ReInstalling Flash on Windows 8.1

[BejayWaddell]

Flash was playing up and throwing errors every few seconds while I was trying to browse the net with internet explorer.

I decided to fix the problem by reinstalling it.

I followed the guide at: Uninstall Flash Player | Windows

and successfully removed it from my system, but now when following the second half of a reinstall, the actual install part, I am unable to get a simple link to the installer.

The guide directed me here: Adobe Flash Player Install for all versions

But it is only for 'enabling' Flash. I am running windows 8.1 x64 and I tried the link at the bottom of the page above, but it just takes me to Microsoft and gives me a download that is 'not for my computer' in their words.

Where can I manually download and install a copy of flash for internet explorer 11 after following the uninstall guide listed above?

[_maria_]

Hi BejayWaddell,

The instructions on the Uninstall Flash Player | Windows page do not apply to Flash Player for Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and above (this message is included on the page):

Microsoft embeds Flash Player in Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and above, as such, they consider the related Flash Player files to be protected system files and lock the permissions so that the Flash Player uninstaller does not uninstalll it, although it will uninstall other versions of Flash Player (e.g. NPAPI for Firefox or PPAPI for Opera) that may be present on the system. The only way to remove these files is to have manually unlocked (modified permissions) them and deleted the files.  Unfortunately, I'm not aware of an easy way to reinstall Flash Player for Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and above without re-installing the operating system.

--

Maria

[BejayWaddell]

The instructions didn't say "Don't do this if you are running ie10 or above!" nor did the uninstaller say it failed, in fact it said it was successful so I continued to follow the directions on the uninstall flash page which tells me to delete the folders.

And it would take a heck of a lot more that a permission issue to slow me down. I remember cursing Microsoft with the comment "Why the hell does admin not have permission to delete a 3rd party product?" as I took ownership and corrected the permissions of what I considered an MS oversight.

Like a good admin I have a backup from before I did this, so I can try and restore the folders from there,

Though I would highly recommend Adobe put some kind of warning about this on the Uninstall page, if not in the uninstaller itself. Somewhere before step three in the instructions would have been good.

[_maria_ · Accepted solution]

Please see the screenshot I appended to my previous post...text indicating the instructions are not applicable to Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and above and Edge on Windows 10 are posted at the top of the page.  I realize the text doesn't stand out and an update will be made soon to make the text more prominent.

Since Microsoft embeds Flash Player for Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and above, and Edge on Windows 10, the uninstaller ignores Flash Player ActiveX on these systems and proceeds to uninstall the NPAPI or PPAPI plugin that may be installed on the system.  If there was an error uninstalling the NPAPI or PPAPI then it would throw an error.

--

Maria

[BejayWaddell]

I must say when I read through the page I did not see the warning and when the uninstaller reported 'uninstallation successful' I just assumed that it had been successful and continued down the list.

The good news is I restored the two folders: C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash & C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash from my back up and then re-enabled the Shockwave plug-in in IE11 and I have flash working again.

So I wave my fist at Microsoft, I never would have travelled down this path if they hadn't released a Debug version in their update instead of the Release version! They have now fixed it, (I got the update as soon as I restored the folders) but it was still a waist of my time. Oh well.

It would be good to see the uninstaller do an OS check and then raise some kind of an error, or just report that there was nothing to remove as some kind of warning.

Thank you for talking to me, I always appreciate the interaction.

[_maria_]

I'm glad you were able to restore the folders and were able to install the update without having to resort to an OS re-install as has been the case for many users.

I'll take your feedback on the messaging in the uninstaller itself back to the team.  I have noticed an increase in users removing the Flash Player files on Windows 8 in recent weeks, which is why we're making changes to the tech note to make it more prominent.  Changing the tech note text is quicker and easier than adding the messaging to the installer which requires localization in all of the supported languages and a rebuild of the installer.

--

Maria

[mikeo75266919]

welcome to my world friend I posted this same problem some 3 weeks ago it is a pain but it seems nobody has an answer to it as part os ie 11 the system will  tell you that adobe is installed already yet in your programs and features there is no program there so the add on is still working with no program to support it I was wondering if the new install of W10 will solve this problem?

[_maria_]

Hi mikeo75266919,

Windows 10 is the same way.  Flash Player is embedded in Internet Explorer (and Edge) therefore it it doesn't have its own entry in Add/Remove Programs.  Updates are installed as a Windows Update, not a standalone application.  If you view Installed Updates you'll see the 'Security Update for Flash Player for Internet Explorer' update item.  To revert to a previous version (not recommended) you would uninstall the Windows Update.  Since Microsoft embeds Flash Player in Internet Explorer (and Edge in Windows 10) there is no way to completely uninstall it in a safe manner.

--

Maria

[BejayWaddell]

It should do as it is a whole new install of windows. Actually when the flash error first started popping up I assumed it was a product of me rolling back from a windows 10 upgrade. As a developer I run VM's, sometimes a lot of VM's but the Win10 upgrade destroyed my virtual switches and then wouldn't let me uninstall and reinstall them. (I was doing a lot of that! And then again after I gave up and rolled back to 8.1)

That was the original reason I thought nothing of uninstalling and re-installing Java.

Are you not able to get your files back?