Dear Lazyweb,
Is there some way of getting the latest version of Flash Player installed into a portable (USB key-based) version of Firefox without having to run the installer .exe? I want Flash Player 9 on my Firefox Portable.
I’m on a WinXP system that requires Administrator access to run installers, and there is no up to date Flash player (I think ver. 7 is installed on the IE instance on the machine). So, what I really need, I guess, is the Flash .dll. But I have no way of obtaining it.
Ideas? Solutions?
There is also a Flash XPI (firefox extension) I dug the link up a while ago. I have never used it personally and not sure how it works but may be worth a look. http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/xpi/current/flashplayer-win.xpi
Hi, I’m not sure of the permissions issues for Portable-style computing, but wouldn’t your Firefox installation contain its own local Plugins folder on the thumb drive? Once you update Adobe Flash Player for your Portable Firefox installation, then it should be available on any processor you may be using, true?
Hmm, or maybe the problem is that you can’t install *anything* on the PC you’re currently using, and don’t have any other PC on which you can install to the thumb drive. Is this closer to what you’re facing there…?
@John - the second issue is the one I face. No install privileges at all. No additional PC. Although… I have a Windows XP machine in Parallels on my MacBook Pro.
See, all I needed was someone to trigger the already-known solution to leap from my brain!
Ouch, sounds like you need permission to be able to install software on the machine you own, then. I don’t see any way around that, other than temporarily finding another machine so that you can install to your thumb drive.
(There *is* a standalone installer for intranets, but that’s a case where the administrator has installation privileges on those machines anyway… one way or another, we do need permission to install software on a machine before it can be installed. :(
Not own… Work machine. Locked-down SOE.
And my cunning plan worked! Install Flash Player into a Firefox instance on a machine you have privileges on, then copy the .dll to your FirefoxPortable instance.
Hello for all, I know what are you talking about, need the plugin in the portable Firefox, don’t you? Ok the link “XPI” is only that you need. Just Open the portable app, go to Tools->extensions — > drop the extension xxxx.XPI and install it. Then you can carry your portable App wherever you want… sorry but my English is not very good. Greets
As trib indicated, Flash (under Firefox, anyway) doesn’t actually require any kind of installation process. All you need to do is copy two files from the Flash installer to the Firefox plugins directory.
Specifically, you’ll need to copy these two files:
flashplayer.xpt, NPSWF32.dll
To this directory:
Mozilla Firefox\plugins\
You can do this either by installing Flash on a separate computer and copying the files over (as trib did), or by simply extracting the necessary files from the Flash installer and copying them directly. There are a few programs capable of doing this, but to make the process easier I’ve wrapped them into an easy-to-use program that can extract files from several different types of installer (and other archives). The name of the program is Universal Extractor, and it can be downloaded from here:
http://www.legroom.net/mysoft
Hope this helps.
nitro322 wrote:
> Specifically, you’ll need to copy these two files:
> flashplayer.xpt, NPSWF32.dll
> To this directory:
> Mozilla Firefox\plugins\
I had the same problem and this did the job.
And this Universal Extractor is great! It can’t extract some files but idea is just wonderful. :)
thanx for this! Tomorrow I will try it at work!
Thanks nitro322! Your process (including Universal extractor) worked perfectly, though I accidentally dropped the files into C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\extensions without thinking. Still worked just fine.
This not only helped with my Portable Firefox copy, but saved me a headache at work on a terminal without administrator access. Thanks!
To add to hat Jose has mentioned download the extension
http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/xpi/current/flashplayer-win.xpi
by right clicking and selecting “Save Link As”
After this open the file using either WinRar/WinZip and extract the
lashplayer.xpt, NPSWF32.dll files to Mozilla Firefox\plugins\
Hrm… Here’s a question. What if the computer you’re using doesn’t have Firefox installed, and you want to find the flash plugin in the IE install folder? Where would that be?
Use Netscape :P
[…] including as a means of installing browser plugins that my work computers won’t let me – FlashPlayer 9 for example. What’s funny is that Portable apps have been mentioned in my face for weeks […]
Kr4t05: On my pc it’s located here:
c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\
That’s default plug-in dir on xpp machines.
thx!
this copy/paste thing worked fine for me.
sometimes it’s so easy … should use brains more often sometimes ;) cu
i tried the copy/paste thing to get a flash plugin for my firefox at work (very! limited privs) but it has not worked. can someone help me? i brought all my flash .dll files from home and then put them on my work computer in the plugins folder but nothing still.
what am i doing wrong?
This is for PORTABLE firefox. I imagine it won’t work if you place it in normal firefox as I think normal firefox would create a registry entry. It does work as it says. Maybe this will help. It’s from the guy who made this whole portable firefox thingy happen. http://portableapps.com/support/firefox_portable
Something to note is that there are multiple “plugins” folders within the various folders of my firefox portable, and it took me a few minutes to find the right one. It’s
App/firefox/plugins
This is important, because i tried a couple of the other directories first, and they didn’t work.
if u have the installer of flash in ur usb u can install it by using the schedule task in xp by adding it to schedule…after adding the exe file in task, right click on it then run…it works on me even i’m not the admin of the computer….sometimes it doesn’t work but u can try still.
You will probably want the shockwave player aswell, I’ll save you some time
To install the shockwaveplayer with Firefox do this:
Do this:
* Download the shockwave installer (.exe)
* Extract it using unpackingsoftware, such as WinRar or TugZip.
* copy the files into the firefox plugin directory (same as for flash above). No subdir is allowed, just dump all of it in the plugin-directory.
* restart firefox
Tested it with a random shockwavegame and it worked!
Well, I guess that it isn’t so bad that IE is included by default after all 
I tried my old favorite from Heavy.com, Iron Stomach, but it didn’t work
Probably more issues than just the player, because it was written long ago in the Internet Explorer golden days
/Mikael http://www.voitech.se
put in URL box :
ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/netscape7/english/7.2/windows/win32/bfkprv/flash.xpi
agree to install done
If you open portable firefox and then go to a youyoube vid or something that needs flash - it will say up the top “install missing plugin?” which doesn’t need the privilages to work.
@Simon (would have been better if you used a real email address…) privileges very much depend on environment. In many corporate settings, downloads are extremely restricted, executables more so.
Wow nitro322! It worked like a charm and that extracter is fantastic. I did exactly as you said on my work computer and I now have flash. Thanks a million!
I am in the same boat as the OP, can’t install anything on my work pc. If this works I’m going to be psyched!
how about the divx plugin?
i want to access stage6 but i cant instal the plugin. i dont have priviledge on the computer
i have the same problem but when i was using the portable firefox i went on youtube clicked on a video and the prompt to iinstall a plugin for firefox came up at the top and it let me install it without administrative priviliages!!!!!!!!!!! problem solved
I tried to copy NPSWF32.dll to plugin folder but it gives me following
Cannot copy flashplayer : Access is denied.
Make sure the disk is not full write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
“”On 10.27.06 nitro322 said:
As trib indicated, Flash (under Firefox, anyway) doesn’t actually require any kind of installation process. All you need to do is copy two files from the Flash installer to the Firefox plugins directory.
Specifically, you’ll need to copy these two files:
flashplayer.xpt, NPSWF32.dll
To this directory:
Mozilla Firefox\plugins\
You can do this either by installing Flash on a separate computer and copying the files over (as trib did), or by simply extracting the necessary files from the Flash installer and copying them directly. There are a few programs capable of doing this, but to make the process easier I’ve wrapped them into an easy-to-use program that can extract files from several different types of installer (and other archives). The name of the program is Universal Extractor, and it can be downloaded from here:
http://www.legroom.net/mysoft
Hope this helps.””
THANKS ALOT!! The copying of flashplayer.xpt and NPSWF32.dll was enough. I can now watch youtube on ff! whoo!
It works, XPI extracted files to k-ninja plugins folder. Pleeease tell it to the planet. You guys Rock!!!!
So Thanx.
I’m having the same problem in Opera@Usb. I’m on a computer without any privilages whatsoever, and it won’t allow the flash installer to run. I’ve tried extracting the installer with WinRar, but that doesn’t work. I’ve also tried copying the plugins to the folder, but that doesn’t work either.
[…] Quelle: http://www.acidlabs.org/2006/09/05/installing-flash-in-portable-firefox-with-no-installer/ […]
[…] Firefox Portable tweaks that make life in IT lockdown more bearable? Let us know in the comments. Installing Flash on Firefox Portable with no Installer [Acid […]
[…] Installing Flash on Firefox Portable with no Installer […]
[…] Vía | Acid Labs […]
it worked for me http://lifehacker.com/394946/enable-flash-in-firefox-portable
Just cussed like 40x at your post here and the one on lifehacker. Followed every direction in every comment b/c I couldn’t get Google Talk gadget to stop saying “oops looks like you don’t have the latest version of flash”.
Turns out that it was balking @ me b/c of the Flashblock plugin. The only reason I am admitting my folly in front of the entire webernet is b/c someone else might be having the same issue.
If you have followed in my dumb-ness..
Be advised= you (like me) are partially stupid and you need to turn off that extension. thanks
Thanks a lot! I had the same problem I and solved with the universal extractor trick…
Thanks a ton! Found this on a google search and it worked like a charm. Though I downloaded the Flash extension and extracted the .dll from the .xpi package using 7-Zip portable extractor.
well i did copied the two files mentioned above to my mozilla/plugin directory
but the problem is, when i open some sites, the pictures are not displayed and on my firefox a message pops up saying a “install missing plugins”
now what to do ?
by the way I am using my companies laptop and I dont have administrative rights, though installing firefox was not at all a problem, actually it was by default installed in c:/program files directory
So guys tell me how should i get this working ?
one more thing,
when i click “install missing plugins”, it guides me to instal “Adobe Flash Player”
thats the reason I think i need to install the flash player
can someone just post the gd files instead of an extractor? i can’t use an extractor either.
I’m in an office where the computer’s are locked down tighter than… well, you can imagine! Anything “fun” I want to do has to be portable or installer-less…
While searching from/based on the links above, I found a couple places where you can download the npswf32.dll file on the internet by itself - a Google search and about 30 seconds of exploring gave me at least three different sources.
I wasn’t sure, though, whether this was the latest/updated version, so I searched a little deeper. I ended up getting a few different things to make it all work - a couple extra steps, but isn’t that what “workAROUND” kinda implies?
1 - whichever flash installer you happen to want to download - I found a download depot for all versions:
(http://dll-repair-tools.com/dll/npswf32dll-the-flash-plug-in) pointed me to (http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14266&sliceId=1) where I downloaded the Flash Player 9 package - this includes several versions of the installers, including the Netscape(etc) windows installer that you need.
2 - Next, go to the “Universal Extractor” page mentioned above - I KNOW, I KNOW, you can’t install that either - bear with me… There’s a “binaries only” download package on that site - get THAT one.
3 - Inconveniently, the package above comes as a RAR archive, which requires… wait for it… INSTALLING some sort of RAR-extracting device. WELL, luckily for us, there’s a 7zip dealie at portableapps.com that works nicely to extract said archives.
SO - although there are a few hoops to jump through, it’s not REALLY difficult to get these files, from an official/trusted source, in their latest versions, without having to actually install anything.
Good luck!
Easiest solution seems to be:
1) Download 7-Zip portable from PortableApps.com
2) Download Flash XPI (Google for latest link - do Save As)
3) Open XPI with 7-Zip
4) Copy NPSWF32.dll and flashplayer.xpt to FirefoxPortable/App/Plugins
Was very easy and presented no problems on locked down computer.
If you are not able to download or install the Universal Extractor (because of permissions at work) to get the .dll and .xpt file here are links to download the files to place into your Mozilla Firefox\plugins\ folder.
all I could find was the .dll file…
NPSWF32.dll
From Portable apps:
UPDATED INFORMATION 6/25/08
The NEW Definitive Simplest way
Download the file from:
http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/xpi/current/flashplayer...
as indicated on the support page.
http://portableapps.com/support/firefox_portable#plugins
BUT…
DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE
DO A RIGHT CLICK, Save link as…
change the extension of the download to flashplayer-win.xpi.ZIP
Unzip it, and there you go, copy the files needed,
NPSWF32.dll and flashplayer.xpt ,
to this directory:
[x]:\PATH\PORTABLE\FirefoxPortable\Data\Plugins
and you have Flash for FFP Tim
Thanks for the tip of extracting the files from the XPI and just putting them in the Plugins directory on the thumb drive - it worked! Woot! :)
Hi
I had the same prb and have done just like Dylan Reeve said and everything is ok. now.
Thanks Mauritz & Reeve, worked like a charm :)