Flash player can cause GDI resources depletion.

[Sfor]

I've been observing Windows 98 GDI resources to be depleted when diplaying certain web pages through a long time (several hours). But recently, I've found the www.onlygoodanimes.com portal is able to eat all the GDI resources in less than an hour.

Both Opera 9.2 and Firefox 2 were affected, so it looks like the flash player 9 contents is the source of the problem.

Apparently the direct cause on the www.onlygoodanimes.com portal is the flash chat window. So, the temporary fix is to block the chatango.com in the Opera. But, it will not fix the problem with other web pages.

Other solution is to close Opera or Firefox to free the GDI resources, before the system crashes for good.

I did not tested the problem with the Internet Explorer. The flash player code could be a bit different in this case.

[triger49]

I've been observing Windows 98 GDI resources to be depleted when diplaying certain web pages through a long time (several hours). But recently, I've found the www.onlygoodanimes.com portal is able to eat all the GDI resources in less than an hour.

Both Opera 9.2 and Firefox 2 were affected, so it looks like the flash player 9 contents is the source of the problem.

Apparently the direct cause on the www.onlygoodanimes.com portal is the flash chat window. So, the temporary fix is to block the chatango.com in the Opera. But, it will not fix the problem with other web pages.

Other solution is to close Opera or Firefox to free the GDI resources, before the system crashes for good.

I did not tested the problem with the Internet Explorer. The flash player code could be a bit different in this case.

Phew, glad it is not just my system....I can confirm it happens w/ IE 6.1.....Seamonkey 1.1.14 / 1.1.15...

In fact Seamonkey pops up a warning, that Flash xxx has performed and illegal operation...do a restart

Jake

[dencorso]

Which version of the flash player, Sfor, please?

[Drugwash]

Just use Nir Sofer's TurnFlash to disable that... thing (doesn't work in XP+). I hate Flash with a passion.

[Queue]

The version of Flash Player should have little bearing on the issue; it's poorly designed flash files that are the culprit. Chatango chat dealies are just a good example.

Queue

[Sfor]

Which version of the flash player, Sfor, please?

My Flash Player version is 9,0,115,0.

The version of Flash Player should have little bearing on the issue; it's poorly designed flash files that are the culprit. Chatango chat dealies are just a good example.

Queue

Well. It is true. Still, the Flash Player provides litle or none security in the resource management. So, the possibility of the GDI resource leak could be treated as a safety related bug.

[Sfor]

I've been researching the GDI related problems, lately. Apparently, Windows 2000/XP is not immune to the problem, as well. The difference is, each application in Windows 2000 does have it's own GDI resouce table. So, going over the limit brings just one application down (while in Windows 98 the whole system stability is at the stake).

[Fredledingue]

What about this?

GDI_PLUS:

http://www.mdgx.com/add.htm#GDI

* Microsoft Windows 98/98 SP1/98 SE/ME Graphics Device Interface+ (GDI+) 32-bit Graphics/Video Acceleration Runtime Library GDIPLUS.DLL 5.1.3102.1360 Redistributable:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms533798.aspx

Direct download [1 MB]:

http://www.mdgx.com/files/GDI_PLUS.EXE

[dencorso]

I've been researching the GDI related problems, lately. Apparently, Windows 2000/XP is not immune to the problem, as well. The difference is, each application in Windows 2000 does have it's own GDI resouce table. So, going over the limit brings just one application down (while in Windows 98 the whole system stability is at the stake).

Sure. It's simply not true that the Win NT family OSes are immune to resources issues. I said just about that, a few days ago, over at the 16bit heaps expander thread, post #38... I do believe that thread, as a whole, would interest you. Edited March 27, 2009 by dencorso

[Sfor]

Sure. It's simply not true that the Win NT family OSes are immune to resources issues. I said just about that, a few days ago, over at the 16bit heaps expander thread, post #38... I do believe that thread, as a whole, would interest you.

The thread you've mention was a significant part of my research.

I've just encountered another case of the resorce eating application. The problem is the manufacturer does not accept error reports with Windows 98 in them. So, I have to persuade them the Windows 2000 is affected, as well. I do not know of a system resources meter capable of measuring available user and GDI resources in Windows 2000. The only idea I have now is to repeat a faulty application function until it will display an error message. It will take many (20 or more) iterations, so AutoIt could be a nice help in such a task.

Edited March 28, 2009 by Sfor

[GrofLuigi]

I do not know of a system resources meter capable of measuring available user and GDI resources in Windows 2000.

Can this help?

GL

[fortcollins]

This report is consistent with my experience with Opera.

I often open many tabs con-currently in Opera and ran into random crashes. Also, Opera often doesn't respond to keyboard keying when playing flash video clips. It seemed like Flash was taking priority over keyboard interrupts. I tried flash blockers. They seemed to help the latter problem but not the random crashes.

Out of frustration, I tried running Opera with no Flash plugin at all. I removed npswf32.dll from the Opera plugins directory. That seems have helped both problems.

I always check opera:plugins to verify no swf plugin. I discovered that Opera once found another copy of the npswf32.dll on my system.

That solution creates a small problem if you want to watch a Youtube video: It doesn't work.

I wrote a Macro Express macro to toggle npswf32.dll in and out of the Opera plugin directory. If the file is there, the macro deletes it. If it is not there, the macro copies it there from a storage directory. If I actually need flash, I close Opera, run the macro, and restart Opera.

This is not an ideal solution. When I find a video I want to see I have to remember it to open it again when I start Opera with flash.

Flash problems have been a constant refrain at the Opera desktop site. <a href="http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=270145">What is it with Opera and Flash player that is so difficult ?</a> Answers haven't come out on the Opera site.

The GDI problem sounds like a significant part of the answer.

Complainers have been mostly XP and Vista users.

Win 98 users who aren't using Opera should get a copy and discover all its many bells and whistles. It continues to support 98. To keep that support going, it needs to hear from 98 users using it.

[LL028]

Win 98 users who aren't using Opera should get a copy and discover all its many bells and whistles. It continues to support 98. To keep that support going, it needs to hear from 98 users using it.

msimg32 dot dll is old or missing and needs to be extracted from Windows ME and re-installed (paraphrased the way I remember it) when I took your suggestion and downloaded to HD then closed, restarted and tried to install Opera. It did continue as I'm using Opera to send this message. I've been using SeaMonkey 1.1.15

Should AutoPatcher not have looked after this error ? I did defrag 2 days ago but am still using the same machine I wrote about on here recently.

Lorraine

Trenton, Ontario, Canada

[Ludwig Von Cookie Koopa]

Yes in fact I wrote about this earlier. Pages like Ebay ( in which I am on alot ) along with Youtube, Deviantart, and any other pages like these caused my Browser SeaMonkey to crash. I tried to give in and updating my flash but it just caused more problems. Basically consumer pages since the new Flash 8 ( I forget which version ) has been differnt coding.

Take for example how Java might be nammed java but the commands in java has been extended. Webpages like Ebay is not even considering the users of 9X at all anymore. I run the same pages on my Mac osx book, and a Windows XP machine and they work fine. These are problems that I have encounted.

Deviantart---uses a interface that barely can support my IE4 and causes Seamonkey to crash

Youtube----- was working but somewhere around Flash 8 release the video type was also changed as well.

Ebay----- They upgraded the website with many graphical features. However this is not the problem. The problem is THE GRAPHIC DESINGERS who designs the ADVERTISMENTS. Basically the advertisments caused my computer to crash and then eventually Ebay updating the website.

Somebody made a FLASH BLOCKER ( I forget ) plugin for Seamonkey and other browsers and that is what I have been using ever since.

I think I am so desperate to not see another Flash page I might instal Grease Monkey.

However the problem is mostly with Ebay. Where my computer starts to use ddhelp ( DirectX Helper ) just to load the pages. It gets so frustrating that I even lose the chance to snipe bids on ebay :realmad: .

I want a 3d party ebay browser just for ebay that shows images and the name of the search or something simpler.

Also I want Youtube to downgrade there flash video type. According to one of my Flash books it refers that Flash Eight introduced new securities, and it also changed the format of the movieclip that is loaded. I can't find the page now but

I do know that somewhere around that upgrade in eight is when this crap started to occur.

It is so bad it is like watching Max Head Room on my desktop. Make it stop somebody.

[reeko124]

Have you ever tried to use K-Meleon browser? Its based on Seamonkey's Gecko engine but its written different. I have an old computer and its the only browser that I can use that doesn't lock up. Firefox and the like are nice but they eat ram which just makes your problems 10x worse. K-Meleon's addons are more performanced based then anything else. Here are a few that you can get but there are a bunch:

Ad Block Plus

Policy Manager(awesome btw )

NoScript

GreaseMeleon

Flash Block

Also it has a Privacy Bar where you can turn off nearly everything that can be displayed on a page. Or hide the Privacy Bar and use the hotkeys to toggle that stuff off and on.

Reeko