BleepingComputer.com: Troubles with flash

Specs:
Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop
Pentium 4 3.2 GHz
2 GB ram
Radeon Mobility 9700 128 MB GPU
Soundblaster Live! 24 bit external (USB) soundcard
External HDD (usb)
PCMCIA usb card
Firefox 3

I've been having trouble with flash player, whether it's youtube or any other content, bogging down my system and becoming jumpy. Process Explorer shows DPCs rising when I have a flash game or video open, using up 20-40% CPU. The problem is not limited to FF, as it happens in Opera and IE. I don't want to bias anyone's opinion, but google leads me to believe that I have a driver conflict. It feels (if I may use such a term) like an issue with the video card.

The system is a fresh install of SP2, which updated to SP3. This was not an issue before I had to reinstall. I have tried multiple drivers for the video card: Dell's proprietary drivers, Omega Drivers, and now ATI's driver via driver heaven's Mobility Modder.

I have used both wired and wireless connections, and both have the same trouble. I have also disabled the soundcard and tried, which I *think* resulted in moderate improvement, although not a solution.


As a side note, I attempted to update the video card bios using the exe supplied by Dell.com, but received the error "resources file missing." I have the "floppypack" bios updater, but no floppy drive to use it with, so if anyone has a way of trying that without a floppy drive please let me know.

<<I've been having trouble with flash player, whether it's youtube or any other content, bogging down my system and becoming jumpy. Process Explorer shows DPCs rising when I have a flash game or video open, using up 20-40% CPU.>>

I guess that...I wonder why you consider an active program using 40% of CPU cycles...a problem. Maybe I'm totally out of it, but I would think that normal.

Some programs on my systems use 99% of resources when used, which is OK with me.

I don't normally monitor such and my thinking may be out in left field, but I would consider it problematical if an unknown app was using 40% of my cycles, rather than a known program being used.

Maybe others have a better understanding of this...than I.

FWIW: You need to have the most current version of flash installed, for security purposes.

Louis

DPCs are tasks that the computer would be doing, which are deferred by a higher priority process (usually a driver according to google). So the DPCs are using 40% CPU besides what firefox is needing to run flash. The result is a very jumpy, unwatchable video, or unplayable game.

More info:
When I watch a video, the audio is usually smooth, while the video is unwatchable. When I close the window, the audio often continues for a few seconds occasionally as much as 7 or 8 seconds.

I'm trying to remember when it first started. I reinstalled Windows around the start of February I think. It was not an immediate issue, but started before I tried different video drivers. I'm beginning to suspect a windows update as I haven't done anything really major to the system since. (Although I added the external HDD and USB card, the issue persists when I remove the USB card, and it shouldn't be the HDD, should it???)

I just checked and my PC using around 50% CPU for the stuff that i have open. Not casuing any issues?

andrewww, on Jul 9 2009, 10:03 PM, said:

50% total is fine. I'm talking about a background service by itself taking up 40%, and the associated driver problems that such things imply. The amount of CPU usage is not the issue - it is a symptom of the problems with Flash.

BUMP?

Uninstall flash and reinstall with the latest version ;)

andrewww, on Jul 25 2009, 08:45 PM, said:

Sorry I didn't say before. I've done that. I've even gone back to version 9, and seen slight improvement, but I think only because flash 9 is less bloated that 10.