Control Panel/Uninstall Programs. Uninstall any Adobe Flash Player software and reboot. Then visit the Adobe Help Page listed below. Choose Check Now and proceed. Be aware that two other software products will appear. If you don't want them, be sure to remove the checks from boxes prior to downloading.

Flash Player Help Page

I do not think that Windows 8.1 even uses a dedicated Adobe Flash Player. It is in the browser if you use IE11 or later and as a plug-in for Firefox and Chrome.

This flash player is not listed in Programs. I found it in Control Panel, System and Security, on the bottom of list. I opened the update tab, the entire page is greyed out, including the update feature.

If it's not in programs list, how am I to uninstall it?

Properly installed Flash should be listed in Control Panel / Programs and Features, and can be uninstalled there. Select it in the list, then an Uninstall function appears above.

It doesn't appear in Start Menu / All Programs because it's not a program that normally runs separately. It only runs when called by content in a web page.

There is a 64-bit Flash but not for all operating systems and browsers. The 32-bit version runs fine on a 64-bit Windows system.

I have a lot of problems with my browser, IE11. Page won't load, message comes up," page cannot be displayed" fix connection box in Network Diagnostics, cannot find problem, close, page loads. How odd.

3 main things concern me. Flash Player 32 bit is NOT in programs list. 2) Updates tab is greyed out. (repeated messages that it cannot be used with chrome based browsers) 3) Flash Player 32 bit is found in Control Panel, System and Security, at bottom of those features.

"If properly installed" it can be uninstalled, it must not be, it is NOT in Programs and features in Control Panel.

Something has been seriously wrong with this browser for 13 months. I cant figure out how to fix it. I cannot uninstall it if it's not in programs list.

Different browsers are like different brands of spring water. For the user experience, they're exactly the same.

If one gives you trouble, use a different one. They're all free, there's no reason to cling tightly to one that seems in any way to be misbehaving.

carol-

No browser works flawlessly. If you have been having frustrations with IE for over a year, it's time to start trying others. I have IE, but rarely use it any more. I mainly use Chrome and Firefox, and sometimes Opera. It's time for you to be brave and download one or two more. All these browsers have a built in feature that allows you to "export" (i.e., transfer a copy of) all your bookmarks between browsers so you can easily switch from one to the other rather than struggling with one balky browser.

I hesitate to add another version of flash. the update tab is greyed out. It can't be uninstalled in it's current location. The flash player is NOT listed in my IE tools menu. It states clearly, it is not compatible with chrome and chrome based browsers. Additional settings must be changed. On the greyed out Update Tab, NPAPI and PPAPI versions are NOT installed, again, no way to make changes. This makes me think I'll not have any better luck in using Firefox or Chrome.

carol-

You can't draw any conclusions about other browsers just because IE is not working the way you want it to. Have you ever tried using another browser for any purpose? My experience is that sometimes one browser will work just fine on certain pages that are a problem for another browser. At least download Chrome or Firefox and try getting it to load a page that is not working in IE. That would take less time than continuing to try to fix something that is not easily fixable. And there is no downside to having more than one browser on your computer.

OP, when you've asked for help to solve a problem, why not first try the suggestions you get and see if they work, instead of immediately discarding them?

this is so messed up, I don't need to add to the problems I already have. I could be wrong, correct me if I am, but having an app that's not working and installing a different version of the same one, seems like adding fuel to the fire.

It still really worries me that the flash player isn't in programs where it can be uninstalled. Why is it in Systems and Security? where it can't be uninstalled. I'm not rejecting advice. It's clear that the situation as I've described it, isn't being comprehended. re-read the posts.

Not one post has addressed: why is flash player not in programs list? why is it in a so inappropriate place?

You're overthinking this. Browsers are independent of one another. You will cause no problems by installing another browser or two. However, if you are intent on sticking only with IE and only will be comfortable with trying to resolve this Flash issue, I can only say "good luck." There's nothing else I can offer. I learned long ago after wasting many hours fixing things on my computer that some things are just not worth the effort and that adopting an alternative approach saved me time and improved my sanity.

Unless it was previously mentioned and I missed it just a couple things.

For the moment let's forget about 32 and 64 bit. There are
only two versions of Flash Player; for IE and for non-IE. The non-IE is
generic and is for all non-IE browsers.

Beginning with W8 Flash Player updates for IE come through the Windows Update utility. The installation will be listed with other installed Windows updates not in the installed programs list.

On this W10 system the last Flash Player security update came through Windows Update on March 11th.

I may be wrong, but my recollection is beginning in W8 IE wouldn't allow the user to update IE Flash manually.

Non-IE Flash Player when installed properly will be listed in the installed programs list.

If you are downloading and saving the non-IE version for a later install you may do so with any browser. However, if you are going to do an immediate "Run" install the user has to be in a non-IE browser.

DA

I checked prior threads and OP's attitude and approach are always the same. I'll let others reply to her questions in the future.

I make my decision to contribute on a thread-by-thread basis. My focus here was cleaning up some possible confusion a reader might have had.

DA

I have Google Chrome downloaded and Not installed. My husband does not want to use Chrome. I've tried to explain how much safer it would be to use other than a MS browser. I had Firefox on out other machine with XP, loved it.

If I install Chrome, will he have to use it also?

Not unless he wants to! You could have 10 different browsers on your computer and they would all be independent. To go on the Internet, you select the icon for the browser you want to use. If your husband doesn't want to use Chrome, tell him not to click on it. I've got for browser installed. Sometimes I have several running at the same time and I switch around if a particular web page doesn't behave.

My big problem is FEAR. I have an apparently really messed up machine. There have been assumptions made that we caused these problems. I'm fairly certain we did not. My fear is to mess up our machine to where it's not usable at all. It seems to get worse by the day. I've suggested moving to Firefox or Chrome several months ago. Shot me down. When I have an issue crop up, sooner rather than later, my hubby sees it too. I don't know that he's gone in to set his defaults. He's not up for me to do it or walk him thru it. I've always spent more time on this machine than he has. I don't think he reads much online and I do. There's such a wealth of info out there, be a shame to miss it all. So, it's not just my decision on what to do. I'm fighting this machine, my hubby and some moron online I don't even know.

Have I asked really stupid questions? Am I so totally off base with what I say here that you folks can't understand what I mean? If that isn't the case, maybe, just maybe I'm not the dope between the keyboard and chair.

Thank you all, so much for your advice, time and suggestions.

Some stuff may be messed up, but it also is not likely fatal. I could tell you were afraid of doing anything from your first questions. You're not going to make anything worse trying a new browser. And if you don't try something you will probably give up unnecessarily. If you are asking for advice, you have to try some of it or people will not be interested in offering more suggestions.

Giving up isn't in my vocabulary. I'm feeling froggy. I'm gonna jump. Tomorrow, when hubby is on machine, I'm going to ask him to set his defaults so I can install Chrome. I have to do it this way to make sure he understands if it goes kerflooey. If he gets stuck with Chrome, he should be able to change it back, like you suggested. My IE is almost unusable as it is now. It takes 30 or more seconds to load, frequently, it shows "page can't be displayed" on all 3 tabs of my browser. I see that message when I click on a link to read an article. Watching videos, I just quit hitting the links, mostly they don't work or take MINUTES to load. I have a 2.90 GHz processor, should not take that kind of time. Thanks, kudzu9, I needed a kick in the pants.

Once you install Chrome, there's nothing to change back. You'll still have everything you have now, plus one more browser. Report back on what happens with page loading once you try Chrome. If it's still slow, there is something else wrong that has nothing to do with Flash.

I'm a moron? Thanks for that. And thanks for thanking me for the goodbye, that was a classy touch.

kudzu, why bother?

I just ran Malwarebytes. it found 67 instances of PUP. A driver update with my hubby's name listed as user. My name wasn't there at all as user. That surprises me no end! Am relieved we have no other malware. Am still concerned about location of flash player, update page greyed out and it isn't in IE tools menu under add on. i'll have to wait for a few hours to check his defaults before installing Chrome. Thanks for all the help and support. I can't say how much I appreciate it. BTW the date of install of driver update coincides with my problems, last March, early in month.

My hubby said he didn't want Chrome for his browser, so I thought we should check to make sure IE is set as his default browser. Then he tells me he likes Firefox. Fine. I'll install that. Once I get this machine up and running like it should, I want to install Win10 again.

We had so many strange problems after installing Win10. First, the Cortana app, it stopped working for me, then the icon disappeared, then the whole name and box left the left side of the taskbar. At the same time, he was using it when he was logged in, and mine was completely gone. Then I lost the use of my mail app, his worked just fine. mine wouldn't open, then his stared to not open also and didn't download his mail when it did. This was over a period of several days. We could only access our mail by going to the ISP mail site and logging in. My calendar lost all of my saved info for dates I wanted to remember. His was fine.

I'd rather not have those problems crop up again, if I can do anything to insure it doesn't happen again. Maybe I'm over thinking it, as you say, maybe I'm just trying to be too careful. I was raised on "better safe than sorry" and that works for me. We had so many yelling matches about what was wrong, how did it happen, and I'd just as soon avoid that again, if I can. It was bad enough with the computer problems without adding bad feelings between us, too. Thanks so much for helping me..

I learned all I needed to know about the OP when I read "relieved we have no other malware" after one scan with Malwarebytes. PEBCAK.

All these difficulties are not normal. I suspect that you and your husband are independently making changes to the computer and doing things that are unnecessary out of an abundance of caution, and that is causing many of the difficulties. That's one reason I don't let other people in my house use my computer.

It sounds like you know a bit about computers but that there is a lot of stuff that is a mystery and makes you fearful; in my experience that is a combination that leads to fiddling with settings, and using specialty software that is supposed to clean up your computer and fix the registry, etc., and often results in making things worse. That's not a criticism; just an observation.

It sounds like there is a lot of stuff that is just not working right and it might even be necessary to do a clean install of your operating system. For that reason I'm going to suggest that you have a computer tech come to your house and look at and clean up your machine. You are spending too many hours trying to fix too many things that aren't working properly. Your problems could be a result not only of software and settings, but an unreliable internet connection, and possible incomplete uninstalls of antivirus programs.

My husband doesn't install anything except updates from Windows. We don't install "specialty" software. Never have. I was the one who installed the driver update that is a PUP. I thought it was from HP.

We can't afford to call for repair. I took it to a shop, once. Never again, nothing was changed. It's worse now than ever.

Installed Firefox. Same problems as with IE. I've found 6 different problems. I'd love to do a clean install. I guess M$ site will have that info. Thanks....