Shockwave & Flash Player FAQ

Shockwave & Flash Player Overview

Troubleshooting

Shockwave & Flash Player Overview

How do I fix almost all Shockwave and Flash Player issues?

An earlier version of Shockwave Player is pre-installed with most popular Internet browsers. Sometimes, damage to the Shockwave Player that's already installed can prevent your upgrading to the latest Shockwave Player. You can resolve almost all difficulties encountered with the Adobe Shockwave and Flash Players by taking the following steps:

  1. Make sure you have the latest version of your Internet browser. You can check for later versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator/Communicator, and America Online at their Web sites. If there is a more recent version, download its installer to your desktop. Don't run this installer yet.
  2. Uninstall Shockwave Player: You can download a Shockwave Player uninstaller for Windows and Mac OS:
  3. Save the uninstaller to your desktop, then quit/exit any applications you have open.
  4. Launch the uninstaller from your desktop and follow the instructions in the dialog boxes which appear.
  5. Uninstall Flash Player. To uninstall Flash Player, you must delete the Flash Player plug-in or ActiveX control. The path to the Flash Player depends on the operating your computer uses:
    • Windows 95/98: Delete the swflash.ocx file in the Macromed directory: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Macromed\flash\
    • Windows NT: Delete the swflash.ocx file in the Macromed directory: C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\
    • Netscape for Windows: Delete the NPSWF32.dll file in the Netscape plugins directory: C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins
    • Mac OS: Delete the Shockwave Flash NP-PPC file in the plug-ins folder of your Internet browser.
  6. Restart your computer.
  7. If you downloaded the installer for a more recent version of your Internet browser, launch that installer now. Follow the instructions the installer gives.
  8. Finally, reinstall the Shockwave and Flash Players here: http://www.adobe.com/downloads/

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What is Shockwave Player?

Shockwave Player is the Web standard for powerful multimedia playback. It lets you view interactive Web content like games, business presentations, entertainment, and advertisements from your Web browser.

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How do I get Shockwave Player?

The Shockwave Player is free, easy to get, and available to everyone on the Web. Shockwave Player is included in Windows 95, 98, MacOS, Internet Explorer CD, America Online, Netscape Navigator, Prodigy, Encarta, and Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Get the latest version of the Shockwave Player now.

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How does Shockwave Player protect my privacy?

Please see Adobe's Shockwave Player Privacy Frequently Asked Questions.

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What is Flash Player?

Flash is the premiere vector-based design and animation technology on the Internet. Millions of Web users already have Flash Player installed.

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How do I get Flash Player?

Flash Player is included as part of the Shockwave Player download.

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What's the difference between the Flash and Shockwave Players?

Flash and Shockwave Players are both free Web Players from Adobe. Together, they bring you the best rich media content on the Internet. Each has a distinct purpose. Flash Player delivers fast loading front-end Web applications, high-impact Web site user interaction, interactive online advertising, and short to medium form animation. Shockwave Player displays destination Web content such as interactive multimedia product demos and training, e-merchandising applications, and rich-media multiuser games. When you download Shockwave Player, it automatically includes Adobe Flash Player.

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Troubleshooting

Why doesn't Shockwave Player download properly with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5?

When Internet Explorer 5 on Windows encounters a request from a page to download a new ActiveX control, an option is provided to allow the user to prevent the specified ActiveX control from ever installing in the future. If this option is selected when you encounter Shockwave or Flash Player ActiveX controls, future installation attempts of these controls will fail.

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How can I improve the performance of Shockwave Player?

Typically, a faster computer will play Shockwave content faster. A fast modem, ISDN or T1 connection to the Internet will enable Shockwave content to be downloaded to your computer more quickly. The best case scenario is to run only your web browser while viewing Shockwave to minimize the number of other processes the computer needs to worry about. Increase the amount of cache allocated to your browser to 10 MB, and if you're on a Mac, increase the amount of system memory allocated to your browser to at least 20 MB.

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I'm trying to download Shockwave Player, but I can't. How can I get Shockwave Player?

An earlier version of Shockwave Player is pre-installed with most popular Internet browsers. Sometimes, damage to the Shockwave Player that's already installed can prevent your upgrading to the latest Shockwave Player. This can usually be fixed by uninstalling, then reinstalling, Shockwave Player.

You can download an uninstaller for Mac OS and Windows here:

Mac OS Shockwave Player uninstaller
Windows Shockwave Player uninstaller

After you've uninstalled Shockwave Player, you can reinstall it. In some cases, it's actually the browser that is preventing the successful installation of Shockwave Player. In such instances, simply reinstalling Shockwave Player may not work. Reinstalling or updating the browser, then installing Shockwave Player should take care of this.

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How can permissions affect installing the Shockwave and Flash Players with Windows NT and Windows 2000?

If you don't have administrator access to your Windows NT- or Windows 2000-equipped computer, you may not be able to install the Shockwave and Flash Players successfully. Permissions can be tricky, but, in general, you should be able to install and use the Shockwave and Flash Players if your administrator gives you full access to the Macromed directory (C:Winnt\System32\Macromed\).

If this does not allow you to install and access the Shockwave and Flash Players, your administrator may need to experiment with varying levels of restriction to determine what works.

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How can I make sure my Shockwave and Flash Players are working?

You can test your Shockwave and Flash Players here. The two movies will show if you have any versions of these two Web Players installed. You can also get information about the latest version of the Players and download the most current version if you have an outdated Player(s).

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Some Web sites prompt me to download Shockwave or Flash Player, but I'm sure I have the latest version. How can I check this?

Some sites may have detection mechanisms that mistakenly direct you to install the Shockwave or Flash Player. You can use the following Test Page to verify that you have the Shockwave and Flash Players installed successfully: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome

On the above test page, the two movies will not only verify the installation of the Shockwave and Flash Players, but they will eventually display the versions of the two Web Players that you have. Also, if you can view the movies and games on the Shockwave site, you have recent versions of the two Web Players.

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I updated to the latest version of Shockwave Player, and my Shockwave Remote disappeared. Why?

The installer for Shockwave 8.5 Player does remove Shockwave Remote from your computer. The Remote is no longer supported.

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Why am I not receiving my Shockwave Player updates?
  • Shockwave Player has not been recently updated.
  • You have not viewed any Shockwave movies. Shockwave Player updates automatically when you view Shockwave movies. To get an update now, go to the Shockwave Download Center.
  • You have indicated that you don't want Auto Updates. You can turn on Auto Updates easily. Go here and then right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) on the Shockwave movie. Choose Properties from the contextual menu, then check the Auto Updates box.

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I still have more questions!

Still have more questions? Contact us.

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