A Missing Program Error Message

Subscriber Larry White wrote to ask:

Terry-I keep getting a small window appearing on my screen that says "Can't find micromedia flash". It stops all functions and makes the computer wait. I come in to my office and there it is, blocking even the screensaver.

Also, I can play NO videos in FoxFire. I can play all videos in Internet Explorer. I tried a lot of things and QuickTime seems to be the culprit but I'm not sure. Quicktime always says I have to get more subprograms from their website but I go there and do what it says and no success. I keep returning and trying all of the FAQs etc. to no avail.

Thanks for all that you do. I will keep an eye out for your answers. thanks again,
Larry White
Antelope, CA

I wrote back to Larry to tell him that, first, let's hope it's saying "Macromedia" not "micromedia" — and I wasn't trying to be snide with that comment. One of the mistakes that malware, spam and phishing emails typically make is to misspell critical words or phrases — so it could be a sign of a malware infection.

Macromedia Flash Player was a free program from Macromedia. However, Adobe has bought Macromedia and the program has been updated and renamed. It is now known as "Adobe Flash Player."

If you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed, you can go to Adobe.com and download their Adobe Flash Player installer.

By the way, Adobe Flash Player is not a stand-alone program — it links into your web browser as an add-on program.

Regarding Quicktime, it is actually a competing product for Adobe Flash Player. The Adobe Flash Player installer should solve your problem with Flash videos in Firefox 3. If you're not using Firefox 3, it's time to upgrade from the earlier version.

I don't use Quicktime except for Quicktime's own .MOV files ad for .MIDI (or .mid) files in Firefox — actually, I'd just as soon not hear MIDI files, but some people like them.

Quicktime has an option during its installation, and later via its Preferences menu, to set which types of audio and video programs for which Quicktime becomes the default player. By default when you're installing it, everything is checked.

If you weren't having bad problems, I'd suggest just unchecking individual file types in Quicktime and then selecting them in the other programs you prefer. However, given your problems, you might consider these steps:

1. Uninstall Quicktime
2. Reboot
3. Start (or reinstall) the programs you want to handle your audio and video files, e.g. WinAmp for many audio files, and change their configuration
4. Reboot
5. Install Quicktime - but uncheck those file types that you want handled by other programs

Since you mentioned Firefox, if you want to be able to play .MIDI or .mid files on web sites in Firefox, you have to use Quicktime to do this. It's not just a matter of installing Quicktime. My article Firefox and MIDI Music Files tells you how to set it up.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.