Program won't run at all

[arupert]

I'm rather surprised that I'm the only person experiencing this problem, but I checked all the other threads in this forum, and nobody mentioned it. So I emailed RiffTrax support about it, over a week ago, but they didn't get back to me. I guess customer service isn't their strong suit. Anyway, since I'm lazy, I'll just copy and paste the relevant portion of the email I sent:

The player doesn't run at all, and when I try, Windows gives me an error message to the effect that the player needs the file flash.ocx. Since I indeed hadn't installed Flash since my last Vista installation, I figured this was an easy fix, and installed Flash; however, the problem was not solved. In fact, even after installing Flash, there's still no file called flash.ocx on my HD, so if Flash doesn't even use the file, I hardly see why the RiffTrax player should be looking for it. I tried rebooting after installing Flash, and reinstalling the RiffTrax player itself, but the problem persists.

For reference, I'm running Windows Vista Home Basic with a Core Duo CPU, 2 gigs of RAM, and a Radeon X1400 Mobility. I have all the audio and video codecs necessary; not that this is a codec problem, since the program isn't even running, but I was just covering all the bases.

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

[bsandrew]

I'm rather surprised that I'm the only person experiencing this problem, but I checked all the other threads in this forum, and nobody mentioned it. So I emailed RiffTrax support about it, over a week ago, but they didn't get back to me. I guess customer service isn't their strong suit. Anyway, since I'm lazy, I'll just copy and paste the relevant portion of the email I sent:

The player doesn't run at all, and when I try, Windows gives me an error message to the effect that the player needs the file flash.ocx. Since I indeed hadn't installed Flash since my last Vista installation, I figured this was an easy fix, and installed Flash; however, the problem was not solved. In fact, even after installing Flash, there's still no file called flash.ocx on my HD, so if Flash doesn't even use the file, I hardly see why the RiffTrax player should be looking for it. I tried rebooting after installing Flash, and reinstalling the RiffTrax player itself, but the problem persists.

For reference, I'm running Windows Vista Home Basic with a Core Duo CPU, 2 gigs of RAM, and a Radeon X1400 Mobility. I have all the audio and video codecs necessary; not that this is a codec problem, since the program isn't even running, but I was just covering all the bases.

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

Do a search for flash9.ocx and copy it as flash.ocx

Let me know if that fixes things.

[Bairman]

Do a search for flash9.ocx and copy it as flash.ocx

Let me know if that fixes things.

There may be a letter after the 9... as in flash9c.ocx or flash9e.ocx.

For XP, it should be located here: C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash

Not sure about Vista since I don't use it, but I can't imagine it'd be much different.

If there's no flash file at that path, you don't have the flash ActiveX control installed.

[arupert]

Tried that last week. There's no flash9.ocx on my hard drive, or any other variant. I can only assume that Flash simply doesn't use either file anymore.

[Bairman]

That would be an incorrect assumption.  Flash9e.ocx on my system is dated 11/20/07 (Adobe Flash Player 9.0  r115).

Version check:  http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/about/

Download: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

[arupert]

Well, I don't know what to tell you except that I installed Flash, can run Flash applications, but there's no such file on my HD. I was surprised as you are. (Assuming you're surprised.) I'll show you a screenshot of my search window if you don't believe me.

[Bairman]

Go to the version check link I posted above.  What version does it say you have installed?

[arupert]

Well, I figured it out. Adobe's web site, being the tech-savvy site it is, provides a browser-specific download link for the Flash player, so you have to download the installer from Internet Explorer, not Firefox. This is, as far as I can tell, because the Firefox version of Flash is simply a plug-in and thus doesn't need ActiveX controls like flash.ocx. IE does.

So I installed the IE version, and now the RiffTrax player works on my PC.

Rifftrax needs to make this information public for others who exclusively use Firefox.

[Bairman]

Rifftrax needs to make this information public for others who exclusively use Firefox.

That's the problem with computers.  With the nearly infinite combinations of hardware and software that are possible, no two systems are alike.  There's no way ANY hardware or software manufacturer can test every possible combination.  That's why support forums are so important.

[torgosPizza]

Rifftrax needs to make this information public for others who exclusively use Firefox.

And now that you've helped us solve the issue, it's public. Many thanks!

[Bairman]

Rifftrax needs to make this information public for others who exclusively use Firefox.

And now that you've helped us solve the issue, it's public. Many thanks!

LMAO... I considered posting that exact same thing.   

[bsandrew]

Well, I figured it out. Adobe's web site, being the tech-savvy site it is, provides a browser-specific download link for the Flash player, so you have to download the installer from Internet Explorer, not Firefox. This is, as far as I can tell, because the Firefox version of Flash is simply a plug-in and thus doesn't need ActiveX controls like flash.ocx. IE does.

So I installed the IE version, and now the RiffTrax player works on my PC.

Rifftrax needs to make this information public for others who exclusively use Firefox.

YEA!