the crashing since shortly after this Flash update was released. Everyone's working well now?

No offense, but perhaps after nearly 4 months of waiting for Rev3 to fix a Rev3 only problem, some people have simply given up on Rev3. Maybe even started to question their ability to keep their own ship afloat. However, I find the ever increasing amount of page views interesting, maybe even a little surprising.

Within reason, I'm willing to try to help solve the Rev3 problem, but I need a little direction to help test.

[mic]

Just finished testing the new Firefox v3.5.3 against the Rev3 embedded videos on the site and it would appear at this time that the videos are no longer crashing Firefox. No other changes have been made, including using the same version and install of Flash, as well as all add-ons enabled.

Tested Tekzilla ep 105, Scam School ep 78 and Film Riot ep 16 in both High and HD mode, and all three played without crashing Firefox.

Now for the question, sure, there had to be a question. :)

What was the fix? Was it Rev3/BitGravity that made changes or was it the endless stream of Firefox Crash Reporter reports that were submitted or both?

Whatever it was, I hope it's permanent.