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willshaker · Aug 23, 2006, 01:13 PM

somehow..and i don't know how, flash was either uninstalled or self-desctructed on my emac. i have a 3 year old who likes to slap on the keys, so he's under high suspicion. my emac is running osx 10.3.9

anyway, i have tried six or twelve times to download and install the flash player 9 from the adobe site, but it just won't stick. i run the installer and all seems dandy, but it just isn't working. i get the following error:

The page “Macromedia - Flash Player” has content of MIME type “application/x-shockwave-flash”, but you don’t have a plug-in installed for this MIME type. A plug-in should be available on this page:

https://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer

Do you want to open the page?

i am using firefox and safari and neither will play flash movies. i also downloaded the flash 8 uninstaller based on an faq i read on the adobe site. ran it and downloaded flash 9 again...no joy.

anyone have any ideas or suggestions? what stupid and obvious thing am i overlooking?

thanks for any help or direction you can offer...

ghporter · Aug 23, 2006, 01:25 PM

Not a hardware question, Will. Moving to Applications...

seanc · Aug 23, 2006, 01:25 PM

Thats a strange one, tried rebooting?

willshaker · Aug 23, 2006, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by seanc

Thats a strange one, tried rebooting?

yes...over and over and over again. i also made sure javascript was on in the browsers...what else? anyone...anyone...bueller...

JKT · Aug 23, 2006, 03:21 PM

Have you also installed the Shockwave plug-in?

willshaker · Aug 23, 2006, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by JKT

Have you also installed the Shockwave plug-in?

i had not done this (good suggestion), but just tried it and it didn't make any diifference. i'm so very stumped....

wil · Aug 23, 2006, 11:17 PM

Create a new user. Install Flash 9. If it works for the new user, then the chances are high that you can clean out your preferences folder of certain files and fix the issue.

If it doesn't work, something serious could be wrong with the unix underpinnings and you may need to restore or rebuild the system.

willshaker · Aug 24, 2006, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by wil

Create a new user. Install Flash 9. If it works for the new user, then the chances are high that you can clean out your preferences folder of certain files and fix the issue.

If it doesn't work, something serious could be wrong with the unix underpinnings and you may need to restore or rebuild the system.

thanks for this suggestion....

ok, so i created a new user, logged off, logged on as new user, opened safari, went to adobe, downloaded flash, ran it, nothing...

still getting the same error...anyone have other possibilities? thanks for the feedback...

wil · Aug 25, 2006, 12:16 AM

my only other thought is that you are downloading the intel version for a ppc machine or a ppc version for an intel machine. probably not, but you never know.

Art Vandelay · Aug 25, 2006, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by wil

my only other thought is that you are downloading the intel version for a ppc machine or a ppc version for an intel machine. probably not, but you never know.

The Intel version would still work on a PowerPC Mac since it's a Universal binary.

Art Vandelay · Aug 25, 2006, 12:54 AM

Check in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for any Flash plugins. You should see Flash Player Enabler.plugin, Flash Player.plugin, and flashplayer.xpt if things are even installing correctly. If they are present, report what versions they are.

willshaker · Aug 25, 2006, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

Check in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for any Flash plugins. You should see Flash Player Enabler.plugin, Flash Player.plugin, and flashplayer.xpt if things are even installing correctly. If they are present, report what versions they are.

thanks Art! i'm at work right now punching away on a dell machine, but will check for the files you mentioned tonight and post what i uncover. thanks again...

willshaker · Aug 25, 2006, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

Check in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for any Flash plugins. You should see Flash Player Enabler.plugin, Flash Player.plugin, and flashplayer.xpt if things are even installing correctly. If they are present, report what versions they are.

ok, all three of these plugins are present in this folder. i'm assumig the version is the created and/or modified date infromation, as i do not see anything that is specified as a version. information for each is below:

Flash Player Enabler.plugin
- Created: Thursday, April 20, 2006 3:19 PM
- Modified: Thursday August 17, 2006 7:44 PM

Flash Player.plugin
- Created: Tuesday, July 6, 2004 12:00 PM
- Modified: Thursday August 17, 2006 10:14 PM

Flashplayer.xpt
- Created: Thursday, December 1, 2005 1:02 PM
- Modified: Thursday, December 1, 2005 1:02 PM

it looks like the first two were modified when i tried to reinstall, but the .xpt file never changed. could that be the issue? totally guessing here. if that is the issue, how do i install a new version of this file?

thanks again for the assistance!

Art Vandelay · Aug 26, 2006, 10:56 AM

No, the version is something like "9.0" but what you posted is still somewhat useful. I've recently installed the latest Flash player and I don't have any creation dates as old as yours. From my impression the Flash installer replaces any existing files, not modifies them.

Try deleting those three files and reinstalling Flash again.

willshaker · Aug 26, 2006, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

No, the version is something like "9.0" but what you posted is still somewhat useful. I've recently installed the latest Flash player and I don't have any creation dates as old as yours. From my impression the Flash installer replaces any existing files, not modifies them.

Try deleting those three files and reinstalling Flash again.

yes, it was flash player 9...

i deleted all three of the files and downloaded the flash plug in again. now i have a new problem, my computer doesn't seem to think i have the authority to install this item. i'm getting the following two pop-up errors...

1) Error creating file. 1008:5, -5000 Access denied error (click OK)
2) You do not have enough access priveleges for this installation (click OK)

lather, rinse, repeat...won't let me do it

i went under system preferences and checked my accounts. someone had recommended creating a second user account and trying to install under that account. that didn't work either and i deleted it. my one and only account shows me as the admin and under the securiity tab the box is checked saying that i am allowed to administer this computer. that check box is greyed out though and i'm not sure why. i was going to try and check/uncheck it to "reset", but i can't get to it.

the fun continues...

thanks again....

Art Vandelay · Aug 26, 2006, 05:36 PM

Sounds like you need to repair permissions. Do that and try installing again.

willshaker · Aug 26, 2006, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

Sounds like you need to repair permissions. Do that and try installing again.

ta-da!!!

...all better...can I buy you a beer or something?

thank you VERY much Art, i really appreciate your assistance!

Art Vandelay · Aug 28, 2006, 06:06 PM

Glad to have helped.