If you see the plug-in is unresponsive: Shockwave Flash, here's how to fix it
By Paul Monckton | PC Advisor | 11 August 14
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If you use Google Chrome you may have become used to the Shockwave Flash plugin crashing. Here, we show you how to fix the problem.
Google Chrome, unlike other browsers, has its own version of Adobe Flash Player built in. If you're also running another web browser that requires a downloaded version of Adobe Flash player to be installed, the two versions of the software are likely to be causing a conflict.
To check Google Chrome's configuration, type about:plugins into the address bar and press Enter. This will bring up a page of information about all the plug-ins currently configured within Google Chrome.
Look for any entries in the list such as Adobe Flash Player, or Shockwave Flash. If you can see two or more, you have more than one Flash plug-in installed.
At the top right of the plug-ins page you'll see ‘Details'. Click this link to reveal more information about each extension.
The filename of each plug-in will be listed next to Location. Look at this information, and you'll see that one is stored under [Your User Folder]AppData\Local\Google\Chrome. This is Chrome's integrated plug-in. The other will begin with ‘C:\Windows\..' . The path names vary depending on your version of Windows. If you're using Windows 8, for example the path for the integrated plug-in is something like C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\36.0.1985.125\PepperFlash\pepflashplayer.dll (the version number may be different).
If both these files offer a Disable link, both are active and likely to be the cause of your browser crashes.
You can now choose which player you want to retain, by clicking Disable on the other one. Chrome will now use whichever version is enabled on your PC.
If you decide to use the installable plug-in rather than the integrated one, it's advisable to make sure you have the latest version installed. Click here to get the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
If the crashing behaviour continues, try going back to about:plugins and selecting to use the other Flash player.
