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Still unsolvable Mac issue, tried everything

decksnap

decksnap

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 11, 2003
3,085
93
So - my parent's system still won't view flash videos- Hulu, NBC, CBS, etc. They play for a few seconds and then freeze. OS X 10.4.11 iMac Intel.

This is driving me more insane than any other Mac issue I can remember, because I only get over there so often and have left many times now without solving anything.

List of things I've tried:
•*Tested and problematic on multiple browsers
•*Updated all software through software update
•*Changed DNS settings to OpenDNS (and back again)
• Uninstalled and reinstalled Flash 9
• Uninstalled Flash 9 and installed Flash 10
• Repaired permissions, in multiple combos of uninstalling/reinstalling
• Tried another user account, same problems
• Plugged in another computer to same internet connection - flash video works fine.
•*Tested other (quicktime, etc) online vids, streaming keynotes - work fine.
•*Other large downloadable content works fine

UPDATED:
had some time over thanksgiving to give this another go- tried some more stuff:
•*Ran archive and install, did nothing
•*Am now just realizing that due to the intermittency of the problem, the 'plugged another system into the same connection and it worked fine' statement is anecdotal only.
•*Trashed all the network preferences, etc. and set the connection up from scratch
•*Spent a long time with the sloths at the ISP, said 'everything looks fine!'
• Blocked and unblocked port 1935
• Turned OS X firewall off completely
•*ran and passed the hardware test from Techtool? (I think that's what it was called)

Still no luck! Serenity now!
 
isn't that the latest Tiger version?

Also, anybody know how to reapply a software update?
 
Could you tell me what flash files you have in your internet plug-ins folder, and what version of flash you have?
 
decksnap said:
So - my parent's system still won't view flash videos- Hulu, NBC, CBS, etc. They play for a few seconds and then freeze. OS X 10.4.11 iMac Intel.

This is driving me more insane than any other Mac issue I can remember, because I only get over there so often and have left many times now without solving anything.

List of things I've tried:
•*Tested and problematic on multiple browsers
•*Updated all software through software update
•*Changed DNS settings to OpenDNS (and back again)
• Uninstalled and reinstalled Flash 9
• Uninstalled Flash 9 and installed Flash 10
....
Click to expand...
I don't have an Intel-based Mac handy, but Hulu.com works just fine on my PowerMac G5 running Flash 10 under MacOS X 10.4.11. Perhaps, you should try disabling Flash content in the QuickTime preferences pane.
 
Just a little update to say that I went ahead and did an archive and install on their system. I chose to 'preserve user settings' in this case. Hour and a half later, flash still doesn't work right. Next step will probably be 'archive and install' without preserving the settings, or should I go straight to the erase and install?

So sad, I sent them that link to the puppy cam that's been going around, and they thought it was just images that update every thirty seconds.

Edit: MisterMe - where is that setting? I don't have it.
 
Are their any entries in your console logs when this happens?

Might be worth having a look in there to see if any more information pops up.

Also worth checking out activity mointor when it happens to see which process exactly messes up.

Another thing to look at is if data is still being stream to the computer when the videos freeze.

Check to see if there are any router logs

You have done a lot of things I would've thought the problem would have come out in the mix.

It seems like it is coming down to getting rid of the user settings (although a new user account should cover most of the issues).

Have you done a hardware test?
 
ooh a customer! :p

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, We've run the hardware test. All systems go.

I am not so savvy reading log files to be honest. I could try to watch activity monitor next time I'm over there.

They don't user a router at all.


So... does anybody have an idiots guide to doing an erase and install and getting every stupid thing back to where it needs to be? (iPhoto albums, iTunes library files, bookmarks, etc. etc. etc.)
 
decksnap said:
They play for a few seconds and then freeze.
Click to expand...
Will they continue playing for a few more seconds, and then stop again, if you click play again? Or is there just no getting them to play beyond the initial few seconds? I've seen this sort of behavior before — with the Google Chrome beta on Vista on my Mac Pro. I didn't figure out what was wrong (my friends use Chrome with no problems with Flash video) and my "solution" was to keep using Firefox which I prefer anyway. This isn't any help to your problem though.

It does seem like with the effort put into fixing it so far, an Erase and Install would indeed be a good option.
 
Do you have any background tasks running that could cause an interuption? Is spotlight indexing at the time?

Generally problems of this sort are due to issues with the connection. Are you running ADSL, cable or some other form of internet access?
 
You could try resetting the PRAM and VRAM. Also, I would use DiskWarrior or Drive Genius 2 on your parents computer to de-frag the directory and make sure every file is where it should be.
 
The audio thing didn't work-

but here's a screengrab of activity monitor- the first while loading a trailer on Apple.com (quicktime I assume)

The second while loading a flash video from CBS.com

I'm at their house now if anybody has any other ideas!
 

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Possibly solved it??? If so, I feel very stupid. I turned off 'Block UDP traffic' under the advanced Firewall settings, and for the moment, I have flash video loading. Not sure if it is the solution though - I have seen it work intermittently before. Fingers crossed!

EDIT: hmmm... looks like stealth mode needs to be off as well for it to work. (for the moment) Strange.

EDIT again:... as I was leaving, it started acting up again. Don't think this was the solution, especially since looking at my own system now I've got both of those settings turned on.
 
decksnap said:
Possibly solved it??? If so, I feel very stupid. I turned off 'Block UDP traffic' under the advanced Firewall settings, and for the moment, I have flash video loading. Not sure if it is the solution though - I have seen it work intermittently before. Fingers crossed!

EDIT: hmmm... looks like stealth mode needs to be off as well for it to work. (for the moment) Strange.
Click to expand...

Stealth or any other "Blockers" can interfere with programs. Just have to weigh the cost of using them.
 
You guys are going to laugh at me but I finally made time to pick the machine up and haul it home with me to test on a different connection. Ta-daaah. Works completely fine. So, most everything I tried above was useless! The problem obviously lies between the ethernet cord and the ISP.

On to the next big question... the ISP continues to insist that there is nothing wrong with the connection. Any ideas how to get some satisfaction out of them? It's Metrocast.
 
Cromulent said:
Demand a duel with their chief executive.

If that does not work, try getting a little bit more information on the problem with trace routes etc etc and then sending them an e-mail with all the information you have collected proving it is their fault.
Click to expand...

I hope they're prepared for the glove slap. :)

Someone sent me a flash streaming tester link that showed actual bandwidth of flash streaming (typically port 1935) On the system in question the kbps is in the single and double digits. It's supposed to be in the thousands.
 
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