I am going crazy over the Adobe Flash Player and Java. My computer will not play any games or anything that requires Java or a Flash Player. I have tried to install both programs many times and even have uninstalled them and reinstalled the programs; nothing works.
– Patricia Allen, Augusta, Ga.
A. Adobe tech support people say this failure to get the Flash Player up and running occurs “sporadically” among users of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 and is caused by overzealous browser security settings and/or improper uninstallation of previous versions.
Let’s attack this issue on two fronts: First, I’ll walk you through the fix that Adobe created for flopped Flash installations. Then I’ll tell you about a free open-source program called the VLC Media Player that runs rings around other Flash Players for your downloaded videos.
You need to shut down all Web-running browsers. This includes anything that might use online animations, such as the AOL Instant Message service.
Second, you must be logged on as the administrator account on Windows XP.
Next, you need to set your security preferences in the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser so that it does not simply ignore so-called ActiveX controls, which are routines built into websites to trigger actions ranging from playing a background tune to prompting for a password.
Open the browser and click on Tools and then select Internet Options at the bottom of the menu that drops down. In the Internet Options box, open the tab labeled Security and use the slider bar to make sure security is set at least one notch down from the highest setting.
Now, click on the Custom Level button near the bottom of the Options box. That brings up a goodly number of customizable settings.
Make sure the “Download signed ActiveX controls” is set to “Prompt.” Also make sure that the option to “Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins” is set to “Prompt.” Next, you need to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player you have loaded.
Adobe now requires people to use an Adobe-created uninstall routine instead of the one in Windows. Go to
www.adobe.com and select Support from the options on the top and select Knowledgebase in the next prompt. Now type in the search word “uninstall.” This brings up a page with the uninstallation routine ready to run. Finally, go to www.adobe.com and follow the prompts to download the Flash Player setup.
Let’s move to watching YouTube and other video in the Flash video format, FLV. The slickest way to play these and videos in just about every format is with the VLC Media Player, from the VideoLan project that offers free software for Windows, Macs and Linux. The download prompts are at www.videolan.org. This player was created by volunteer programmers as an alternative to Microsoft software and from commercial outfits including Adobe.
Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at jcoates@tribune.com
