- Fix the Youtube error message 'Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player'.
- Check the version of Flash Player installed on your PC
- Fix common Flash Player installation errors
- Download the latest version of Flash Player as a single installation file
- If you are having trouble with the error message 'Cannot find the file flash.ocx', see our guide on how to fix the 'Cannot find the file flash.ocx' error at the bottom of the page.
Understanding Flash Player
| Adobe's Flash Player is needed to access certain types of content on the Web. Generally, you will need the latest version installed on your computer to properly access Flash content, including videos on Youtube. | |
| That's all well and good, but we are guessing the reason you are here is that something has gone wrong. Either Flash seems to install but the content is still not showing, or no matter what you did, Flash wouldn't install on the official Adobe site. Sadly, these are very common issues. The most frustrating error appears at sites such as Youtube where you see 'Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia's Flash Player. Get the latest flash player.' In most reports we have seen of this Youtube error, it is nothing to with Javascript being turned off, but the Flash Player itself. | |
Well, it could be a range of issues. Here are some common ones:
- Security software is interfering with the installation
- User rights are not set at the correct level
- There is an unknown bug on the Adobe site
- For some reason, the Flash ActiveX files are not properly registered on the system (common in Internet Explorer 7 and Vista)
- There is some other Windows Vista or Internet Explorer 7 issue
- ActiveX controls or security levels in Internet Explorer are set in a way that prevents the installation
- The protected zone in Windows Vista is causing the problem
- Something is wrong with the existing version of Flash on your computer. It is probably corrupted and this is preventing the proper installation of the latest Flash player.
- For the Youtube error 'Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player', this is mainly due to a corrupted installation of the Flash Player.
Something seems to have gone wrong
Okay, you downloaded the standalone installation and the Flash Player is still not working properly. Did you run the installation file you downloaded and close all open windows - including your Web browser? Silly as it may seem, some people forget these steps. Otherwise, it may be an older or corrupt version of Flash that is causing the issue.
Solution: Adobe - and many of our visitors - advise you to use the Flash Player uninstall tool (see the top of this page). Restart your computer and try running the standalone installation file again.
Determining what version of Flash is on your system
A highly frustrating aspect of Flash is that sometimes you think you have installed one version, yet you are being told something different on various web sites. You need to cross check two things. Most issues relate to Internet Explorer, so we'll deal with it here. This is going to be a marathon - stay in there...
Start Internet Explorer and from the menu click Tools-Internet Options. Click the General Tab, followed by the Settings button about half-way down the window on the right. Now click the View Objects button. You should see an option called 'Shockwave Flash Object'. Right-click on the file and choose Properties. Finally, click the Version tab. Now go to Adobe's version check (this link opens in a new window). Do the two version numbers match and are they the latest version? If yes, you should be OK to view content. If not - or there is still a problem - use the Flash Player uninstall tool (see the top of this page) and try reinstalling the player.
You are here: Flash install problems - how to fix Flash player installation problems such as the Youtube error: Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia's Flash Player.
Fix the Flash error message 'Cannot find the file flash.ocx'.
The Flash.ocx file is an important part of Flash Player. There are four main reasons that you are seeing the error 'Cannot find the file flash.ocx'
- The Flash.Ocx has been deleted off your system (or was never installed)
- The Flash.Ocx currently on your system is a different version to the Flash Player on your system (often a result of a incomplete or faulty installation of Flash Player)
- The Flash.Ocx file has become corrupted
- Windows has not properly registered the file into the operating system (the error source is most likely within the Windows Registry)
There are other solutions on the Web, but it's important to understand the risks of the alternative approaches.
Suggested solutions that are not likely to fix the issue, and why
- Downloading the Flash.ocx by itself
Firstly, you should never download an ocx file (or any dll file for that matter) and try to copy it to a system directory. The reasons are simple. Despite the error message, the file name in question may be different. For example the file may be be flash10h.ocx or flash9a.ocx. So Flash Player 10 has a slightly different flash.ocx filename compared to Flash Player 9. If you copy the wrong one over or change the file names, it may introduce new complications. If your initial problem was a result of a wrong registry entry, then copying an incorrect flash.ocx file now means you have two problems. - Manually repairing the registry entries
The Windows registry is an extraordinary complicated beast, with many cryptic processes and entries. Software developers follow protocols for registering files and there can many different entries scattered throughout the 100,000+ locations. Removing Flash Player with the uninstall tool removes all the entries. Reinstalling Flash, restores them correctly. Trying to do this by yourself is a time-consuming process and ultimately won't even be successful if the issue is due to a corrupt or missing copy of flash.ocx - Old file name
With some poorly designed software, the program is looking for a file called flash.ocx. As mentioned above, the name of flash.ocx varies with each version of Flash. Since the program is looking for flash.ocx and you have, for example, flash10h.ocx, then the software will display an error message. Some sites suggest renaming the flash*.ocx file (eg flash10h.ocx) to flash.ocx. This is likely to create problems for other programs and Windows itself, so it is not advisable to change the name. In all likelihood, there is a good chance the file is locked and Windows won't let you change the filename. - From the above, it is clear there is more Flash.ocx error than simply downloading the file or changing a registry value.
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