A few weeks ago, I installed the developer’s (debugger) version of Adobe’s Flash Player so that I could try out Flex. Since then, I’ve run into websites containing Flash errors. To a user that does not have the debug version of Adobe Flash Player, you won’t see the errors because many of the errors are from bits and pieces of what seems to be recycled code that is never used. Thus, not essential to what it does do. To this user, the Flash object will continue to play. It appears that these errors are more prominent in banner ads. (Actually, I haven’t found any Flash-only sites with problems.) This makes me wonder whether or not the banner ad companies care about the code. Perhaps they’ve weighed the errors against the average user running the non-debug version of Flash Player and have determined the errors to be inconsequential.

Even so, here’s a list of websites where I’ve encountered Broken Flash Flowers. Sometimes they’re on the front page, sometimes they’re not. I’ll continually add sites as I find them.

Last updated on 04/03/2010

• http://www.gonintendo.com
  • Error #2044: Unhandled IOErrorEvent:. text=Error #2035: URL Not Found.
  • Error #2044: Unhandled ioError:. text=Error #2032: Stream Error. URL: http://speed.pointroll.com/PointRoll/Media/Panels/Ford/669876/Knockout_300×250_banner.xml at offerTemplate_Knockout_fla::MainTimeline/frame1()
  • TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
    at mx.managers::FocusManager/activate()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\FocusManager.at mx.managers::SystemManager/activateForm()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:2493]at mx.managers::SystemManager/activate()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:2451]at mx.core::Application/initManagers()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\core\Application.as:1152]at mx.core::Application/initialize()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\core\Application.as:834]at AgeGate/initialize()[/Users/einnocen/1uptech/workspaces/HEAD-flash-builder/AgeGate/src/AgeGate.mxml:0]at mx.managers::SystemManager/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::childAdded()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:2127]at mx.managers::SystemManager/initializeTopLevelWindow()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:3396]at mx.managers::SystemManager/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::docFrameHandler()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:3219]at mx.managers::SystemManager/docFrameListener()[C:\autobuild\galaga\frameworks\projects\framework\src\mx\managers\SystemManager.as:3065]
• http://www.nytimes.com
  • VerifyError: Error #1033: Cpool entry 18 is wrong type.
  • ReferenceError: Error #1065: Variable mcBannerAd_2 is not defined.
  • ReferenceError: Error #1065: Variable MainTimeline is not defined.
• http://www.wired.com
  • Error: videoComponent.traceMessages.durationMetaDataMissing at com.doubleclick.studio.video::ProgressivePlayer/metaDataTimeoutCheck() at flash.utils::Timer/_timerDispatch() at flash.utils::Timer/tick()
• http://www.livemocha.com
  • Error #2044: Unhandled IOErrorEvent:. text=Error #2036: Load Never Completed.
• http://www.funnyordie.com
  • Error: Error #2101: The String passed to URLVariables.decode() must be a URL-encoded query string containing name/value pairs.
    at Error$/throwError()
    at flash.net::URLVariables/decode()
    at flash.net::URLVariables()
    at flash.net::URLLoader/onComplete()
• http://www.youtube.com
  • Error #2044: Unhandled IOErrorEvent:. text=Error #2036: Load Never Completed.
• http://www.capcom.com/monster/
  • SecurityError: Error #2122: Security sandbox violation: SoundMixer.computeSpectrum: http://www.capcom.com/monster/index.swf cannot access http://static.capcom.com/_site/www.capcom.com/monsterhunter/_flv/welcome.flv. A policy file is required, but the checkPolicyFile flag was not set when this media was loaded.
    at flash.media::SoundMixer$/computeSpectrum()
    at br.components.sound::Equalizer/update()
    at flash.utils::Timer/_timerDispatch()
    at flash.utils::Timer/tick()
  • SecurityError: Error #2122: Security sandbox violation: SoundMixer.computeSpectrum: http://www.capcom.com/monster/index.swf cannot access http://static.capcom.com/_site/www.capcom.com/monsterhunter/_flv/welcome.flv. A policy file is required, but the checkPolicyFile flag was not set when this media was loaded.
    at flash.media::SoundMixer$/computeSpectrum()
    at br.components.sound::Equalizer/update()
    at flash.utils::Timer/_timerDispatch()
    at flash.utils::Timer/tick()
• http://www.tvshack.net
  • Error #2044: Unhandled IOErrorEvent:. text=Error #2036: Load Never Completed.
• http://www.ign.com
  • TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference at com::loadFilePolite/completeHandler()

If you ever wonder how fast your Internet connection is, Cnet offers a good test. They also have a desktop widget to monitor your bandwidth.

Slow Internet connection speeds means that there is a lot of traffic going on in your network. If you’re experiencing slower-than-normal speeds, here are some things you should check.

1. Check any file-sharing programs. Some can be big bandwidth hogs without you knowing it. There is usually a setting in “Preferences” that you can set the upload and download limits. If you have no limits set, especially for uploading, then you have a problem. In some cases, you cannot change the settings (Opera’s built in torrent program) and will have to stop transfers.
2. Check for streaming music or video being played on your network. The more music and videos that are being streamed to computers on your network, the less bandwidth you will have, making for a slower connection.
3. How many programs are you running? This doesn’t directly affect bandwidth, but too many programs running- or even open- can cause your computer to operate at a seemingly slow pace.
4. Have you done a check for viruses or other malware? Some malicious programs are written to utilize your computer and network resources without you knowing. This can definitely have an affect on your Internet connection speeds. And, it’s always good to surf the Internet virus-free.

Note: This information requires you to edit your registry settings. Please take caution when doing this. Proceed at your own risk.

I spent the better part of my day fixing my sister’s computer problems. First it was a virus that disguised itself as an anti-virus solution with constant warnings of the laptop being at critical risk. Then, after successfully completing her installation of Norton Antivirus- which always came up at log in to remind her to finish it, but she didn’t- the Internet connection was killed. (Norton did it.) After disabling Norton, the Internet roads were open again.

From there, I was able to download Avira Antivir, PC Tools Spyware Doctor, and Ad-Aware to begin cleaning. Antivir did most of the cleaning, but after restarting the machine as instructed by the anti-virus program, the laptop would not let me log in. I logged in, and it would log me off. I tried again, and got the same result. Repeat a few more times and you get the picture. Microsoft has documented the problem, here.

Using another computer I searched for the problem and the solution was to get a live CD, preferably BartPE. After downloading an image and burning it to a CD, I was able to boot from the CD and go into the registry settings using ‘regedit’. Here are the instructions I used: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/peboot.htm

The link says to only change one key, but check to make sure that these two keys are correct. This will save you time if you have the annoying “Can’t find logon.exe” error message that pops up after you disinfect your computer. Navigate to the following keys and make sure that their values are as indicated below.

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell
Value: Explorer.exe

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\UserInit
Value: C:\Windows\System32\Userinit.exe

Restart your computer and log in as normal.

While researching this problem, I found a large number of forum threads and posts about it. The best post that contained the problem and solution was here. It provides an additional solution.

After that, I still had some cleaning to do. (First, I uninstalled Norton. I’ve had bad experiences with Norton.) In my experience, one anti-virus program doesn’t always find everything. The second anti-virus program I used was the Spyware Doctor. It was able to pick up some of the overlooked crumbs. To be on the safe side, I’ve installed Ad-Aware and will be running it now. When that’s done, we should be back to normal.

Or for me, on to the next computer-related problem. All of this started when I woke up this morning and was greeted outside my bedroom door with my sister saying, “Can you fix my iPhone? All my contacts are deleted. I tried hooking it up to my computer but my computer doesn’t recognize it…”

It’s never just one problem in the world of IT.

Has anyone noticed that the Google location signature sometimes returns an incorrect location? You know, the Google Labs item for Gmail that adds a short snippet indicating your current location in e-mails that you send out.

And this isn’t just the next city over… My errors have landed me in places I have never been to- but I would like to.

I guess I should thank them for the hint?

I’ve decided to start keeping track of where Google “sends me”.

November 26, 2009
Sent from Drechterland, North Holland, The Netherlands
Sent from Staten Island, New York, United States