OS X Flash Player Totally Broken!!!!

[Guest]

I have OS X Mavericks (10.9.4) and I was getting a "flash player out of date" error on my browser… I tried to install the update but it didn't work. So I followed the instrcutions from this site to do a uninstall and clean install… and it doesn't work at all… There's NO flash player at all on my computer according to the flash test page here (http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/installation-problems-flash-player-mac.html).

When I tell it to install, it brings up a box asking for my password to be able to do the install… I typed it in and hit enter… that box goes away… then NOTHING shows up and the flash installer thingy just sits in the dock for about a minute… then goes away… I opened my browser and went to that test page- no flash player… I restarted the computer, then went there… no flash player… I tried to install again… same thing. So basically I've gone from having an out of date & partly working flash player to having NONE at all… What the heck is wrong with flash that it is totally and 100% broken now?! And how do I fix it so I can like actually play games, watch videos, and use sites that run their entire page in flash again?! Cuz the "help" on here for a clean install DO NOT WORK at all!

[pwillener · Accepted solution]

Did you try this installer: http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/current/support/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

[_maria_]

Hello,

We apologize for the installation issues you are encountering.  Unfortunately, we have not been able to reproduce these installation issues using the online installer.  The offline installer Pat provided a link should work fine.  If you'd like to help us troubleshoot the installation issues with the online installer, and are comfortable working in the Terminal app we'd appreciate it if you could provide us with the install log file for the online installer.  If so, please do the following:

1. Download the installer  from get.adobe.com/flashplayer and save it to the desktop
2. Mount the DMG (double-click the file) and copy the .app file to a local folder (e.g. desktop)
3. Open LaunchPad and in the top search window type Terminal, click the app icon to open the Terminal application
4. In Terminal, change directories to where the .app is saved to (step 2), type: cd <location to file in step 2>
   • e.g. If the extracted .app file is on the desktop, type: cd /Users/labuser/Desktop
5. At the prompt, type: ./Install\Adobe\ Flash\ Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe\ Flash\ Player\Install \Manager -debug - file
6. Go back to back to the location where the .app is saved to (step 2)
7. Right-click on the app and select Show Package Contents
8. In the window that displays, navigate to Contents/MacOS
9. Obtain the host.develop.log file.
10. Post the contents of the host.develop.log file here in your response, or share the file following the How to share a document instructions.

Thank you in advance.

--

Maria

(18-Aug: Fixed error in step 5.  Command argument to use was incorrect)

[_maria_]

Hello,

A follow-up question:  Are you able to install other applications (.app), for example, from the link posted by Pat, or is this happening just for the online Flash Player installer?

Thank you in advance.

--

Maria

[Guest]

It was JUST flash, Acrobat Reader installed fine, and anything else I did worked fine. That link above for that offline one worked- finally. I have no idea why Adobe doesn't just put THAT link on their page for updating and installing the flash player- the other one that it tries to push you to use seems to be totally useless. Thank you for the link to that good installer, Pat! And, thank you everyone for the help.  

[_maria_]

Hello,

Thank you for the feedback and I'm glad the offline installer worked for you.  We realize customers are experiencing issues with the online installer, however, we are not able to reproduce these issues, which makes it difficult to troubleshoot, identify the cause, and fix the problems.  Having users provide log files will help us in the troubleshooting process.

--

Maria

[jeromiec83223024]

We'd really like to fix this problem, but we're unable to reproduce it in our labs.  If you could please run the troubleshooting steps above for the other installer and provide us with the logs, it would be extremely valuable for both the people trying to fix the issue and other mac users that are running into the problem.

Thanks!

[Guest]

I can get as far as this ./Install\Adobe\ Flash\ Player.app/Contents/MacOS/ when I try that command (it said no directory was found by the name above)

Viewing the package contents of the installer .app, I see what the problem is. There are NO directories in "MacOS"! There is just a single file "Adobe Flash Player Install Manager".

Should I do that command as the following instead?

./Install\ Adobe\ Flash\ Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe\ Flash\ Player\ Install\ Manager -debug - file

Also, if I do, will that change anything else in those instructions? Sorry if these are all dumb questions, I am just learning all this computer geek stuff.

[_maria_]

Hello Sunflower,

I apologize, there is an error in my instructions.  I have fixed it above.  What you have is the correct name to use:

./Install\ Adobe\ Flash\ Player.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe\ Flash\ Player\ Install\ Manager -debug - file

--

Maria

[jaylender]

Jeromie,

I had a similar problem, if not the same one, and when I used your troubleshooting guide, the Troubleshoot: Progress bar hangs while installing Flash Player"

section advised me to look for Adobe Flash Player.pkg in the Contents< Resources folder of the installer package.  Guess what?  It's not there.  At all.  And neither are the other items in the graphic.  I'm guessing that's your problem...

--Jay

[_maria_]

Hi Jay,

The instructions for extracting the .pkg from the .app installer are for the offline installer, not the online installer, however, I see that the instructions don't include this specification.  I will request that the help page be updated with the correct information.

Did you try installing Flash Player using the offline installer that Pat links to?

--

Maria

[jaylender]

Maria, I tried the installer from the link in this thread and everything worked fine.  Good luck finding the trouble with the other installer!

--Jay