i am a computer idiot..... pls help??

[MarcO]

just wondering if anyone has any bright ideas here.

I'll make this as swift as I can:

- I recently wiped off my old WIndows and put on a new, official Windows XP Home Edition 2002

- now I am having huge issues watching videos, particularly on youtube (I am using IE8)

it's been suggested there's issues concerning drivers but how do I check that and how can I remedy this?

thanks in advance. i miss youtube.....

[phishtaper]

ouch, that sucks.

[TheAlphaNerd]

Try downloading fire fox!

you probably need to update your flash... but I think firefox will fix all that for you

Download from this link

http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.6.3&os=win〈=en-US

[d_rawk]

My first thought was an outdated Flash plugin as well.

You can do a few things to try to isolate the problem:

- try to upgrade your flash player

- change your security settings to medium (internet options > security)

- try Firefox / Safari / Chrome / Opera

- do you have issues watching other types of (standalone) video?

- Youtube has an experimental HTML 5 video playback option which does not use Flash here

[bouche]

Start with your video drivers. what video card/chipset are you using?

Next step would be to step into 2010 and get a copy of Win7 running.

[MarcO]

My first thought was an outdated Flash plugin as well.

You can do a few things to try to isolate the problem:

- try to upgrade your flash player

- change your security settings to medium (internet options > security)

- try Firefox / Safari / Chrome / Opera

- do you have issues watching other types of (standalone) video?

- Youtube has an experimental HTML 5 video playback option which does not use Flash here

ok, thanks. I updated flash, changed security options and tested the youtube beta (which was only marginally better). I don't seem to have as many issues with other videos, mostly youtube, either embedded on other sites or the site itself. I guess next step is to try another browser - any preferences?? And do i need to remove IE in order to correctly install another browser? like i said, i am clueless. thanks again.

[ollie]

Strong recommendation for Google Chrome. You do not need to uninstall IE.

[d_rawk]

I guess next step is to try another browser - any preferences?? And do i need to remove IE in order to correctly install another browser?

That is dangerously close to a religious debate, but I like all of the ones listed for various reasons. My personal preference is Firefox because I've become reliant on some of the plugins.

You won't need to uninstall anything and you'll still be able to use IE8 when/if you choose to.

[bouche]

If you're using google chrome, the youtube beta you are talking about doesn't require flash. It uses HTML5 to play video.

[phishtaper]

Strong recommendation for Google Chrome. You do not need to uninstall IE.

you can not uninstall IE. It's part of MS-World.Takeover v666.0