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Xynn5C73
New Participant
January 27, 2021
Answered

Can't delete files in Macromed/Flash

  • January 27, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 2771 views

Running Win 10. Need to delete files under C:/Windows/System32/Macromed/Flash for uninstalling adobe flash.

 

And no, this link doesn't help. There's nothing you can download, how do you even "update" it. I'm noob, so help me, thanks. 

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Test Screen Name

    I don't see why people have such a problem. That link https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/update-for-the-removal-of-adobe-flash-player-october-27-2020-931521b9-075a-ce54-b9af-ff3d5da047d5 is the right link, the ONLY link. Read the page carefully, then follow the link in the section "To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website."

    You then get a list of about 20 different packages, you have to choose the right one for your system.

    2 replies

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    Test Screen NameCorrect answer
    Brainiac
    January 27, 2021

    I don't see why people have such a problem. That link https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/update-for-the-removal-of-adobe-flash-player-october-27-2020-931521b9-075a-ce54-b9af-ff3d5da047d5 is the right link, the ONLY link. Read the page carefully, then follow the link in the section "To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website."

    You then get a list of about 20 different packages, you have to choose the right one for your system.

    A
    Anonymous
    January 27, 2021

    there isn't really help for this.

    Adobe wasted my time with endless emails, posts and chats in what they gave instrustions to solve it.

    Now it  appears to be wrong links that don't apply to windows 10.

    It is locked by Microsoft and we have to wait for a Microsoft update.

     

    It would be nice if Adobe changed their help contents, because there is no solution to this yet and this will just wast our time.

    jeromiec83223024
    Community Manager
    jeromiec83223024Community Manager
    Community Manager
    January 27, 2021

    Flash Player has been around for 25 years.  Software rarely lives this long, and when you've supported every version of Windows since XP, things get a little complicated over time. 

     

    I submitted some documentation updates for publication a couple weeks ago to clarify the Windows 10 situation (there's already a big red paragraph at the top of the page, but nobody reads it), but they have to be translated and published by separate groups with their own deadlines and existing workloads.  It would be great if those updates were already posted, but they're in the pipeline.

     

    Long story short, Adobe's uninstallers are only able to remove copies of Flash Player that Adobe distributed. 

     

    In the context of IE and Edge on Windows 8 and higher, Microsoft required that they were the sole path of distribution for the ActiveX Flash Player.  Controlling the distribution mechanism for Flash Player gives Microsoft some additional control over the update process. 

     

    Instead of publishing updates and pushing them out like we do on Windows 7 and below, they mediate those updates on Windows 10.  This allows them to do some additional testing on their end, and they have the freedom to push updates out (or not) at their discretion.  We literally cannot build an installer or uninstaller that can access the directories where our files live.  

     

    Anyway, since the only way to modify these files is via Windows Update, you have to use Windows Update to remove them.  To accomplish this, Microsoft published a path that removes Flash Player.  Right now, that patch is optional.  At some point in the not-too-distant future, Microsoft will make that patch mandatory, at which point it will be applied automatically (assuming you have automatic updates enabled).  If you do nothing, this will eventually take care of itself.  If you want to deal with it now, you can manually run their update. 

     

    Microsoft Update for Removal of Flash Player for IE and Edge on Windows 8 and higher

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4577586/update-for-removal-of-adobe-flash-player 

     

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