Shockwave Flash error

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Alice
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Joined: April 23rd, 2003, 11:47 am

Post by Alice »

dickvl wrote:You can check that by typing about:plugins in the url bar and press <enter> and look for:

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Shockwave Flash
File name: C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32.dll
Shockwave Flash 8.0 r22

That's odd. My C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder only contains the activeX control Flash8.ocx (version 8.0.22.0), two older .ocx files (flash.ocx and swflash.ocx) plus the getflash.exe and getflash.exe.manifest files. No NPSWF32.dll. Firefox and my other Mozilla browsers are all using the NPSWF32.dll file from the plugins folder in each installation directory.

I checked my install notes for Macromedia Flash 8.0.22 and here is what they say:
11-09-05 DL Flash 8,0,22,0 (install_flash_player.exe)
First, I deleted NPSWF32.dll and flashplayer.xpt from all other browsers PLUGINS folders (except Firefox 1.0.7) and renamed flashplayer.xpt to flashplayer.xptOLD in Firefox 1.0.7 and other browsers COMPONENTS folder then ran the install_flash_player.exe file which added the new plugin automatically to Firefox 1.0.7, Mozilla 1.7.12 aND Netscape 7.2 PLugins folders. It also added a new flashplayer.xpt file to components for the three browsers.
Next, I went to the Flash DL site in Internet Explorer and installed Flash8 there since IE was still showing Flash 7.0.19

http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/dow ... kwaveFlash
File size: 926 K
Download Time Estimate: 2 minutes @ 56K modem
Version: 8,0,22,0
Browser: Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera, and CompuServe
Date Posted: 9/12/2005
Language: English


I had another set of notes for the Flash XPI package, which is another way you can install Flash, useful if the setup file doesn't detect your browser as would be the case if you only had zipped Mozilla browsers installed.
12-28-2005 Downloaded the Macromedia Flash Player 8.0 XPI package, http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/fl ... er-win.xpi from the Install link at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/windows.html for backup purposes. Note that the XPI file includes the flashplayer.xpt file needed for scripting.


bushvenom,

I checked in my Add or Remove Programs list and I do show "Macromedia Flash Player 8" there. I checked the uninstall command (in one of my utility programs) and it's listed as:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection C:\WINDOWS\INF\swflash.inf,DefaultUninstall,5

Did you install Flash 8 for Internet Explorer, in addition to the Netscape/Mozilla install? I did.
Alice Wyman
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dickvl
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Joined: July 18th, 2005, 3:25 am

Post by dickvl »

Both are possible: if the plugins are in the C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash\ folder then the installer creates a registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\@macromedia.com/FlashPlayer8

It could be caused by the fact that I have 4 or 5 browsers installed: Fx 1.0.7, Fx 1.5.0.1, a few nightlies and SeaMonkey (all are using a separate profile, so I can use time all at the same time) for testing and checking my answers on questions.
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

But how did the netscape-style plugins get into the C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash\ folder in the first place? Neither of my Flash8 installs placed them there. I'm afraid I'm not following you.
Alice Wyman
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dickvl
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Post by dickvl »

I have these files in that directory:

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12/08/2003  02:01 PM           933,888 Flash.ocx
08/29/2002  11:39 AM           409,600 swflash.ocx
09/17/2005  11:43 PM         1,312,392 NPSWF32.dll
09/17/2005  11:43 PM               856 flashplayer.xpt
09/17/2005  11:43 PM           128,648 GetFlash.exe
09/17/2005  11:43 PM               601 GetFlash.exe.manifest

So the installer must have placed them there.
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

I don't see any Flash8.ocx file in there. You didn't install Flash 8 in Internet Explorer? Which Flash8 installer did you use, do you remember?

My flash8.ocx is version 8.0.22.0. So is the getflash.exe file.
The other .ocx files are from older versions: flash.ocx is 7.0.19.0 and swflash.ocx is 5.0.44.0.

Here's my listing:

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 Directory of C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash

11/09/2005  08:26 PM    <DIR>          .
11/09/2005  08:26 PM    <DIR>          ..
04/08/2004  04:51 PM           939,368 Flash.ocx
08/27/2005  01:38 PM         1,435,272 Flash8.ocx
08/27/2005  01:38 PM           128,648 GetFlash.exe
08/27/2005  01:29 PM               601 GetFlash.exe.manifest
08/29/2002  06:00 AM           409,600 SWFLASH.OCX
               5 File(s)      2,913,489 bytes
Alice Wyman
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dickvl
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Post by dickvl »

Did you install from the macromedia site or http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/windows.html#Flash
The xpi version has the file dates you have (maybe an older version?)
(latest version now is 8.0.24, but I haven't updated yet)
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

I installed Flash 8,0,22,0 (install_flash_player.exe) from the macromedia site... first the setup file for Netscape/Mozilla, later on I used Internet Explorer and installed the IE version online. see my posted install notes. (I also noticed there is a new version.)

Which Flash8 installer did you use?

P.S. I checked for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\ and I don't have @macromedia.com/FlashPlayer8 listed, only some @real.com plugins. The only mention of that registry key I found at http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/notes.html#Scanning was this:
Windows Registry (PLID scan)

Some plugins add PLIDs to the Windows registry. You should not need to touch this.

// Locate plugins by the directories specified in the Windows registry for PLIDs
// Which is currently HKLM\Software\MozillaPlugins\xxxPLIDxxx\Path
pref("plugin.scan.plid.all", true);
Alice Wyman
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dickvl
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Post by dickvl »

I use the installer from the Macromedia site, but I installed them later manually.
Had to select the install plugins folders as I use .zip installs for the nightlies.
I not an expert on this and I don't know what the installer exactly does and as long as it works I don't really care :)
Old BushVenom
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 5:00 pm

Post by Old BushVenom »

Alice wrote:bushvenom,
I checked in my Add or Remove Programs list and I do show "Macromedia Flash Player 8" there. I checked the uninstall command (in one of my utility programs) and it's listed as:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection C:\WINDOWS\INF\swflash.inf,DefaultUninstall,5

Did you install Flash 8 for Internet Explorer, in addition to the Netscape/Mozilla install? I did.

Alice,

I did install Flash 8 for IE as well as the Firefox install. However, it never seemed to "take", in the sense that, each time I went to IE for Flash testing, I'd have to reinstall it, and it worked for that IE session only. Perhaps an installer thing. Who knows?

Anyway, I installed Flash Player 8.0 r24, the "critical security update" from Macromedia, and this time, Macromedia Flash Player and Macromedia Shockwave Player both show up in my Add/Remove Programs! (the security bulletin recommends updating Shockwave Player also).

I have the same 5 items as Alice in the C:\Windows\System32\Macromedia\Flash folder (in other words, the Flash plugin is not listed there). I also do not have any reference to @macromedia.com/Flash Player 8 listed at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\, just the references to @real.com plugins.

The critical update for Flash, which everyone should install (along with the Shockwave Player update) is referenced in the following bulletin from Macromedia:

http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/securi ... 06-03.html
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

dickvl,
You mean you also ran the install_flash_player.exe for Flash8 from the macromedia download area? How odd that it worked differently for you. For me, it copied the NPSWF32.dll file to my installed Firefox 1.0.7 , Netscape 7.2 and Mozilla 1.7.12 browsers' plugins folder (along with the "getflash" files) and copied flashplayer.xpt to the components folder. I then had to copy the dll and xpt files to the corresponding locations in my SeaMonkey Firefox 1.5.0.1 and Firefox 1.5 zipped builds.

Do you remember ever installing the flashplayer-win.xpi from the http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/windows.html#Flash Install link? From what I can tell from viewing the install.js file (and I'm not an expert by a long shot!) the XPI install copies the dll and xpt files to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder and writes the registry entry for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\ "@macromedia.com/FlashPlayer8".

I used WinZip to open the flashplayer-win.xpi for 8.0.22 (which I had downloaded a few months back, but never used). Then I viewed the contents of the included install.js file. Here's a copy/paste of a portion of the contents:

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This is an install.js file that does the following --

1. Installs to the current browser that is invoking the installation
2. Additionally installs to a secondary location on the Windows desktop,
   in this case C:\WINNT\System32\MyPlugin\
3. Writes registry keys exposing the above secondary install location for
   other browsers to find.  The keys are written according to the specification:
   http://mozilla.org/projects/plugins/first-install-problem.html and follows the
   PLID specification: http://mozilla.org/projects/plugins/plugin-identifier.html

<snip>

// PLIDs (http://mozilla.org/projects/plugins/plugin-identifier.html) are coined by vendors.
var PLID = "@macromedia.com/FlashPlayer8";
var VERSION = "8.0.22.0";
var MIMETYPE = ["application/x-shockwave-flash", "application/futuresplash"];
var SUFFIX = ["swf", "spl"];
var SUFFIX_DESCRIPTION = ["Macromedia Flash Movie", "FutureSplash Movie"];
var COMPANY_NAME = "Macromedia";
// Macromed\Flash folder has been used for ActiveX player since day one (when only 8 chars allowed in DOS),
// so we will use it too
var SYS_COMPANY_PROD_NAME = "Macromed/Flash"; 
var PLUGIN_DESCRIPTION = "Macromedia Flash Player 8.0";

(The included link http://www.mozilla.org/projects/plugins ... oblem.html explains alot.)
Alice Wyman
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dickvl
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Post by dickvl »

I supposed I used the xpi once or replaced the installer in the .xpi by a newer version.
I've installed the r24 version and it only updated the .exe installed versions and not the .zip ones and the one in the C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash\ folder. So I put the updated files in that folder and deleted the plugin from the program files folder(s) and Fx detected the plugin correct in all installs incl. Fx 1.0.7.
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

bushvenom,
Thanks for the link to the security bulletin about the Shockwave and Flash updates. All done, Here are my install notes, in case anyone cares ;)
03-29-2006 I went to http://sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/down ... wnload.cgi? in Internet Explorer and the listed update was:
File size: 2,801 K
Download Time Estimate: 6 minutes @ 56K modem
Platform: Windows
Version: Shockwave 10.1.1.016
Browser: Internet Explorer
Date Posted: 3/14/2006

Clicked the DL link to install, got the security warning, sad Yes to install Shockwave Player 10.1,
Said NO to the Yahoo toolbar, then the install completed. Went to http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/welcome/ and my new version is 10.1.1r16

Did a hard drive search on np32dsw.dll and found that my installed browsers Firefox 1.0.7, Mozilla 1.7.12 and Netscape 7.2 had the new np32dsw.dll version 10.1.1.16 while my zipped browsers Firefox 15 Firefox 20 and SeaMonkey still had the old version 10.1.0.11 so I needed to copy the np32dsw.dll file over (Shockwaveplugin.class was unchanged), which I expected, since the same thing happened last time I installed Shockwave in IE. C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Shockwave 10 has an install.log file with details

03-29 -2006 After Shockwave 10.1.1.16 install I went to the Flash Player DL site in IE to install the new Flash 8.0.24 which installed successfilly in IE but that only added a new Flash8a.ocx file to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder, version 8.0.24.0. I checked the Mozilla browsers for NPSWF32.dll but there was no change, so I needed to run the Flash installer for Mozilla I had DL’ed earlier from http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer using:
install_flash_player.exe
File size: 930 K
Download Time Estimate: 2 minutes @ 56K modem
Version: 8,0,24,0
Browser: Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, Opera, and CompuServe
Date Posted: 3/14/2006
Language: English

That updated NPSWF32.dll to version 8.0.24. in my installed Firefox 1.0.7 NS7.2 and Mozilla 1.7.12 browser plugins folders. Then I copied the updated versions to my zipped build SeaMonkey, Firefox 15 and Firefox20 plugins folders. I also copied the new flashplayer.xpt file to components just in case there was any change. Checked the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder again and the DIR listing still does not show the mozilla plugin files, only the ActiveX files for IE:
Directory of C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash

03/29/2006 08:11 AM <DIR> .
03/29/2006 08:11 AM <DIR> ..
04/08/2004 04:51 PM 939,368 Flash.ocx
08/27/2005 01:38 PM 1,435,272 Flash8.ocx
01/02/2006 11:13 AM 1,443,464 Flash8a.ocx
01/02/2006 11:13 AM 128,648 GetFlash.exe
11/18/2005 12:21 PM 601 GetFlash.exe.manifest
08/29/2002 06:00 AM 409,600 SWFLASH.OCX
12/20/2005 04:24 PM 20,480 UninstFl.exe
7 File(s) 4,377,433 bytes

04-01-2006 edit: flash DL link corrected
Last edited by Alice on April 1st, 2006, 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
JRM60
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Joined: March 25th, 2006, 10:27 pm

Post by JRM60 »

Bushvenom-

Hi, sorry it took so long to get back on this but I've been busy. I cleaned the temp, uninstalled Macromedia 8., uninstalled Firefox and all Mozilla files, rebooted and did a clean install of Firefox. The first time I went to DPR, I received the Shockwave flash error again. I'm about to give up on Firefox until I do a clean install of windows XP on my machine. I'm going to buy a new desktop system soon and when I do then I can do a format on my current laptop where it seems windows isn't quite right. Don't know what else to do, but Firefox is so much better than IE. Wish I could make it work consistantly.

Jim
Old BushVenom
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 5:00 pm

Post by Old BushVenom »

JRM60,

I believe I have a workaround for you as the Flash installer/uninstaller isn't working out. As the reason you're getting the error message in the first place is because you don't have the file flashplayer.xpt (which handles scripting), and there are Flash ads embedded in JavaScript at DPR, I'd suggest installing Adblock Plus with a good filterset, and those Flash ads won't even load, so the error message shouldn't appear.

Adblock Plus: http://www.extensionsmirror.nl/index.php?showtopic=774 ("enhanced" version 0.5.11.3 at bottom of page).

Here's a good filterset to import into Adblock Plus once it's installed:

http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/
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Alice
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Post by Alice »

I'm not sure the missing Mozilla Firefox\components\flashplayer.xpt has any bearing on the problem, expecially since the XPI installer places the file in another location which is accessible through plugin scanning but to rule it out as an issue:

JRM60,
My suggestions:
1. Go to http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer and download the Macromedia Flash player (version 8,0,24,0) installer file install_flash_player.exe to your desktop, exit Firefox and run the installer. This should reinstall the latest version of the Flash plugin NPSWF32.dll to the Program Files \Mozilla Firefox \plugins folder and add flashplayer.xpt to the Mozilla Firefox\ components folder

2. Do a Windows file search for flashplayer.xpt - do you find it? If so, where? If for any reason it was not installed to Firefox, but you find it elsewhere, you can copy it to the Program Files\ Mozilla Firefox\ components folder.

P. S. There's another current thread that mentions the same Shockwave Flash error, here in case you haven't seen it.
Alice Wyman
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