Flash suddenly stopped working ( os x 10.6.8; Chrome 49)

[stuy21403132]

Hi there! I'm using a pretty old Macbook, working on OS 10.6.8, so i'm using an older version of Chrome too (49.0.2623.86) . Up until this evening I've always used this Macbook for everything and it worked all well, even though it's old and uses outdated versions. I could open any website, watch any video, use any kind of videoplayers without a problem. Even today I watched videos and it worked fine.

Tonight I opened a news item video of yahoo news and all of a sudden it wouldn't play. Then I opened videos which I watched earlier in the day without any issues, but again, suddenly it doesnt work anymore. It says that Flash is blocked because it is outdated, the play icon on the video box is as usual but when I click on it it goes gray and shows a puzzle icon and says, flash plugin failed to load. Then it has two options:

Approve for once or update the plug in. If i click the first option, it doesnt do anything, if i click on update the plug in it takes me to Google Chrome help where they explain how to change your flash settings in Chrome and to turn flash on or update it or reinstall flash. But in my settings, flash is already turned on as -allow sites to run flash- .

When i try to reinstall flash, it installs, but everything is the same. Keeps giving me the blocked message.

Later on I again tried to watch the yahoo news item video, but now it just says video not available in your region, and doesnt say anything about flash anymore. But on other videos it still gives the message that flash is blocked.

What can I do? I am aware that I'm using an old Macbook and old version of Chrome, but it worked fine, even up untill a couple of hours ago, and now all of a sudden this happens. How come?

[moderator: added os & browser to title for clarity]

[jeromiec83223024]

It sounds like you got a Chrome update.  Recent versions of Chrome force Flash Player to a click-to-play mode.  Also, there are lots of interdependencies between Flash and Chrome, so running versions mismatched by a year could also be a source of pain.  You should run current versions of both.

If you *are* now running a current Chrome version, the following guide should help:

Use or fix Flash audio & video - Computer - Google Chrome Help

[stuy21403132]

I see. But, the thing is I can't update to newer versions of chrome anymore. How is it possible that everything was fine some hours ago and now suddenly videos won't load ? I didnt install anything in between when it worked and when it stopped working.

[jeromiec83223024]

Not sure.  Have you rebooted the computer yet?  If the problem persists, what versions of Flash Player and Chrome do you see?

[stuy21403132]

I did. Rebooted several times, been trying to solve this for hours now.

chrome version = 49.0.2623.87

flash version = 20.0.0.306

[jeromiec83223024]

Yeah, you have ancient versions of both products.  I'm not sure what to tell you.  I'm not sure what changed, since neither Chrome or Flash Player have updated in what appears to be years.

What I *can* tell you, is that you really shouldn't be browsing the web with that configuration.  You're missing at least hundreds of security updates, all of which you're vulnerable to.  If you're doing anything sensitive with the machine (banking, healthcare, etc.), it's probably time to seriously consider an upgrade.  Identity theft is painful and potentially expensive.

If you *can* update to a current version of MacOS, that would solve this.  If not, it's probably time to think about upgrading hardware.  Amazon and Walmart both sell refurbished Apple gear.  You can buy a totally decent Chromebook for under $200, and a totally usable Win10 laptop will run you about $400. 

Flash Player currently requires MacOS 10.9 or higher.

Tech specs | Adobe Flash Player