A little direction please? I am a returning tux user but it's been a while...a little background...
I installed dual boot(winxp) with lubuntu 11.10...flash wasn't working, upgraded to? what I think is lubuntu 12.04 through update manager...not sure how to check...
tried uname -a
This came up...Linux scott-OptiPlex-GX50 3.2.0-24-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Wed Apr 25 08:43:52 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

Not sure what this means.
Ultimately I am trying to get flash to work...have tried on various sites with no avail. All that I get is a black screen...oh, and I tried an add-on called flash-aid...it removed conflicts but still not working...As I mentioned it's dual boot...(win xp) and flash works fine there...but, I would like to get away from winblows...

I should mention that I am not entirely sure on how to install tar.gz either...tried reading up on it but find it rather confusing.

Any info in this area would help and be greatly appreciated! Thanx in advance!!

Complete instructions here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Re...dFormats/Flash

Short version: open Ubuntu Software Center and search for "ubuntu-restricted-extras".

Also please tell us your computer's hardware specs (CPU, RAM, video card).

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If you have access to the Software center you can get flash from there, or if you download a file from the adobe web site make sure your file is .deb extension.

or extract the tar file and copy libflashplayer.so to /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
Assuming you are using Firefox

Good luck to you!

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my apologies for not understanding...I am not sure how to check all my specs...I do know I have an 80g hard drive, and 256 of ram...it is an older Dell system 32bit and has onboard video...and yes, actually I have tried opera, chromium and now working with firefox.

If that info does not make sense please bare with me...

The Adobe website dropdown menu did not include a .deb file so I downloaded tar.gz extracted and copied libflashplayer.so to /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/ am I to do something with that file once copied to location?



I read and installed "ubuntu restricted extras" through software center...
In firefox add-ons manager it lists shockwave player as installed and up to date.

Everything stated here was already done before I posted my problem on LQ...this is why I am confused...

interestingly, while trying to find system info, I went into "disk utility" and there is 51g assigned to ntfs for windows...I clicked on "check filesystem" and it tells me "file system is NOT clean"
also, checked the 28g ext4 and it gave me an error saying the system is busy and can't perform...in the details section is says "Device is mounted and no online capability in fsck tool for file system"

Flash does work in Windows so I naturally assumed this is not a hardware problem...

Again, my apologies for being such a newb...and you're input is appreciated and helping me learn

Just to clarify, you had done everything shown at the link below to get flash working and it still does not work, even though your plugins show uptodat, correct? The link below is not specific to lubuntu but steps should be the same:

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/debian...sh-player.html

[QUOTE]also, checked the 28g ext4 and it gave me an error saying the system is busy and can't perform...in the details section is says "Device is mounted and no online capability in fsck tool for file system"[QUOTE]

That's because you are trying to run it from the system you are booted into. You need to run the fsck from a LiveCD or flash drive not from a running system as that has some potential to cause serious problems!

Once that file is copied at that location all you need to do is re start firefox and go to a youtube video and test it. It should work

Good luck to you!

Your system does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for Flash Player in Linux:

I recommend upgrading your hardware, and then install the package ubuntu-restricted-extras to get the Flash plugin, mp3 support, etc.

thanx to all for all you're input!! This computer is simply too old and not comptable...

So what? Why exactly would you need 512MB ram on Linux if 128MB suffices for Windows? And 2GB ram on Solaris? All system requirements should be taken with a large pinch, or possibly bucket, of salt. If your processor is "too slow" then the program will simply run slowly, it will still work unless the binary was compiled for an incompatible processor (e.g. uses instructions unavailable on older architectures), but all the requirements say is "2.33GHz or faster x86-compatible processor" which is completely meaningless (you mean it won't work on a 2GHz processor? What about a 2.2GHz processor? What if I overclock my 2GHz processor to 2.4GHz, will it work then?) These "specifications" are little more than marketing drivel as far as I can see.

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I whole heartedly agree...if it works in windows on the same system why o why would'nt it work on linux??? I haven't had time to try but will attempt again this weekend...although becoming increasingly frustrated and quickly running out of options to try...

I am at my wits end...I have tried everything that has been posted back to me, have done a lot of reading and I still cannot get flash player to work...all I get is a black screen. There is nothing telling me about missing plugins or errors of anykind.

please help!! switching back to windows just for flash content is getting REALLY old!

thanx in advance for all time and effort put into my problem.

I am guessing from this statement and your post count that you don't have a lot of experience running Linux on ancient hardware? If you have a magic trick then let's hear it, the OP is still unable to play flash and waiting for your help.

The CNet review for the OP's computer states:

This review was published in 2002 (not a typo). Have you ever heard of Moore's Law?

To prinsscott: I'm sorry I don't have a magic-trick to turn your old Dell into a multimedia powerhouse. What I would do if it was my hardware is to first download the video I wanted to watch, and then watch it locally using my favorite movie player (such as totem, mplayer, or vlc) rather than in the web browser with the buggy & inefficient Adobe Flash Player For Linux. Better yet I would upgrade my hardware to something more recent that meets (or better yet exceeds) the published minimum hardware requirements for the software you want to run. Good luck!

What exactly does my post count on some web forum have to do with my hardware usage, or Linux/*nix? I've run Linux on 486s with 16MB ram (including X) and m68k Macs (though admittedly, not lately). That "ancient" enough? I have UltraSparc II boxes running NetBSD. I have more old hardware than I can count, much of which is considerably older than the OP's Dell.

So what? The OP has stated (several times) that flash works in Windows on this box. Ergo, the hardware is not the problem.

Nope, never heard of it. But then, I've only been using computers for 30 years.

Have you ever heard of marketing BS?

The published minimum requirements you quote state a 2.33GHz processor. Yet, magically, Mac OS only needs a 1.33GHz Core Duo. So a 1.6GHz Atom netbook and a 1.33Ghz Core Duo in a Mac can run flash, but a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo in a PC is too slow. Does this sound feasible? These specs are nonsense.

At last, you say something that makes sense. Now maybe we can forget about these silly specs.

I usually prefer to download video and watch it with mplayer, rather than in a browser window.

@prinsscott: have you tried doing this? If video works with your player of choice, then it is probably the flash plugin that is the problem (and being a closed source binary blob, possibly not much can be done. I doubt they give it much attention compared to the Windows version).

I came across this gentoo thread (couple of years old), I didn't read it closely but there might be some useful tips: http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-6229177.html. The general consensus seems to be that flash is somewhat less than spiffy. No surprise there.

There is a link a couple of posts down for this firefox add-on (I haven't tried it): Video Download Helper

I have a dell optiplex gx-1 with 768Mb ram 500Mhz cpu & yes it runs slow.
I have ubuntu & debian on it & debian is much more responsive than ubuntu.

Your memory can be upgraded to 512Mb & will run debian, but video will be choppy at best, depending on how many other running processes you have.
http://www.memorystock.com/memory/DellOptiPlexGX50.html

How was the streaming Adobe Flash Video performance on this hardware under Linux, in your experience?