March 22, 2012

A Question for the Geeks in the Audience. UPDATE

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jim @ 6:56 pm

It’s not much of a secret that I am a techno-doofus, and a techno-chicken, which, when taken together, means I don’t know shit about computers, and I’m afraid to tinker with anything more complicated than baby-level html. I would, therefore, appreciate your advice on what I hope is a simple matter.

The Symptoms
Lately, I have not been able to view videos other than You Tube videos. No Vimeo or anything like that. For example, I cannot view the video on this page.

Not being able to see certain videos is annoying, but it was easily tolerated, particularly for a techno-chicken. However two nights in a row, while both I and the computer were in “sleep” mode, I awakened to see the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. Gah!!

A reboot fixed the Blue Screen of Death on both occasions, but I decided to see what I could learn about the frightening phenomenon. I visited this site, and learned that the problem most likely is with “drivers” and something about “registry errors.” Drivers? Registry Errors? My farookin’ hair hurts!

The Fix?
As you can see, the site suggests two downloads for an “easy fix.” My question is, do you think I should download these things, or might smoke pour out of the computer? (I am using Windows Vista and Firefox.)

Thanking youse in advance.

UPDATE: I believe I fixed the problem. For some of you, the fix would have been as easy as changing socks, but for me, not so much. It appears that I was using old Adobe stuff and not the latest version of Firefox. In order to download the new Adobe stuff, I had to uninstall the old Adobe stuff. Any time I click on something that says “uninstall,” I get the hot squirts. Anyway, once I figured all that out, I downloaded the latest version of Firefox. Still no videos, until I got the Adobe stuff “plugged into” Firefox.

Thanks for all your suggestions, both online and in emails. Much appreciated.

9 Comments »

  1. Jim, I was able to view that video with no problem. I use Firefox 11.0 with Adobe Flash player. Do you have Adobe Flash player installed on your computer? Also, what version of Firefox do you have. Click “Help”, “About” and that will give you the version you have.

    Comment by JerseyJerry — March 22, 2012 @ 8:43 pm

  2. Where’s Teresa when you need her?

    Yo! T! A little help here?!

    :o)

    Comment by Joan of Argghh! — March 22, 2012 @ 9:34 pm

  3. get a Mac…

    *runz*

    Comment by gregor — March 23, 2012 @ 8:21 am

  4. If you’re running the latest version of Firefox, Jim, you should not have nay problems with viewing the videos. Click on “tools/add-ons”. You should see somewhere in that list Shockwave Flash. You may have to update it.

    Comment by JerseyJerry — March 23, 2012 @ 3:03 pm

  5. First get rid of Vista and go to Win 7.

    Comment by James Old Guy — March 23, 2012 @ 4:50 pm

  6. A clean install of Windows 7 will make things all better again.

    Comment by Braden — March 23, 2012 @ 11:45 pm

  7. Do a system restore. Google directions for your operating system. Pretty straightforward directions ought ta be out there. Email me with any questions.
    Mike in Cincinnati, OH

    Comment by Mike — March 23, 2012 @ 11:59 pm

  8. Seriously Jimbo, look into a Mac. Can’t hurt to look. I’m not getting into this OS thing, I’m way over that, but anytime you have to reload the OS, or applications, to make the computer “work”, you’re wha(fu)cked. I’ll buy you a case or two of Fat Tire if I’m wrong.

    Firefox on a Mac is no problem.

    Comment by Yabu — March 24, 2012 @ 8:46 am

  9. LMAO…not at you but at the silly suggestions you received. Buy a Mac…really? Yes, spend $1000 to solve an issue that can be solved for free. Install Windows 7…another $100 down the drain for an issue that can be fixed for free. System Restore…yes, go back in time because updating your computer’s programs is really difficult.

    So Kudos to JerseyJerry for giving you simple and straight forward advice. If it makes you feel any better I created a page just for my viewers as many experience this issue on a regular basis and I got tired of trying to talk each of them through troubleshooting via email.

    http://biggeekdad.com/video-problems/

    Comment by Big Geek Daddy — March 26, 2012 @ 9:27 pm

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