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Adobe Flash Player Re-Install

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anaxcrosswords | 18:00 Tue 19th Jan 2016 | Technology
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Hoping to solve YouTube problems I downloaded and tried to install the latest AFP, but made the mistake of not first removing the old one and rebooting. When I tried the install I got the “Not responding and needs to close down” message.
I’m now nervous about removing/rebooting because if I get the same error I’ve got no AFP at all, and something is better than nothing!
Anyone aware of problems installing the latest AFP onto Win XP?
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i`m sure someone will correct me if I`m wrong but I think I read somewhere the latest flash isnt compatible with XP.
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Yikes. Very lucky I didn't uninstall the old one then!
Try d/l again from here, specifying your O/S and browser version required.
You should be able to install 'over the top' of your current installation.

https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/

Opt out of any additional items
Question Author
Thanks for the link - unfortunately, same result.
Try 'right click' on Installation file and choose 'Run as Administrator'
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By default ‘current user’ is checked. The alternative is ‘The following user’ but that lists myself (again) and ‘APNS Certificate’ (whatever that is).
But under ‘current user’ – and checked by default – is ‘Protect my computer…’, which mentions preventing viruses, but adds it may cause the program to function improperly. As my PC is standalone, should I try unchecking this option?
If you are still experiencing installation issues, as a temporary measure to use Adobe Flash Player support you could download and install the Google Chrome browser which has Adobe Flash Player support built-in. See:-

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/flash-player-google-chrome.html

You can download the Chrome web browser from the following link that includes support for XP, but note that that XP support will cease at some point:-

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95346?hl=en-GB
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Have got Chrome, pinky, but it's pitifully slow.
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Well, tried unchecking that box and it crashes anyway. Looks like no choice but an OS upgrade to Win10, which of course raises the question of whether or not my PC can handle it:
AMD Athlon 2600+, 512Mb DDR, but says it has an XP processor. Hope that's not a barrier.
There is no free upgrade path from XP to Windows 10.

S you will have to buy Windows 10, and on a PC that old that is a waste of money.

Suggest you buy yourself a newer PC.
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I'd lose nearly all of my software, VHG. Almost none of it is on disks.
Flash Player 20 IS compatible with Windows XP!!!

Go to your list of installed programs. Uninstall anything that refers to 'Adobe Flash'. RESTART YOUR COMPUTER. Go here: https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/
Set 'Operating system' to 'Windows 7/Vista/XP'
If you use Internet Explorer, select the ActiveX version.
If you use Firefox, select the NPAPI version.

If you're thinking of upgrading your computer, but you don't require anything with (for example) high-speed gaming or advanced video-editing facilities, consider a refurbished Windows 7 computer from here. (It's where I buy from):
http://www.accomputerwarehouse.com/products/computing/refurbished-computers
If you want to upgrade to Windows 10, you can then do so for free.
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Hi Chris
The problem is that error message. If I uninstall the AFP I’ve got – inefficient as it is – and get the same error when I try to install the new version, then I’ve got no AFP at all.
I just can't work out why I'm getting that error; is it precisely because the old one hasn't been uninstalled?
Yes.

Your computer won't install Adobe Flash Player if it sees a registry entry saying that its already there (even if it's not actually working properly). That's why you have to uninstall first, then restart (because that forces Windows to update the registry) and then do a fresh installation of Flash Player.

I can see absolutely no reason why that shouldn't work for you. (It's worked for me plenty of times!).
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Well, did the uninstall and reboot. Guess what? Still crashes!
Mercifully YouTube vids still play, no better or worse than before.
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Can’t find anything there, sadly.
I’m beginning to suspect there’s a fundamental installation problem on my PC. It’s a long time since I installed new software so my memory is vague, but I’m sure I’ve had this same problem before, usually with background software, drivers, that sort of thing. I know I couldn’t install a Java update, but apparently a lot of people had the same problem; newspapers which used Java software to drive online crosswords have changed to different systems because of it.
For years I’ve regularly used CCleaner, antivirus and spyware/malware removers to keep everything clean. At some point my PC has suffered some fundamental error which affects media processing. Win Movie Maker crashes every time I try to add video/music/pics to the timeline. CyberLink Power Director (an alternative for the same use) creates files of outlandish size. Magix MP3 Maker outputs glitchy MP3 files – each will have at least one skip in the audio. AcidPro – a sort of studio thing – constantly shifts imported WAV/MP3 tracks so they no longer match up to imported loops. And the worst is online video; YouTube is just about bearable, but Vimeo and other formats, especially embedded in eg Facebook posts, are unwatchable.
How those installation/media software problems can be connected I have no idea, but they seem to have come about at roughly the same time.
When I lived in Poynton I had a local PC guy who was brilliant; he was part of the computertroubleshooters network. Sadly I’m too far out of his area now and I can’t find anyone in Macclesfield.
You could try running a file verification check (chkdsk), if not already done so, to determine if there is any file corruption on your system hard disk and attempt to repair them automatically if any found.

- Open a command prompt via Windows start>accessories>command prompt
- In the command prompt window type "chkdsk /f" and press the enter key
- Press and enter "y" in response to the Y/N response.
- Restart your system and a Check Disk operation will commence automatically. Let the process run uninterrupted, as it may take a while to scan the Hard disk depending on the storage size.

Also, if the problem persists you should check the Windows system logs to see if it is recording errors into the event log files with which you can then use for further investigation to try and pinpoint the cause of the problem.

To access the event logs:-
- Windows start>control panel>Performance and Maintenance >Administrative Tools>Event Viewer
- Open and examine the System Log and the Application Log for the corresponding time stamp when you encountered the installation errors etc.

A further option is to try and restore the system state to a point in time before the problem started happening. May not be possible if the restore does not exist. See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/restore-system-files-and-settings

Another option to consider is reapplying XP Service Pack 3 which may potentially replace any bad system files. Download from:-

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-xp-service-pack-3.aspx

It's just my personal opinion that anybody who uses Internet Explorer can expect to have problems with Flash Player and Google Chrome is another problematic Browser.

My default Browser is Firefox and I use the 'add-on' of Shockwave Flash which is an adobe item but appears to perfom better than Flash Player.

Hans.
Question Author
Odd. Searching add-ons & plugins, no results for Shock Wave. However I notice it flags QuickTime as outdated and vulnerable, but appears the update requires Vista or Win7.
Silverlight is also listed but I don’t know what that is/does; it’s shown as outdated but not vulnerable.
It lists under ‘unknown’ Windows Media Player dll – Npdsplay.dll – but no problem highlighted.
Will run chkdsk later Chris, let you know what happens. Can’t do a restore as this has been going on for about 2 years; would probably lose a lot of stuff.
Hans – I’m on Firefox, not IE.

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