TechNote (Archived)

Long delay launching Flash when internet connection is lost

Issue

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On very rare occasions, some users may experience a very long delay launching Macromedia Flash 8. The delay is long enough that it seems as if Flash has crashed. Given enough time, however, it will launch. One possible cause of this is a lost/broken internet connection.

Reason

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Flash is attempting to check for updated start page content at launch time. If your internet connection falters during launch, your machine still has a valid IP address (so Flash thinks your computer has a valid network connection) but Flash cannot find a valid path to the host site at Macromedia. This causes confusion in the startup process which takes time to resolve before launch can complete.

Ref. (133724)

Solution

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While rare, this problem can be avoided by disabling the Start Page:

1. Edit > Preferences
2. In the General category, choose anything other than "Show Start Page" in the On launch pop-up.

Watch the demonstration below for the steps to disable the Start Page.

Search Support

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