Flash was working, until recently

Report · Jan 01, 2017

I have XP with Chrome and Explorer, and Flash no longer runs on either. Something changed.

I've been search, checking, and trying a bunch of things.
I just downloaded and installed pepper_flash - Version: 23.0.0.164, but still get "Couldn't Load Plugin"

I'm at a loss of what to do next... What change in the last few weeks could have caused this?

Report · Jan 01, 2017

Hello cybersailor. As you probably know, Google no longer supports Chrome on XP, and Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer 8 or earlier on any platform. When you say "I just downloaded and installed pepper_flash - Version: 23.0.0.164," do you mean that you opened chrome://components and clicked Check for update under pepper_flash? If so, then that no longer works in Chrome 49. The current version of Flash Player is actually 24.0.0.186. Other Chromium-based browsers that still offer some degree of support for XP include Opera 36 and Slimjet 10.0.9.0.

Of course Explorer uses the ActiveX version of Flash Player, which you can get by visiting the usual "get adobe" download site while using Explorer - not that I would recommend using an unsupported browser. I might have recommended Firefox, but they are also planning to end support for XP in 2017: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2016/12/23/firefox-support-for-xp-and-vista/ . Frankly, you need a newer operating system for cybersailing.

Report · Jan 01, 2017

Hi Abzyx,

Yep, I know they are no longer supported. But it was working until recently. That's what baffles me. Something changed within the last few weeks. I even temporarily shut down Spybot and Norton 360 thinking they might have stopped it from working, but no. I don't know exactly when it stopped because I have been crazy busy and traveling a lot.

Yes, among other tries, I did the Components thing and after clicking is says, "Component not updated" which I find strange since I just updated it. However, after that, I went directly to Adobe, downloaded and then installed it.

Interestingly, I rebooted my computer and when it started up a pop-up said there was a new version available. 😮 So I downloaded and installed that. I still get "Couldn't Load Plugin" in Chrome, but it works now in Explorer. On the chrome://components it now said No Update" but when I clicked it, it still changes to "Component not updated". So I'm not sure what that indicates...

Yeah 😉 I know I need to update this OS, but I haven't made the time. There are so many programs that I use that won't carry over or cost me a great deal for upgrades. FYI I have 7 on a laptop and 10 on my Surface Pro 3

Report · Jan 01, 2017

cybersailor wrote:
...I even temporarily shut down Spybot and Norton 360...I went directly to Adobe, downloaded and then installed it...a pop-up said there was a new version available. 😮 So I downloaded and installed that...it works now in Explorer....FYI I have 7 on a laptop and 10 on my Surface Pro 3

Spybot ended support for XP in 2015: https://www.safer-networking.org/2015/spybot-2-5-compatibility/ . Norton still supports you, but they haven't said for how long.

Chrome's pepperflash is embedded, and all updates come from Google - but you won't be getting any more updates because Google no longer supports XP. If you downloaded a PPAPI plugin from Adobe, that would work in Opera 36 but has nothing to do with Chrome.

It sounds like your Flash Player ActiveX plugin was set to notify you when updates are available, so congratulations on Explorer, and good luck avoiding infection.

If you already have Windows 7 and 10, then why waste time trying to use Chrome on XP?

Report · Jan 01, 2017

why waste time trying to use Chrome on XP?
Because it's on my desktop and it will take a lot of time and money to upgrade. I'm actually thinking to wait a bit more and jump to 10

I still don't know what changed from when it was working recently. Support went away a long time ago...