Problems with video

[Abagadro]

I'm having a weird problem accessing video over the web. Even someplace like Youtube it will only download a portion of it. When it gets to that point it hangs up. At that point, not only can I not get it do complete the video, but I can't access anything on the web period. I have to reboot to be able to get back online. This seemed to have started when I went to Firefox 3. Is this a problem with FF3 or could it be a router issue that only affects video? A newer computer on my network is working just fine using IE7.

Help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope.

Edit by Trippy: fixed your title

[Engels]

Sounds like mebbe flash9 is giving you a fit. Can you install the latest, see if that fixes it? Also, FF has had a wierd tendency in the past to 'crash' but not really crash. if you pull up the task manager, its still actually running its process, trying to do darling firefox type things, but not being able to. I don't think that happens very often with ff3, but its worth checking. Finally, if it happens again, go to your 'run' window, type in 'cmd.exe', then type ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew and see if you can get back on the interbewb.

[Trippy]

Run Chrome These are the kinds of problems it's supposed to fix.

When your machine locks up can you CTRL-ALT-DEL and bring up the Task Manager? If not it sounds like your video drivers might need to be upgraded. Flash may be flaky (e.g. sometimes downgrading is better than upgrading Flash versions) but it shouldn't lock up the entire machine. That's more a device driver thing, a la your video drivers.

[Abagadro]

Thanks for the tips. I'll try some of that stuff.

Just to be more clear, my computer doesn't lock up when this happens, just the player of the video. I get that little circle of dots with the one running around it. If I close the browser, I can't get back connected to the net. I can open programs and the browser but get a "not found" screen for every site until I reboot. I've gone into task manager and ended FF, but that doesn't help when it locks up.

[Engels]

does it only happen with FF? You say it started with FF3, but have you used IE7 since then? It may be that your old flash from FF2 was used in FF3 and the port didn't go so well. Also, can you do a screenshot of the netstat command? That shows you what active connections you have going. if after you've crashed you still have http song and dance going on when you pull up your netstat entries (you can see which ones are http because they entries will have http appended at the end), something wonky is going on for realz.

[Ingmar]

I have a problem with Chrome that is sort of similar. Most Youtube or other video links stop playing/downloading after 2 seconds; they work fine in IE. That said it doesn't seem to infect my whole internet connection like yours does.

[Trippy]

Just to be more clear, my computer doesn't lock up when this happens, just the player of the video. I get that little circle of dots with the one running around it. If I close the browser, I can't get back connected to the net. I can open programs and the browser but get a "not found" screen for every site until I reboot. I've gone into task manager and ended FF, but that doesn't help when it locks up.

Hmm...okay that's very odd. Sounds more like a network problem then. I.e. the network issue (perhaps triggered by streaming data) is causing the data to stop flowing to Flash which freaks it out and locks up the browser but the network issue persists even after the browser is closed.

How are you connecting to the Internet? Cable/DSL/tin cups & wire? You using a "modem" or router? When your net connection dies, can you reboot your modem/router and have the connection return without rebooting your PC?

[Abagadro]

does it only happen with FF? You say it started with FF3, but have you used IE7 since then? It may be that your old flash from FF2 was used in FF3 and the port didn't go so well. Also, can you do a screenshot of the netstat command? That shows you what active connections you have going. if after you've crashed you still have http song and dance going on when you pull up your netstat entries (you can see which ones are http because they entries will have http appended at the end), something wonky is going on for realz.

Heh. I have no idea what you just said. How do I look at the netstat command?

How are you connecting to the Internet? Cable/DSL/tin cups & wire? You using a "modem" or router? When your net connection dies, can you reboot your modem/router and have the connection return without rebooting your PC?

Cable modem hooked up through a Lynksys wireless router (this is a direct connection though).  I haven't tried to reboot the modem/router because it's just easier to do the computer and often times my wife is on other computer which will still access the net even when mine is locked out so I a) don't want to boot her off and b) that seems to be an indicator that it is something within my PC.

[Trippy]

does it only happen with FF? You say it started with FF3, but have you used IE7 since then? It may be that your old flash from FF2 was used in FF3 and the port didn't go so well. Also, can you do a screenshot of the netstat command? That shows you what active connections you have going. if after you've crashed you still have http song and dance going on when you pull up your netstat entries (you can see which ones are http because they entries will have http appended at the end), something wonky is going on for realz.

Heh. I have no idea what you just said. How do I look at the netstat command?

Open up a command prompt window and type "netstat" (no quotes).

How are you connecting to the Internet? Cable/DSL/tin cups & wire? You using a "modem" or router? When your net connection dies, can you reboot your modem/router and have the connection return without rebooting your PC?

Cable modem hooked up through a Lynksys wireless router (this is a direct connection though).  I haven't tried to reboot the modem/router because it's just easier to do the computer and often times my wife is on other computer which will still access the net even when mine is locked out so I a) don't want to boot her off and b) that seems to be an indicator that it is something within my PC.

Reproduce the problem and then in a command prompt window type:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Then see if you can connect again to the Internet.

[Raguel]

weird;I have FF 3 and had problems with video up until 20 min ago. It looks like it's downloading the video, but would only play about 10 seconds of it, and even then no sound.  Seems to be working now tho.

[Engels]

erm, sorry. Ok. Here what:

after Flash clogs, you've closed FF3 and can't get any browser to launch at all, do this:

go to Start, then in the Run box type 'cmd.exe'

Then at the prompt, type netstat.

A listing of 'active connections' comes up. Its normal to see quite a few open ports. with the state as ESTABLISHED. Essentially, that simply means you have ports open and listening to remote services. Most of the time this is benign and you can ignore them.

HOWSOMEVER, if you have an active connection that has :http after it yet you are no longer running a browser, that's possibly at least the indication that some form of http process is not really shutting down, and probably preventing any other connection from opening up on http.

If that's the case, try, at the same command prompt, running the command ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew

Then check netstat again, and see if its gone. it should be. Launch FF3. It should launch if what I suspect was happening is happening.

EDIT: What Trippy said, but with more words.

[Abagadro]

Thx guys. I'll try to recreate it and do that and report back.

[Abagadro]

Here's how it went down.

Replicated the problem.

Closed the FF browser. Opened FF brower- "Address Not Found"

Open IE- "Address Not Found"

Opened Run box- typed ipconfig /release, got a pop-up that said "Local Area Connection has limited or no connectivity.  You might not be able to access the Internet or some network resources"

typed ipcongif /renew.  Box opened titled C:/Windows/system32/ipcongif.exe, blinking cursor but can't type anything. Closed it

tried to open both browsers, no dice

got to a command prompt and typed netstat

showed a couple established one at time with state of "time_wait"

rebooted both router and modem

tried to open browers, "address not found"

rebooted

can't get connected to interenet, says I can no network connection

went into available neworks and LAN is disabled, right click and enable, it thinks about it for a REALLY long time and now I can get back on net

ARG!

[Engels]

sounds nearly like it might be a hardware problem. Btw, you want to type in the ipconfig commands from a command window. So at start>run type cmd.exe, and that should bring up a command window, from which you should be able to type ipconfig /renew ipconfig /release and netstat without that funky behavior. However, right clicking on the LAN connection and doing 'disable' and then 'enable' basically does the same thing.

[Abagadro]

Ok, I replicated it again. Then just closed the browser, went into my network connections, disabled the LAN, enabled the LAN, and it connected. So now I have an easier fix.  Thanks for that.

Does that now give you any additional insight to the cause?

[Trippy]

Your computer hates you?

Try rebooting the router when your wife isn't downloading something instead of disabling/enabling the LAN and see if that does anything.

[Trippy]

You might want to get on Windows Update (use IE) and see if there are any new networking drivers in the Hardware section for your motherboard. Or you could do it the hard way and track down any updates on the MB vendor's site.

[Abagadro]

Hmm, I thought I was getting the Windows updates automatically but I apparently don't even have SP3 on here so it's a good thing I checked. Thanks.

EDIT: I also had a driver update for my Ethernet card, so that may have been it. We'll see.

[taolurker]

You have Spyware would be my diagnosis.

Run Combofix. I bet it finds a corruption or Spyware in Flash.

[LanTheWarder]

This is a problem that has something to do with Firefox, flash and Java.

It happens to me intermittently at work and home.

This thread at Mozilla talks about it, but last I checked there wasn't a "fix"
http://support.mozilla.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?forumId=1&comments_parentId=47141



Edit* After reading the whole thread you seem to be having issues beyond just the video freezing so just consider this more info.