Shockwave Flash update repeatedly fails.

Micky wrote:

I have version 47.0.1 of Firefox on my winXPSP3 netbook.

I think that's the latest version because I think I updated just a
week ago, but now that I'm trying to update Shockwave Flash, it keeps
failing. At least 3 times. It looks like it's running fine until it
fails (duh!).

Download the web installer to save on your desktop (or wherever you
want). Then exit ALL instances of Firefox (make sure there are no
instances of firefox.exe in Task Manager's Processes tab). With Firefox
NOT loaded, run the Flash web installer (*).

(*) The web installer deletes its file whether the installation
succeeded or failed. If the install fails, you have to download the
file again. So make a copy of the web installer file and execute that.
If it fails, you still have the download (to make another copy) to try
again.

You could also try disabling your anti-virus software and clean out your
%temp% folder (I use CCleaner for that and other cleanup).

I can't cross post to the XP and the FF groups because they're on a
different server, is that right? Well, we'll see.

You cannot cross-post across NNTP servers. Each server assigns its own
article ID to a submission, and they are not synchronized across
servers. NNTP works via peering: articles get peered (transfered)
across servers. That incurs a delay. They are not all continuously
connected to each other to instantaneously synchronize on an article ID.
The only ID that gets synchronized (after peering) is the Message-ID
either assigned by the client (which, alas, the server will not override
with its own) or assigned by the server (if the client does not include
the header).

That is my reply also cannot cross-post its submission across multiple
servers. I had to pick one, so I omitted mozilla.support.firefox (since
Ilias, the moderator over there, has me on his blacklist or he won't
bother reading my often verbose posts to know if they are okay ot not,
or maybe he doesn't perform his moderation duties before my pending post
for approval has expired). My reply is very likely to appear in the
non-Mozilla newsgroup and maybe only a 30% chance of survival in a
Mozilla newsgroup.

Please don't tell me I don't need it, because videos at C-Span require
it, and maybe elsewhere. When it magically disappeared from my Vista
computer, I was okay until I wanted to watch the Republican convention
on C-Span and it screamed bloody murder. By the time I downloaded the
first part, and the second part, etc. I missed most of what I wanted
to watch! Well, 10 minutes.

I would still suggest you configure the Flash plug-in to "Ask to
activate" in Firefox's about:addons page under Plugins. That will let
you use Flash but *only* when YOU decide to allow it, not when any site
wants to shove some Flash content at you which slows page delivery.

And those in the FF group, please dont' tell me I shouldn't use XP. I
use the netbook 10 days a year and I'm not buying another netbook for
10 days a year.

Use what OS is best suited for you. There are still users of Windows
95. In fact, some Point of Sale machines still use Win9x as the OS (but
severely trimmed): you'll notice the Win9x logo when then have to reboot
their teller/cash machine. You move to a new OS when there is a valid
reason to do so, not because another is newer or better. As for
security, users have come to rely on 3rd party software to shore up ALL
Windows versions, plus older versions become much less targeted and the
old malware specifically targeting the OS is also old and well known to
anti-malware software.

I continued driving an old Subaru for 24 years until it became far too
expensive for a major repair (all calipers, discs, pads, brake lines,
and especially replacing a rusty fuel line that went inside the body
that would require tearing apart the interior). Scrapped the worn out
rusted out 24-year old Subie and the $2300 was better spent on my
14-year old and 11-year old Subies. Old does not mean unusable. If the
world was like "Logan's Run", I would've been executed 38 years ago.