Inspiron 1545 Flash Crash Bug
Inspiron 1545 Flash Crash Bug
Aug 22I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 1545 which came with a 64bit edition of Windows 7 and a bunch of default software installed.
After playing around and getting use to the new laptop, I started to notice that nearly every flash file viewed in any browser caused serious lag and usually a total browser crash!
It took me a while to figure out what caused the problem, so I thought I’d post it here incase anyone else has had similar problems.
A few things I tried to fix the problem included…
- Updated the browser and plugins
- Updated Flash to the latest version
- Used various 32bit browsers (FireFox, IE, Chrome, Opera)
- Closed any unneeded applications
… But the problem persisted.
I knew it wasn’t Windows 7 causing the flash freeze as it was a clean install and I had uninstalled and disabled everything I could think of.
All the articles I had read simply suggested using a 32bit browser, which I had obviously tried… Several ways.
It was starting to get annoying as even small flash adverts found on nearly every website were causing a complete browser crash!
I finally decided to completely remove everything that wasn’t a default part of Windows 7 to work backwards to try and find out what was causing flash to hang.
My Dell Inspiron 1545 came with a years McAfee subscription, which I have never liked or used. After uninstalling the software I noticed some files and registry keys were left behind, so I searched for a complete McAfee removal tool.
The tool did its job and removed the clutter left by McAfee and after a reboot all seemed to work fine!
It’s worth repeating that this flash error seemed to make FireFox, Chrome, IE (32 bit and 64 bit) and Opera all crash, hang or stop responding.
Fix Inspiron 1545 Flash Crashing Bug
The helpfull morons at McAfee have included a tool to help remove the crap they leave behind, a video test / tutorial and step-by-step instructions for the mentally challenged.
Just ignore step3!
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507
Download the tool provided in the article above called “MCPR.exe“.
Close any open applications then run the tool.
Restart your laptop and your done.
You should no longer have problems while viewing flash video or playing flash games!
I recommend using ESET’s Nod32 Smart security. It’s a far superior product using less system resources, is more secure, has more granular controls, better program to firewall associations and a lot more… No I don’t get any kickbacks from ESET, it’s just the best AV / Firewall I’ve used
On a side note:
In 2003 AMD introduced the very first 64 bit processors (Opteron and Athlon 64).
It’s now been 7 years and Adobe are still “developing” Flash to work on, let alone utilize, 64 bit Operating Systems which are now as standard with most new computers…
WTF Adobe?!
Do you want Flash to be more hated than it is now?
Have you planned for HTML 5 to kick your ass?
7 years to develop a work around seems a little long to me.