Unable to install Flash Player

[papejl]

Hello, I am unable to install Flash Player.  I am getting the error: A Required File (c:\\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil32_11_3_300_265_ActiveXexe.5) could not be written due to insufficient permissions. 

I have admin permissions.  This is a Windows 7/IE 9 config.  I need flash player to support an online exam and I am running out of time.   It appears to me there is an installer problem.  Please help and provide instructions how to work around or find patch.

[pwillener]

Try a clean install as described in http://forums.adobe.com/thread/928315

If that does not work, you may have a permission problem in your Flash folders; see http://forums.adobe.com/thread/987370

[topic moved to Flash Player forum]

[papejl]

Good Morning Pat, Thank you much for your response.  I had already executed both of these prior to my call for help, and also turned off all protection ware as well.  None were successful.  Any other suggestions.  I called Adobe this morning to go ahead and pay for help, and was kept waiting for 15 minutes while someone rebooted their computer.  I have to go for a job interview, but guess I will try again later.  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Janiene

[private data removed]

[pwillener]

This is a public forum; please do not post your email address and other private data (by sending the entire forum notification message back to the forum).

[Sunil_Bhaskaran]

Could you please try the following:

1. Uninstall Flash Player. http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

2. Ensure that you delete the installation files and restarted the machine.

3. Get the installer from http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

4. Close browsers and install the installer.

Thanks,

Sunil

[papejl]

Thank you for taking the time to make the suggestion Sunil.  This apparently works well for many but is not a successful course of action for my situation. It has been tried multiple times, including with Adobe on the phone since I went ahead and paid for the resolution.   We have worked through all the actions you can find in the forums but since those have all failed, the case  has been escalated and I hoping to get some focused help since so much of what I need to do on a daily basis is disabled.  Again, thank you.

[papejl]

Thank you Pat.  I thought I had sent the data to you directly. Just too unfamiliar with how the blog works.  I appreciate you letting me know.

[pwillener]

I am having difficulties understanding what is going on.  You are still getting that original message "A Required File (c:\\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil32_11_3_300_265_ActiveX exe.5) could not be written due to insufficient permissions" ?

If that is the case, then

1. you are not installing as an Administrator user
2. have not executed the procedure http://forums.adobe.com/thread/928315
3. have not executed the procedure http://forums.adobe.com/thread/987370

Question: after you run the installer, is that module (C:\\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil32_11_3_300_265_ActiveX.exe) present?

[papejl]

Well, your bottomline judgements are not quite right, but I appreciate your commitment to these work arounds.  Let me be clear that yes, I am still experiencing the problem.

Yes, I am installing as the Administrator

Yes, I have executed the procedures in the threads you noted.

I will add that we have repeated all these numerous times with Adobe hanging on the phone directing our actions and reporting on status and file content. We have disabled our protection ware as well but that does not appear to be a factor in anyway.  They have also directed a few more experiments, all which have failed on this release.  Right now they are telling me to call MS. MS is clear that they feel the problem is with Adobe...

I went ahead and pulled the archived version of flashplayer, one release back... 11...235.  If I install the Active X version that is in the zip file, I return to normal with no problems. The non-active X version does not work for me and I am not smart enough to understand the difference.  

It does not fix the orginal problem I had that started all this - having to do with hooking up a camera so a proctor could watch me take an exam. The proctor's software could not see my camera, dont know why,  but having tried other computers with a working version of Adobe, that were just fine, with this vendor, I am convinced it is their problem... it is unrelated to this, but facilated the failure because their instructions indicate that you must install the latest version of Flash Player and that is what manifested the problem.

In desparation to get something working, I pulled the older version and was surprised that it painlessly restored functionality.  It still could be a registry problem since this version might be recognized in somewhat by the computer, but whatever the explanation, it worked and I am making zero headway on the latest version.

Is there anything thing obvious here or a new path to follow when I indicate that installer:

flashplayer11_2r202_235_winax_32bit   works?

Is it possible that the registry fix does not encompass something that changed in this latest release? 

Any/all thoughts are welcome. 

[pwillener]

At this stage, in order to try to understand what is going on, I really need to know what files are in folder C:\\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash

papejl wrote:

The non-active X version does not work for me

Can you be a little bit more specific what you mean by that?

→ The ActiveX version is the Flash Player add-on for Internet Explorer; the plugin version is the add-on for all other browsers.

[papejl]

Hello Pat,

Would be nice if the trouble desk would ask for this information...   Anyway, I had gathered this all for you including the content of the log file which I had sent to Chris on a previous email, however, I believe I have figured this out.  Dummy me. I spent the morning running other recommendations on other blogs, like chkdsk to confirm no disk errors, but I got stuck on the fact that I could install the previous release and not this one.  I was in a queue to talk with MS... but I got stuck on how to figure out if some how this file or parts of it had gotten quarantined. We ran many experiments  with the protection ware all turned off and kept getting the same results, but I could not find any data about whether maybe MS Security Essentials somehow takes these blocked transactions and messes with the registry or something similar.  Doesnt really make sense, but I really felt I had not pursued this completely.  I am not familiar with ThreatFire, the zone and MS Security Essentials since I have always used McAfee, but my husband recently ditched that and went with these free options.  Anyway, I kept looking in MS Security Essentials and it took me awhile to explore ThreatFire.  I found the file quarantined in that program and did a restore on it.  Went directly to the installation file on my desktop and launched it (did not have to do so as admin) and it appears to have worked.    Now my husband did the trouble shooting with Adobe so I am not clear how far "turning off" virus protection goes.. Something was still healthy enough to know that this was a previously marked bad boy and it was not going any where.

I would like to thank you for your questions and willingness to help.

[pwillener]

So everything is fine now?