Installation problems | Flash Player | Windows

If you use a Mac, see Installation problems | Flash Player | Mac

• General information
  • Verify that your computer meets the system requirements for Flash Player
  • Determine whether an older Flash Player version is already installed your computer
  • Download and install the latest Flash Player version
  • Verify that installation is complete
  • Uninstall the older Flash Player version (if the installation is not successful for any reason)
• Download issues
  • Enable JavaScript to download Flash Player
  • Progress bar hangs during download / Unable to connect to server / Unable to download metafile
  • Failed to initialize
  • Unable to load main bundle
  • Actionlist not found / Unable to download metafile / Failed to initialize / Certification authentication failed / Invalid certificate
• Installation issues
  • A newer version already installed
  • Only a single instance of this application can run
  • Existing Flash Player is in use
  • The Flash Player ActiveX^® control could not be registered
  • The file could not be written due to the lack of permissions
• Post-installation issues
  • Enable Flash Player Add-ons
  • Disable ActiveX Filtering (if you are using Internet Explorer 9)
  • Change pop-up blocker settings to allow movies to play
  • Solve problems that third-party Flash uninstall tools cause
  • Ensure that Internet utilities do not block Flash Player
  • Fix Flash Player crash
  • Flash Player 11.3 doesn't function in Mozilla Firefox

To download Flash Player, enable JavaScript in the browser.

Internet Explorer

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options.
2. Under Security, select Internet.
3. Click Custom level.

4. In the Security Settings page, scroll down to Scripting.
5. Select Enable for Active Scripting.

6. Click OK.
7. Select Trusted Site and perform steps 3 - 6.
   
8. Go to the Flash Player download page to download Flash Player.

In Mozilla Firefox

1. In Firefox, click Tools > Options.
2. Select Content and then select Enable JavaScript.

3. Click OK, and close and open Firefox.
4. Go to the Adobe download page to download Flash Player.

Google Chrome

Note: Flash Player is installed with Google Chrome. Use the steps below only if you want to download Flash Player for a different browser or operating system.

1. In Google Chrome, click Settings.

2. Click Show Advanced Settings.
3. Go to Privacy and click Content Settings.
4. In the Content Settings page, select Allow All Sites to Run JavaScript.

5. Click OK, and close and open Chrome.
6. Go to the Adobe download page to download Flash Player.

Reason: The Flash Player installer sometimes has trouble working in some firewall proxy server environments.

Workaround: Download the Adobe Flash Player installer directly by clicking one of the following links.

Flash Player for ActiveX (Internet Explorer)

Flash Player Plug-in (All other browsers)

Reason: Antivirus software from vendors like Comodo, Jiangmin, and Rising are incorrectly identifying the Adobe Flash Player installer as malware. False reports from these vendors include “TrojWare.Win32.Trojan.Agent.Gen,” “Trojan/JmGeneric.bcy,” and “Suspicious.” Users are also reporting “Failed to Initialize” errors and the installer is getting quarantined.

Workaround: Antivirus software vendors and service providers are currently addressing this issue so that the installer is recognized as being legitimate. Ensure that your antivirus signatures are up-to-date.

If the issue persists, use the direct links to download Flash Player installer.

Reason: Your computer is installed with a Flash Player version that’s later than the version you are trying to install.

Solution: Check the Flash Player version installed on your computer. The latest version of Flash Player available on your computer is provided in the same page. Install the latest version.
If you need an older version, uninstall the existing version. Older version of Flash Player is provided in the Flash Player archive page. Then, install the latest version.

Note: To uninstall Flash Player beta, use the corresponding Flash Player beta uninstaller available in Adobe Labs.

Reason: You are trying to run more than two instances of Flash Player installers simultaneously.

Solution: Click OK to the message that appeared. One of the installers gets closed and the other installer continues automatically.

Reason: An application is still using Flash Player.

Solution: Close the application and try installing again.

Look at the icons in the system tray for programs that run in the background. Examples include AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and games that use Flash (any file with a name that ends in .swf). If you see such an icon, right-click the icon and click Exit.

Reason: The VeriSign certificate is not installed in the machine.

Solution: Check the network connectivity. Ensure that your machine has enough virtual memory. If the issue persists, use the direct links to download Flash Player installer.

Solution: Check the network connectivity. Ensure that your machine has enough virtual memory. If the issue persists, use the direct links to download Flash Player installer.

Reason: ActiveX could not register.

Solution: Verify that you are logged in as a user with write permissions to all of the registry entries for Flash Player.

Note: Administrative permissions are necessary so that the Adobe Flash Player installer can access the Windows^® system registry and the following folder:

• C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash folder for a 32-bit machine
• C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash folder for a 64-bit machine

Reason: You don't have administrator permissions on your computer.

Solution: Log in to your computer as an administrator.

If you ran a third-party tool or any type of registry cleaner to resolve Flash Player problems, run the Flash Player uninstaller, and then reinstall Flash Player. For details on the uninstaller for Flash Player, see Uninstall Flash Player. 

Pop-up and ad blocker software can prevent the display of rich media content. For more information, see Movies do not appear after installing Flash Player.

Ensure that your firewall or utility settings are set to allow ActiveX controls and rich media content. Some Internet utilities, such as Norton Internet Utilities, act like firewalls and restrict viewing of ActiveX controls or block rich media content.

The following figure is an example of an Internet utility display. It shows that firewalls and Internet utilities can be configured to allow ActiveX content. Check your firewall or Internet utility documentation for more information.

If Firefox displays the message "The Adobe Flash plug-in has crashed," see The Adobe Flash plug-in has crashed in Firefox Help.

If Internet Explorer displays the message "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem with an add-on and needs to close" and the message says that Adobe Flash Player was running when the problem occurred, see Flash Player crashes Internet Explorer | Windows XP, Windows Vista. 

Follow these steps to install the correct version of Flash Player:

Compare your computer system to the Flash Player system requirements. If your system doesn't meet the requirements, don't continue to step 2. See Archived Flash Player versions. 

• Flash Player for Internet Explorer
• Flash Player for Firefox
• Chrome with Flash Player

You don’t have to install Flash Player if you use Chrome. Flash Player is integrated into Chrome and enabled by default. Chrome automatically updates when new versions of Flash Player are available. 

To ensure that you have installed the latest version of Chrome and have the latest version of Flash Player, select Chrome > About Google Chrome.

• If you see the message “Google Chrome is up-to-date,” you have the latest version of Chrome. 
• If Chrome is not up-to-date, click Update Now.
  Note: The integrated Google Chrome Flash plug-in cannot be uninstalled using the Flash Player uninstaller. You can only enable or disable the integrated plug-in as described in Using Flash Player with Google Chrome.