Flash player won't launch in Chrome or Firefox

Report · Nov 24, 2016

A few days ago, my computer crashed. I restarted, and now everything is fine, except Flash player will not launch in Chrome or Firefox for Pandora or Spotify or di.fm web pages for music playback.

I uninstalled Flash player, and reinstalled several times. Also restarted the computer, with no luck.

Windows 7

Adobe Flash Player - Version: 23.0.0.207

Chrome: Version 54.0.2840.99 m

Please help.

Report · Nov 24, 2016

Hi,

You may try the offline installer. Follow these steps

1)Download the uninstaller from: Uninstall Flash Player for Windows

2) Open the page: Installation problems | Flash Player | Windows 7 and earlier

Under the heading "Still having problems" click on the specific link to NPAPI(firefox)/PPAPI(opera)/ActiveX(IE) plugin.

3) Ensure all the browsers are closed. Run the uninstaller and then the offline installer.

As for chrome, try viewing Flash Content in chrome. If there is no Flash Plugin available on viewing flash content, Chrome fetches the plugin.

If the problem persists, please write back to us.

Thanks!

Report · Nov 28, 2016

Hi, Thanks for your message.

I use Chrome all the time. The Chrome plugin was reinstalled, when I redid it several times, but still will not activate. Please advise.

Report · Nov 28, 2016

The uninstall/reinstall cycle might fix Firefox, but it's not going to help with Chrome. What's interesting, is that you have two completely independent copies of Flash Player that both stopped working after your machine crashed. My guess is that

Here's what I'd do:

1.) In Firefox, go to Help > Restart with Add-Ons Disabled

2.) If Flash starts working, you have an ad-blocker or something in play. Just disable all of your add-ons and enable them individually until Flash stops working. At that point, you've found the offending add-on.

If restarting Firefox in safe mode doesn't help:

1.) Make a backup of any critical data, then scan for and repair any errors on the filesystem:

Windows 7: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2641432

2.) Shut the machine down instead of rebooting.
Actually power the machine off for a minute to let the hardware fully discharge, then restart.
This ensures that if any hardware components are in a bad state, that they get to fully reset.

3.) Do the Uninstall/Install cycle again. Delete any copies of the installer that are in your desktop/download directory, and download a new one using Firefox.

Uninstall Flash Player - Windows:

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

Flash Player Download:

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

If you're still stuck, does the problem happen on only a particular website? Do you see animation on a simplistic Flash site like this? http://www.homestarrunner.com/

Thanks!

Report · Nov 29, 2016

What can I do for Chrome? This is in Pandora's site, Spotify, and other video replay pages.

Report · Nov 29, 2016

In Chrome, for Pandora in particular, you may be getting caught up in their Plug-In Power Saver (Tiny) feature, which prevents that kind of Flash content from playing. If go to chrome://components, choose Adobe Flash Player, and check Always Allow To Run, that should get things going again.

If not, uninstalling and reinstalling Chrome is the easiest next step in the event that the player is damaged or something. If you sign into a Google account from Chrome, it will preserve your important settings. Also, it may take a few minutes after installation for Chrome to actually download and install Flash Player in the background. If you go to some Flash content and Flash isn't available, just go make a sandwich and come back, and it should be installed at that point.

If you're still stuck let me know.