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youtube stopped working

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Henry Richardson

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I am using Win8-64 and have not had any youtube problems on this computer for the last 1.5 years, but just about 3 weeks ago youtube stopped working. Sometimes it will play a few seconds of a video and then stop. Other times it will play, but there is no sound. Other times it won't play at all. Other times it will display an error message. It doesn't work using the current Chrome or Firefox. Anyone have any ideas?
 
Henry Richardson said:
I am using Win8-64 and have not had any youtube problems on this computer for the last 1.5 years, but just about 3 weeks ago youtube stopped working. Sometimes it will play a few seconds of a video and then stop. Other times it will play, but there is no sound. Other times it won't play at all. Other times it will display an error message. It doesn't work using the current Chrome or Firefox. Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
Well, both Chrome and Firefox use separate Flash Player modules (the one in Chrome is built in), so it's probably not a flash player version specific issue.

Of course, you could have something on your computer running that's interfering (malware, etc.) and impacting your ability to stream video content from youtube or similar sites.

But, have you checked your internet connection speed lately to see if that could be the culprit? IOW, I'd see what you're getting using sites like http://www.speedtest.net

You may also want to reboot your router and see if it could be the culprit if you don't see any obvious issues like wireless signal strength (or a bad cable or loose connection if you're hard wired to your router) causing performance issues. Sometimes a simple router reboot (unplug it, wait a minute or two, plug it back in again, then reconnect to it from your PC) can fix odd problems like you're seeing.

Of course, if you're sharing your available bandwidth with other devices on your LAN (phones, smart TVs, other computers, etc.), one of them could be hogging all of your available bandwidth to your Internet Service Provider and causing issues. For example, I recently reset the quality for Netflix lower (you'll see quality settings in the account preferences), so that when we're connecting to it via a Smart TV, the video from it wasn't hogging bandwidth and slowing down other devices on our LAN.

--
JimC
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Patco said:
Neither a complete removal & re-installation of Flash, nor anything else I tried would fix the problem, so I restored from a disk image made a few weeks prior.
Click to expand...
And that fixed it? Unfortunately, I don't have a disk image. Otherwise my computer seems to be working fine.
 
Jim Cockfield said:
Well, both Chrome and Firefox use separate Flash Player modules (the one in Chrome is built in), so it's probably not a flash player version specific issue.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was thinking that since Chrome had it built in that probably it is something else causing the problem. It just started a few weeks ago.
Member said:
Of course, you could have something on your computer running that's interfering (malware, etc.) and impacting your ability to stream video content from youtube or similar sites.
Click to expand...
I am fairly sure I don't have any malware. I always use a user account and not my admin account and am careful. Also, I keep my a/v up to date and in addition use malwarebytes. I just did a scan with both and they didn't come up with anything.
Member said:
But, have you checked your internet connection speed lately to see if that could be the culprit? IOW, I'd see what you're getting using sites like http://www.speedtest.net
Click to expand...
I just did a speed test using this website and here are the results. I am using wifi.

199a67b1d698450da475e15229544c40.jpg

I have no problems using youtube on my two Android tablets and a Win7 computer has no problems. My Win8 computer also had no problems until a few weeks ago.

A new winkle. I decided to update my shockwave a few minutes ago. I know that this should be irrelevant for the Chrome case, but what the hell. I went to the Adobe download page and downloaded the small install program and then ran the install program. Nothing happened. Waited and waited. Tried again. Same thing. Then I decided to uninstall the current version of shockwave on my computer, download the install program again, and run it. Still nothing happens and now I don't have shockwave on my computer. I have never had this problem with installing new versions of shockwave before. I don't know if any of this is related to the original youtube problem or not. Any ideas why shockwave won't install?
Member said:
You may also want to reboot your router and see if it could be the culprit if you don't see any obvious issues like wireless signal strength (or a bad cable or loose connection if you're hard wired to your router) causing performance issues. Sometimes a simple router reboot (unplug it, wait a minute or two, plug it back in again, then reconnect to it from your PC) can fix odd problems like you're seeing.
Click to expand...
I will try that. As I mentioned, other devices are still working with youtube.
Member said:
Of course, if you're sharing your available bandwidth with other devices on your LAN (phones, smart TVs, other computers, etc.), one of them could be hogging all of your available bandwidth to your Internet Service Provider and causing issues. For example, I recently reset the quality for Netflix lower (you'll see quality settings in the account preferences), so that when we're connecting to it via a Smart TV, the video from it wasn't hogging bandwidth and slowing down other devices on our LAN.
Click to expand...
No, not using other devices at the same time.

Thank you for your help.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com
 
Henry, that's an very slow internet connection. So, I wouldn't doubt that you'd have problems trying to play youtube videos.

Is that a DSL connection of some flavor? If so, you may want to see if they have a faster plan available if you plan on watching a lot of videos online (or if it's supposed to be a lot faster than what you're seeing, try to troubleshoot for local issues on your side first, and if you can't find anything wrong on your end, get them to check for problems on the connection to your location)

Keep in mind that you're looking at connection speed in megabits per second (and there are 8 bits in a byte).

So, 1.52 Megabits per second is only 0.19 Megabytes per second.

Most modern broadband connections tend to be much faster than that, and playing video can be demanding on bandwidth. Even the basic entry level cable plans tend to be faster. I've got a mid level performance plan for approx. $50 per month that I get 28Mbps download speeds with with Comcast (and they have plans with up to 105Mbps download speeds available for more) But, even their basic plans are much faster than the speed it looks like you're seeing.

I see from the IP address on that page that you're in Tokyo area right this minute. They should have dramatically faster internet speeds available as compared to that 1.5Mbps download speed (even faster than we typically see in most U.S. Markets via most common plans).

So, your slow 1.5Mbps (and Mbps stands for Megabits per second, not MegaBytes per second) connection speed would be the most likely culprit with problems trying to watch videos online, as I see occasional buffering when playing videos, even with my cable modem service offering more than 25Mbps download speeds on average (just a mid range offering, versus the much faster plans they have available).

Is your Windows 7 computer showing the same speed? If not (it's faster), then you may want to look for local connection issues specific to your Win 8 computer (cable problem or loose connection, wireless issues due to low signal strength or similar).

Are you using a hard wired connection or a wireless connection? If wireless, you may have other devices or routers on the same frequency nearby causing interference, where changing to a different channel in your router's setup screens might help. If wired, I'd make sure you don't have a loose connection.

Again, I'd suggest that you reboot your router and see if that helps, too.

As for the Flash Player used by Firefox, get it here:

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

But, Chrome has it's own integrated flash player built in, so it's updated each time you update your Chrome version (and it sounds like you're having issues with both Chrome and Firefox, and given your very slow internet speed, the slower connection speed would be a likely culprit when trying to watch videos online)

--
JimC
------
 
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Henry Richardson said:
Patco said:
Neither a complete removal & re-installation of Flash, nor anything else I tried would fix the problem, so I restored from a disk image made a few weeks prior.
Click to expand...
And that fixed it? Unfortunately, I don't have a disk image. Otherwise my computer seems to be working fine.
Click to expand...
Yes, the image was created before the problem occurred, so restoring fixed it. As you have no image, perhaps using System Restore to go back to a point in time when everything worked properly might help?

I read your post to Jim, and like you, I tried removing and reinstalling Shockwave with no success. Also like you, my other devices running from the same router worked just fine.
 
Could it be your firewall blocking access to youtube? I had issues some time ago with Firefox and uninstalling/reinstalling ESET solved the problem for me. I was locked out of some websites.
Henry Richardson said:
Jim Cockfield said:
Well, both Chrome and Firefox use separate Flash Player modules (the one in Chrome is built in), so it's probably not a flash player version specific issue.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was thinking that since Chrome had it built in that probably it is something else causing the problem. It just started a few weeks ago.
Member said:
Of course, you could have something on your computer running that's interfering (malware, etc.) and impacting your ability to stream video content from youtube or similar sites.
Click to expand...
I am fairly sure I don't have any malware. I always use a user account and not my admin account and am careful. Also, I keep my a/v up to date and in addition use malwarebytes. I just did a scan with both and they didn't come up with anything.
Member said:
But, have you checked your internet connection speed lately to see if that could be the culprit? IOW, I'd see what you're getting using sites like http://www.speedtest.net
Click to expand...
I just did a speed test using this website and here are the results. I am using wifi.

199a67b1d698450da475e15229544c40.jpg

I have no problems using youtube on my two Android tablets and a Win7 computer has no problems. My Win8 computer also had no problems until a few weeks ago.

A new winkle. I decided to update my shockwave a few minutes ago. I know that this should be irrelevant for the Chrome case, but what the hell. I went to the Adobe download page and downloaded the small install program and then ran the install program. Nothing happened. Waited and waited. Tried again. Same thing. Then I decided to uninstall the current version of shockwave on my computer, download the install program again, and run it. Still nothing happens and now I don't have shockwave on my computer. I have never had this problem with installing new versions of shockwave before. I don't know if any of this is related to the original youtube problem or not. Any ideas why shockwave won't install?
Member said:
You may also want to reboot your router and see if it could be the culprit if you don't see any obvious issues like wireless signal strength (or a bad cable or loose connection if you're hard wired to your router) causing performance issues. Sometimes a simple router reboot (unplug it, wait a minute or two, plug it back in again, then reconnect to it from your PC) can fix odd problems like you're seeing.
Click to expand...
I will try that. As I mentioned, other devices are still working with youtube.
Member said:
Of course, if you're sharing your available bandwidth with other devices on your LAN (phones, smart TVs, other computers, etc.), one of them could be hogging all of your available bandwidth to your Internet Service Provider and causing issues. For example, I recently reset the quality for Netflix lower (you'll see quality settings in the account preferences), so that when we're connecting to it via a Smart TV, the video from it wasn't hogging bandwidth and slowing down other devices on our LAN.
Click to expand...
No, not using other devices at the same time.

Thank you for your help.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com
Click to expand...


--
Never buy version 1.0 of anything.
 
Jim Cockfield said:
Henry, that's an very slow internet connection. So, I wouldn't doubt that you'd have problems trying to play youtube videos.
Click to expand...
I have no problems playing youtube videos on the Win7 computer or the two Android tablets and this computer had no problem until recently. I am not playing HD videos. Nothing works. Although on the other devices no problems. Generally even HD videos work on them.
Member said:
Is that a DSL connection of some flavor? If so, you may want to see if they have a faster plan available if you plan on watching a lot of videos online (or if it's supposed to be a lot faster than what you're seeing, try to troubleshoot for local issues on your side first, and if you can't find anything wrong on your end, get them to check for problems on the connection to your location)
Click to expand...
Yes, it is DSL. I have no control over changing providers or anything else.
Member said:
Is your Windows 7 computer showing the same speed? If not (it's faster), then you may want to look for local connection issues specific to your Win 8 computer (cable problem or loose connection, wireless issues due to low signal strength or similar).
Click to expand...
I just checked the Win7 computer. No problems with youtube and the speed test showed the same results.
Member said:
Are you using a hard wired connection or a wireless connection? If wireless, you may have other devices or routers on the same frequency nearby causing interference, where changing to a different channel in your router's setup screens might help. If wired, I'd make sure you don't have a loose connection.
Click to expand...
The Win8, Win7, and both tablets are using wifi.
Member said:
Again, I'd suggest that you reboot your router and see if that helps, too.

As for the Flash Player used by Firefox, get it here:

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Click to expand...
Yes, that is where I was getting it. When I run the install file it asks to run in admin mode, I allow it, and then nothing. I also tried logging into my admin account, downloading the install file, and running it. Same thing, nothing happens. Even after hours. The install file shows up in the task manager, but it looks like nothing is happening.
Member said:
But, Chrome has it's own integrated flash player built in, so it's updated each time you update your Chrome version (and it sounds like you're having issues with both Chrome and Firefox, and given your very slow internet speed, the slower connection speed would be a likely culprit when trying to watch videos online)
Click to expand...
Just as an aside, although this isn't the fastest internet it isn't really all that slow. For the last 15 years I have had many different broadband internet connections and many have been around this speed or even slower. No problems with youtube. Maybe if someone is watching only 1080p HD on youtube then it would be a problem, but most of the stuff on youtube isn't like that.
 
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I generally reboot my computer only once every few days and just let it sleep the rest of the time when I am not using it. I don't use youtube on this computer everyday so I am not sure exactly when the problem started. I first noticed it about 3 weeks ago, but it may have started sometime before that.

I recall that a couple of weeks ago after rebooting I then had reason to use youtube. It was working again. But, then a few hours later when I tried it again it wasn't working. A little while ago I rebooted and for now youtube is working again. I suspect it will stop working again before long though. I'll see what happens.

By the way, in an earlier post I mentioned that since someone suggested updating my shockwave I had tried, but the install file wasn't doing anything (over the last 1.5 years with this computer I have updated shockwave a few times with no problems) so I uninstalled shockwave and then tried to reinstall. Still the install file would not install. Hours would go by and nothing would happen. Right now I don't have shockwave on my computer and yet at least for the moment youtube is working in Firefox and Chrome (my understanding is that Chrome has its own version of shockwave and doesn't use an external version).

Are you sure youtube uses shockwave?
 
Jim Cockfield said:
You may also want to reboot your router and see if it could be the culprit if you don't see any obvious issues like wireless signal strength (or a bad cable or loose connection if you're hard wired to your router) causing performance issues. Sometimes a simple router reboot (unplug it, wait a minute or two, plug it back in again, then reconnect to it from your PC) can fix odd problems like you're seeing.
Click to expand...
I rebooted the router yesterday and that had no effect on the problem. I am sorry that I forgot to mention that I had tried it after you suggested it.
 
This morning youtube is not working again. :-( No surprise really since as I said I expected it to only work for a short time. I will reboot and see what happens, but something weird is going on. I can check in the control panel programs and shockwave is not there. As I said in an earlier post I uninstalled it and then tried to reinstall, but nothing happens when I try to do the install. If I don't have shockwave how could youtube even have worked yesterday? Are people sure youtube uses shockwave? I watched several short videos throughout the day checking to see if it was still working. All was okay, but this morning it is back to not working like it has been for the last few weeks.
 
Henry Richardson said:
This morning youtube is not working again. :-( No surprise really since as I said I expected it to only work for a short time. I will reboot and see what happens, but something weird is going on. I can check in the control panel programs and shockwave is not there. As I said in an earlier post I uninstalled it and then tried to reinstall, but nothing happens when I try to do the install. If I don't have shockwave how could youtube even have worked yesterday? Are people sure youtube uses shockwave? I watched several short videos throughout the day checking to see if it was still working. All was okay, but this morning it is back to not working like it has been for the last few weeks.
Click to expand...
Henry, see my last post that included a link to the Flash Player plugin used by Firefox. Here's a quote from it:

As for the Flash Player used by Firefox, get it here:

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

But, Chrome has it's own integrated flash player built in, so it's updated each time you update your Chrome version (and it sounds like you're having issues with both Chrome and Firefox, and given your very slow internet speed, the slower connection speed would be a likely culprit when trying to watch videos online)

The Shockwave installation also includes a stand alone Flash Player, that is not needed by apps like Firefox.

Just install the Flash Player plugin I gave you a link to instead for use with Firefox.

It should show up in your Firefox installation under Tools>Addons>Plugins

Another way to see if you have the latest plugin installed is by going to this site using the browser you want to test:

http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

As for youtube, it can use HTML5 versus the Flash Player. For example, Adobe has discontinued updates to Flash Player for both IOS and Android. So, most browsers for mobile operating systems are using HTML5 now.

But, from my experience with youtube, you're a *LOT* better off sticking with Flash Player, as HTML5 is just not as stable yet with apps like Firefox in Windows.

To see if you're using flash player with youtube, simply "right click" on a video you're watching and you'll see flash player related settings.

If you don't see flash player related settings, then it's possible your browser switched to using html5 instead. But chances are, you're still using Adobe Flash player for youtube (which is far more reliable compared to html5 from my experience using both), and your internet connection speed is the main culprit (as 1.5mbps is extremely slow, and wouldn't even keep up with most 360p videos with decent bit rates anymore, much less higher bit rate videos at 480p, 720p or 1080p).

Older versions of flash player tended to be better about "buffering" content (where they would preload content requiring you to wait a while before playback starts so that enough of the content was preloaded to disk first). But, with newer versions of flash player, I've found them to be less forgiving when using very slow connections like yours. So, I suspect that your connection speed is the main issue playing content with newer versions of Flash Player.

Anyway, again, use the links above to make sure you have the flash player plugin installed in Firefox, and if you're using the current version or not (using the about flash player link I just gave you). Then, make sure flash player versus html5 is being used for playback (by right clicking on a video you're watching in youtube and making sure you see adobe flash player related settings appear). If you don't see flash player settings options when "right clicking" on a video you're playing in youtube, then your browser may have reverted to using html5 instead (which is far less reliable from my experience using both playback types).

--

JimC
------
 
Last edited:
Jim Cockfield said:
... your internet connection speed is the main culprit (as 1.5mbps is extremely slow, and wouldn't even keep up with most 360p videos with decent bit rates anymore, much less higher bit rate videos at 480p, 720p or 1080p).
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I would describe 1.5 Mbps as "extremely slow", and also not sure how that explains one computer not working properly, while his other devices & computer play Youtube videos fine (assuming all the devices are using the same internet connection).

I had exactly the same issues the OP is having, starting at around the same time. Flash & Shockwave appeared to be installed correctly, the Adobe site confirmed the latest version was installed, but no test or demo flash animations would play. After several hours of troubleshooting, I was unable to find the problem and simply resorted to restoring from an image made a few weeks prior.

Unfortunately, none of this helps the OP, and while you may be right, I think the problem is somewhere other than the internet speed.
 
Jim Cockfield said:
Henry, see my last post that included a link to the Flash Player plugin used by Firefox. Here's a quote from it:

As for the Flash Player used by Firefox, get it here:

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Click to expand...
Yes, in my earlier response I said that is where I was getting the install file for flash. I have downloaded the install file several times and attempted to install. When I run it I give it admin permission and then nothing happens. In the last 1.5 years I have updated flash a few times and it has always worked before, but not now.
Member said:
But, Chrome has it's own integrated flash player built in, so it's updated each time you update your Chrome version (and it sounds like you're having issues with both Chrome and Firefox, and given your very slow internet speed, the slower connection speed would be a likely culprit when trying to watch videos online)

The Shockwave installation also includes a stand alone Flash Player, that is not needed by apps like Firefox.

Just install the Flash Player plugin I gave you a link to instead for use with Firefox.

It should show up in your Firefox installation under Tools>Addons>Plugins
Click to expand...
When I do that it doesn't show flash.
Member said:
Another way to see if you have the latest plugin installed is by going to this site using the browser you want to test:

http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
Click to expand...
I just now went there using Firefox and it said I don't have the flash player installed and asked if I want to install it. It downloaded the plugin and then reported that the install failed. It had a button to click on to do a manual install, but all that did was take me back to the earlier page (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/).

I also checked with Chrome and it said I have flash version 15,0,0,152 installed.
Member said:
As for youtube, it can use HTML5 versus the Flash Player. For example, Adobe has discontinued updates to Flash Player for both IOS and Android. So, most browsers for mobile operating systems are using HTML5 now.

But, from my experience with youtube, you're a *LOT* better off sticking with Flash Player, as HTML5 is just not as stable yet with apps like Firefox in Windows.

To see if you're using flash player with youtube, simply "right click" on a video you're watching and you'll see flash player related settings.

If you don't see flash player related settings, then it's possible your browser switched to using html5 instead. But chances are, you're still using Adobe Flash player for youtube (which is far more reliable compared to html5 from my experience using both), and your internet connection speed is the main culprit (as 1.5mbps is extremely slow, and wouldn't even keep up with most 360p videos with decent bit rates anymore, much less higher bit rate videos at 480p, 720p or 1080p).
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. I just checked Firefox and Chrome by right clicking a youtube video. Both show they are using HTML5. If Chrome has flash included then why would Chrome be using HTML5? I am using Chrome Version 37.0.2062.120 m (Chrome reports that it is up to date. I checked on my Win7 computer and when right click it shows that it is using flash.
Member said:
Older versions of flash player tended to be better about "buffering" content (where they would preload content requiring you to wait a while before playback starts so that enough of the content was preloaded to disk first). But, with newer versions of flash player, I've found them to be less forgiving when using very slow connections like yours. So, I suspect that your connection speed is the main issue playing content with newer versions of Flash Player.
Click to expand...
Jim, at this point I want to thank you very much for your help. Also, everyone else who is trying to help. I know that you don't owe me anything and just want to help me solve this problem and I appreciate that very much. I am not sure why you think I am being dishonest with you when I say over and over that my Win7 pc and both Android tablets work okay with youtube using the same wifi. Also, that up until a few weeks ago my Win8 pc also worked okay. I assure you that I am not lying to you.

I gather you have a very fast internet connection. My connection not so long ago would have been considered fast. I have used youtube in various places in the world, free wifi in hotels/motels, at airports, at coffee shops, etc. usually with slower connections than what I have where I am now. I don't want to get you sidetracked, but it sounds to me that if youtube doesn't work at all for you unless you have a very fast connection then you probably have some sort of computer problem too (but probably different than mine).

According to youtube they have over 1 billion unique users each month from all over the world. Most people don't have super fast internet. If youtube only worked for super fast connections then rather than youtube being one of the most popular websites in the world it would probably be one that most people had never even heard of.

Since my Chrome has flash I wonder why it is using HTML5? How can I get Chrome to use flash?
Member said:
Anyway, again, use the links above to make sure you have the flash player plugin installed in Firefox, and if you're using the current version or not (using the about flash player link I just gave you). Then, make sure flash player versus html5 is being used for playback (by right clicking on a video you're watching in youtube and making sure you see adobe flash player related settings appear). If you don't see flash player settings options when "right clicking" on a video you're playing in youtube, then your browser may have reverted to using html5 instead (which is far less reliable from my experience using both playback types).
Click to expand...
I don't know if before I uninstalled flash since I started this thread if Firefox and Chrome were using flash or HTML5. As I said, I just checked and they are both using HTML5 now and for some reason flash won't install. I will reboot again and try installing flash again. I will report back.
 
Henry Richardson said:
I don't know if before I uninstalled flash since I started this thread if Firefox and Chrome were using flash or HTML5. As I said, I just checked and they are both using HTML5 now and for some reason flash won't install. I will reboot again and try installing flash again. I will report back.
Click to expand...
Okay, I rebooted, logged into my admin account, and tried to update the Firefox flash plugin using the Adobe link you provided. It said I didn't have flash installed, downloaded it, and then reported that the install failed. I then clicked on the manual install button which took me to the other Adobe page. I downloaded the install file and ran it. Again, nothing happened and it didn't install, report any problems, or anything. I can see it in the task manager and it appears nothing is happening. All the same as before.

While in the admin account I ran Chrome and checked youtube. I right clicked on a video and it showed that it was using HTML5.
 
Henry...

Something is apparently wrong with your Windows installation, since you are unable to install Flash Player.

Is it fully updated with all patches from Microsoft Update? How about your Firefox version? Is it up to date?

You may want to check for malware to see if some kind of "nasty" is causing your problems. Adware is one thing I'd suspect.

First of all, run adwcleaner to make sure adware isn't causing your problems. It's great for removing most common adware that can cause issues with browsers and extensions (like your inability to get the flash player plugin installed for use with Firefox). Use it's scan choice, then mark everything found and use the clean button to remove the adware found during the scan.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Then, run Malwarebytes Free. It's a super product that can find and remove most common malware and adware that many other products will miss.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

Make sure to mark everything it finds (including PUPs, which are Potentially Unwanted Programs like adware left overs that could be causing issues with your browsers) for removal, as they're not always flagged for removal by default and you have to check the boxes beside them in the scan results.

Then, I'd run a followup scan using Hitman Pro. It's a great scanner using multiple scan engines, and you can use it for free and remove any malware (and awdware) found for up to 30 days after you install it, without anything running in the background that could interfere with the antivirus products you're already using. Same deal... remove everything it identifies. Get it here:

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro

Many antivirus programs will not flag adware as malicious by default, because adware is usually something you give permission to install. Most downloads of free software from popular download sites like cnet's download.com have adware included by default now, unless you're very careful to use a custom installation and uncheck the boxes to include it. They count on users not reading the "fine print" that indicates adware is included by default unless you take steps to "opt out" by unchecking the boxes for it (and the installers can be confusing and misleading, too).

That's just one of the trends we're seeing lately so that download sites and software developers make more money on their "free" products. A lot of it can cause issues with browsers. So, make sure to "opt out" of any extras (especially browser search toolbars and similar), when installing software to avoid adware infection.

Then, after you've cleaned your computer of any malware and adware that may be preventing flash player installation, try to reinstall flash player again and see if it works with firefox on youtube.

As for google chrome, it looks like youtube starting forcing the use of it's html5 player in May (although Firefox should still use adobe flash player by default unless you've "opted in" to using html5 only via a setup page google has for that purpose). More about that kind of thing here:

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2014/05/youtube-switches-to-html5-player-in.html

IOW, by default, if you have flash player installed in Firefox (which you don't because of something wrong with your Win 8 installation preventing you from installing it), then it will be used for youtube playback unless you specifically change the settings on the setup page mentioned by that blog post. But, with Chrome, html5 is now the default player.

There is an extension that allows you to force the use of Flash Player instead (already built into Chrome), at least for now. This one:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/disable-youtube-html5-pla/enmofgaijnbjpblfljopnpdogpldapoc

But, I'd clean your PC of any malware and adware using the above tools (adwcleaner, malwarebytes free, hitman pro) first, as the html5 player may work OK in chrome after that cleanup process gets rid of any malware or adware causing issues.

Then, you should be able to install and use flash player for youtube playback in Firefox after correcting problems with your Win 8 installation (and I'd expect adware or malware to be a potential cause of your issues that the 3 free tools I linked to should be able to find and eliminate for you).

If that still doesn't solve your issues (cleanup of any adware and/or malware that your existing antivirus product didn't detect and remove), then you may need to do a repair installation of Windows 8 to get a working system again unless you have a good disk image backup of your installation from before the problem started that you could restore. Here's a page outlining some of the steps you can take if it comes to that:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc

But, I'd try the steps I mentioned above first for starters, as I suspect you've got some kind of adware or malware causing your issues that the products I linked to can probably find and remove for you.

--
JimC
------
 
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Jim Cockfield said:
Something is apparently wrong with your Windows installation, since you are unable to install Flash Player.

Is it fully updated with all patches from Microsoft Update? How about your Firefox version? Is it up to date?
Click to expand...
I am using the current Firefox version 32.0 (updated yesterday from 31.0). I usually do a Windows update about 2-3 times a month, but since I made the following post a few weeks ago about the big Windows update fiasco I haven't updated. Coincidentally and luckily I didn't get that update. The day before that I had planned to run Windows update, but got busy and didn't. Then I saw the announcement that it had big problems so I didn't get it.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54218526
Member said:
You may want to check for malware to see if some kind of "nasty" is causing your problems. Adware is one thing I'd suspect.

First of all, run adwcleaner to make sure adware isn't causing your problems. It's great for removing most common adware that can cause issues with browsers and extensions (like your inability to get the flash player plugin installed for use with Firefox). Use it's scan choice, then mark everything found and use the clean button to remove the adware found during the scan.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
Click to expand...
I did that yesterday after reading your post. It found a few things, I cleaned them, and then it rebooted my pc.
Member said:
Then, run Malwarebytes Free. It's a super product that can find and remove most common malware and adware that many other products will miss.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/
Click to expand...
A couple of days ago I posted that I had done a virus scan and also run malwarebytes (both with up to date definitions):

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54340663

After running adwcleaner I ran malwarebytes again (with the newest definitions).
Member said:
Make sure to mark everything it finds (including PUPs, which are Potentially Unwanted Programs like adware left overs that could be causing issues with your browsers) for removal, as they're not always flagged for removal by default and you have to check the boxes beside them in the scan results.
Click to expand...
It came back clean and didn't find anything.
Member said:
Then, I'd run a followup scan using Hitman Pro. It's a great scanner using multiple scan engines, and you can use it for free and remove any malware (and awdware) found for up to 30 days after you install it, without anything running in the background that could interfere with the antivirus products you're already using. Same deal... remove everything it identifies. Get it here:

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro
Click to expand...
I downloaded that and ran it. It found some tracking cookies, but otherwise reported everything was clean. It had all the tracking cookies marked for delete, but then when I hit the next button it wanted me to buy it before it would delete the tracking cookies. Since it reported I was clean though I doubt if the tracking cookies are a problem.
Member said:
Many antivirus programs will not flag adware as malicious by default, because adware is usually something you give permission to install. Most downloads of free software from popular download sites like cnet's download.com have adware included by default now, unless you're very careful to use a custom installation and uncheck the boxes to include it. They count on users not reading the "fine print" that indicates adware is included by default unless you take steps to "opt out" by unchecking the boxes for it (and the installers can be confusing and misleading, too).

That's just one of the trends we're seeing lately so that download sites and software developers make more money on their "free" products. A lot of it can cause issues with browsers. So, make sure to "opt out" of any extras (especially browser search toolbars and similar), when installing software to avoid adware infection.
Click to expand...
Yes, I am aware of this and am very careful. Actually, I rarely install anything. In fact downloading and running adwcleaner and Hitman Pro was something I felt reluctant to do, but I downloaded them, scanned them with malwarebytes, and then ran them. :-) In fact, one has to be careful with the Adobe page where you get the flash download. By default it will install some junk so you have to opt out of that.
Member said:
Then, after you've cleaned your computer of any malware and adware that may be preventing flash player installation, try to reinstall flash player again and see if it works with firefox on youtube.

As for google chrome, it looks like youtube starting forcing the use of it's html5 player in May (although Firefox should still use adobe flash player by default unless you've "opted in" to using html5 only via a setup page google has for that purpose). More about that kind of thing here:

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2014/05/youtube-switches-to-html5-player-in.html

IOW, by default, if you have flash player installed in Firefox (which you don't because of something wrong with your Win 8 installation preventing you from installing it), then it will be used for youtube playback unless you specifically change the settings on the setup page mentioned by that blog post. But, with Chrome, html5 is now the default player.

There is an extension that allows you to force the use of Flash Player instead (already built into Chrome), at least for now. This one:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/disable-youtube-html5-pla/enmofgaijnbjpblfljopnpdogpldapoc

But, I'd clean your PC of any malware and adware using the above tools (adwcleaner, malwarebytes free, hitman pro) first, as the html5 player may work OK in chrome after that cleanup process gets rid of any malware or adware causing issues.

Then, you should be able to install and use flash player for youtube playback in Firefox after correcting problems with your Win 8 installation (and I'd expect adware or malware to be a potential cause of your issues that the 3 free tools I linked to should be able to find and eliminate for you).

If that still doesn't solve your issues (cleanup of any adware and/or malware that your existing antivirus product didn't detect and remove), then you may need to do a repair installation of Windows 8 to get a working system again unless you have a good disk image backup of your installation from before the problem started that you could restore. Here's a page outlining some of the steps you can take if it comes to that:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc
Click to expand...
Yeah, that will be my last resort. :-(
Member said:
But, I'd try the steps I mentioned above first for starters, as I suspect you've got some kind of adware or malware causing your issues that the products I linked to can probably find and remove for you.
Click to expand...
By the way, after I did all of the above things you suggested I still couldn't install flash and youtube still doesn't work. I then decided to go ahead and do a Windows update. As I mentioned above, I usually do it 2-3 times a month, but since the buggy Windows update problem a few weeks ago (that thankfully I didn't install) I have held off. The Windows update today installed 22 important updates, but nothing has changed with regards to flash or youtube.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com
 
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