There are 2 versions of Adobe Flash:

• an ActiveX version for IE only
• a Plugin version for most other browsers including Firefox
• On a Windows system, you should always update both individually.

You do not appear to have the Plugin version for Firefox installed. If you did, in Add-ons > Plugins you would see "Shockwave Flash (version)". If "Shockwave Flash" is there and is disabled, click the "Enable" button.

Check your Plugins often --> http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/

• only the most popular/used Plugins are known by this page
• page will detect only installed, enabled Plugins

Install or update Adobe Flash

1. Using Firefox, go to the following link and SAVE the download to your desktop so you can find it later. Un-check any items on that page that you do not want to download (i.e., "McAfee Security Scan Plus":
   • http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer
2. When the download is finished, close Firefox (File > Exit OR Firefox button > Exit)
3. Click or double-click on the file you just saved to your desktop
   • In the installation window that appears, click the box to the left of "I have read and...." to place a check mark in the box
   • The "Install" button in the lower right corner will now be highlighted, click it.
   • The installation is quick.
4. Start Firefox and test your installation here: https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
5. To update/install the ActiveX version for IE only, repeat the process, but use IE to go to the above website.

If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.

Not related to your question, but...

You may need to update some plug-ins. Check your plug-ins and update as necessary:

• Plug-in check --> http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/
• Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in: Installing (or Updating) the Shockwave plugin with Firefox
• Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape: Installing/Updating Adobe Reader in Firefox
• Shockwave Flash (Adobe Flash or Flash): Updating Flash in Firefox
• Next Generation Java Plug-in for Mozilla browsers: Installing or Updating Java in Firefox

Thank you , SafeBrowser, for taking time to help. I do understand the differences between the ActiveX vers. and the Plug-in version of Flash. I had followed the steps you suggest earlier when I read them in the Mozilla Firefox help forum. I still have the problem. To be more clear, the Flash plug-in isn't recognized by Firefox 3.6 thru 8.0 on my Win XP Home, SP3 system after going through this install Flash, uninstall Flash, seemingly endless loop. The Firefox-> Tools-> Add-ons-> plug-ins page never even shows Flash or Shockwave as an option to "disable" or "enable". Does Firefox have a function that would let me manually go out and find the Flash plugin's files (if, indeed, the Adobe Flash installer even ever installed them on my PC. The Adobe installer screen always says that Flash is installed but I immediately prove them wrong by going to their own Flash test page, which requests me to "install plug-in required" to view that little spinning "F" box to test Flash. At least they named that box correctly!) So, the mystery continues. Funny thing is that: 1) Other workstations on my simple Windows work group network are running the Firefox/Flash combo just fine. The PC hardware is a duplicate copy of the system that is impossible to get working. The Firewalls and the Norton Antivirus are exactly the same. One difference that they other working computers have is that the "about" Windows XP screen shows them as "Windows XP Pro". The PC creating the problem reports "Windows XP Home Edition". All PCs have the current Microsoft upgrades to SP3. So-- could the variation in MS OS's be the problem? By the way, I can easily download the Flash 11 ActiveX version and view Flash sites using Microsoft Explorer 7. Could Microsoft be trying to kill my use of Firefox for good? Oddly, I CAN downgrade to FireFox 3.0 and Flash works fine. Interesting questions still in search of an answer. Thanks for your help.