How to Fix Some Adobe Flash Problems when Running Firefox in Ubuntu

Adobe Flash has garnered a new history of problems running on Ubuntu 10.04.1 when used with the latest version of Firefox 3.6.7. User complaints have seen a rapid upswing on several Ubuntu users forums in recent weeks. Adobe Flash has also seen its share of problems on Apple's OSX operating system. It was so bad that Apple made a command decision and dropped Adobe Flash support for its iOS 4 release which runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPad products. Shortly after Apple released its iPad computing platform, Steve Jobs posted a letter outlining the reasons Apple no longer actively supports Adobe Flash. Now Apple is betting on Adobe Flash being dropped by most web developers in favor of HTML5.

Widespread use of HTML5 in web applications is a year or two down the road. It looks like Adobe Flash is here to stay for the time being, and it will be in use on websites for the foreseeable future. Linux users have always had difficulty integrating Adobe Flash plugins due to the lack of open source code from Adobe, and Adobe's lackluster support for its proprietary binary code.

Fixes for Adobe Flash in Ubuntu.
Nearly every Ubuntu user has a slightly different set up for their Firefox installation. There are thousands of plugins that are available that let Firefox become a much more powerful web browser. Some of these plugins and add-ons for Firefox may cause conflicts with Adobe Flash. If this is the case, then it may be a good idea to start out completely fresh by re-initializing your Firefox directory. This is a sledge hammer approach to fixing the problem, because reinitializing your Firefox installation in your home directory will clear any user information, such as history, bookmarks, toolbars, and plugins. The next time you run Firefox, it will behave just like a fresh and new install. Here are the commands for re-initializing your Firefox installation. Run these in the command terminal:

cd $HOME
rm -Rf .mozilla

Try Flash Aid with Ubuntu and Firefox
Another less destructive approach is to try to run Flash-Aid. Flash-aid is a Firefox plugin that will examine your current installation of Firefox for any conflicting Adobe Flash plugins. You may have an open source version plus the Adobe closed source version of the plugin, and this could be the cause of troubles with Adobe Flash staring when called upon by your Firefox browser.

To install Flash-Aid, go to the Mozilla Firefox Add-ons site and install Flash-Aid. You will be asked to restart Firefox. When Firefox starts back up, the Flash-Aid plugin will run and make a check of your computer. Once the check is completed, the plug-in will suggest a course of action for fixing Adobe Flash. A terminal will open and you will be prompted for running your administrator password. Flash-Aid will either install the plugin, or remove any conflicts and re-install the correct flash plugin for your browser.

Flash-Aid may not completely cure your Adobe Flash ills in your Firefox browser, but it may at least lead to fewer crashes.