Do you find yourself frequently receiving a message that says “The following plug-in has crashed: Shockwave Flash” when visiting a certain website or trying to watch a video online? It can be very inconvenient and quite annoying. It turns out that this message is more likely to happen in Google Chrome than any other browser, including Firefox or Internet Explorer.

This is a common occurrence and is likely attributed to the fact that Google Chrome already includes an internal installation of the Flash player. This means that if you also download another version of Flash on your own, the player will slow down or crash more frequently.

Here’s is a possible shockwave flash crash Google Chrome solution:

1. Open up a new tab in Chrome.

2. In the address bar, type “about:plugins”.

3. Press enter.

4. You will see a list of all the plug-ins you have installed for Chrome. If you scroll down the list a bit, you should see “Flash (2 files)” or “Flash (3 files)”.

5. Click “[+] Details” in the upper right-hand corner of the window.

6. Go back down to the Flash entry. You will see that one Flash version is for the internal Chrome installation (…Google\Chrome\Application…) and that one is for your OS installation (…Macromed\Flash…).

7. Click the “Disable” link for the Google Chrome version.

8. Exit out of this tab.

9. Close the Chrome browser.

10. Open it back up.

11. Go to Adobe Flash Player’s test page to make sure everything is working smoothly again.

If it is not working, try going back to the plug-ins list and re-enable the Google version. Disable your other version. Try closing and re-opening your browser and resume your normal browsing.

If you are still experiencing the problem, try contacting a computer specialist to help solve the issue. Check out TalkLocal, a free service that will connect you with reputable, top-quality professionals in your area who can cater to all your needs. Just enter in your problem, location, and availability into the online service request and–within minutes–professionals with solutions will call YOU directly.

Your computer registry contains information about your installations and updates.  It is recommended that you clean and fix your registry regularly because it can become bloated with unused files.  However, before you start emptying your registry you should back your files.  If you are using Windows, follow these steps to back your registry.  Continue reading for more information on how you can fix registry errors on your computer.

Back up Registry

1.   Click the Start menu.

2.   Click “Run.”

3.   Type “ntbackup.exe” in the command.

4.   Click “OK.”

Now that your files are back, you can either download an automatic cleaner or fix your registry manually.  If you do not want to spend money fixing your registry, there are a handful of free programs you can download online.

Fix Registry Automatically

1.    Look for a command that automatically scans and fixes your registry.

2.   Quit all other programs besides the registry cleaner.

3.   Run the registry cleaner.  Even though it is an automatic cleaner, it is better to monitor what the program is deleting instead of blindly letting it clear your files.  Many programs have a setting that allows you to approve of its suggestions before it performs them.

4.   Schedule the cleaner to regularly scan your registry.  If the program does not have that option, schedule reminders to run the program.

If you want total reign over deleting files, read the following steps:

Fix Registry Manually

1.   Click the Start menu.

2.   Click “Run.”

3.   Type regedit.exe.  You now have an overview of all your registry’s files.

4.   Delete any files that you do not use.  Some files are not clearly marked, so make sure you do some research before deleting unfamiliar files.

You can also speed up your computer by following these steps:

1.   Click the Start menu.

2.   Click “Run.”

3.   Type regedit.

4.   Find the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE> SYSTEM >CurrentControlSet>Control>Session Manager>Memory Management> PrefetchParameters

5.   Change the EnablePrefetcher number from 3 to 5.

6.   Restart your computer.

If you are still having problems with your registry, contact a professional to assess your situation.  l can connect you with high rated IT support services in your area.  Just fill out a short service request online to talk with a professional in minutes!

Dust inside a computer can cause slow performance, component failure, and fan failure. To keep it running smoothly, it is important to clean your computer fan at least a few times a year. Unfortunately, cleaning a computer fan is a risky action if you don’t know what you are doing, so read these instructions carefully to learn how to clean computer fan with compressed air.

Start by gathering your materials: a screwdriver that you can use to open your computer, a can of compressed air (designed to be static free), and a gas/dust mask to deal with all the dust. Next, shut down your machine (using the master power switch if it has one) and unplug any cables from the computer itself. Next, move to a comfortable, clean location where the dust can ventilate properly.

Time to open the computer! Take a picture before you start in case you want something to use as a reference later on. If you still have the user manual, it would be wise to consult it to find which areas you need to unscrew to open your computer properly. If you don’t have the manual, most computers have screws that hold down the side panel. Remove these to open up your machine.

Before we start messing around with the interior of the computer, be certain to never touch the inside of your computer with your hands. Doing so can destroy your computer because of electrostatic discharge. Just like you can be shocked by static if you rub your hands on a carpet, you can discharge static electricity into a computer, which has the potential to disrupt and destroy hardware components.

In light of this, use the compressed air to blow out the inside of your machine. Keep the can upright at all times to make sure no liquid spills out of the can. You’ll want to keep the can at least a few inches away from any interior parts. It is also good practice to begin from the top of the computer and systematically work your way down to ensure all the dust is removed.

Once all the other parts have been cleaned, move onto the computer fan. This is the last step because having dust accumulated in different areas will make cleaning the fan inefficient. To clean the computer fan, hold the can of compressed air roughly six inches away and spray directly at the fan from several different angles. Continue this process until all traces of dust are gone.

Now you can reassemble the computer. This step should be simple, but if you have trouble remembering where the pieces were before dismantling, refer to the pictures you took. When everything is back together and the cables plugged in, your computer will be running significantly cooler and faster.

If you would prefer to have a professional look at it, consider using TalkLocal. TalkLocal is a free service that will connect you with top-quality, reputable computer repair companies in your neighborhood within minutes. Just enter in your specific problem, location and availability, and up to three companies will call YOU directly, saving you the time and stress of finding one yourself.

Document Stuck In Print Queue Windows 7

The printer is the “brat” of the computer peripherals. Printer problems are an aggravating experience, especially when you are trying to print a document that is due in the next hour. One of many problems that occur with printers is a document being stuck in a print queue. There are various common mistakes made when trying to fix this problem. Deletion or cancelation of the document in the queue will usually not do anything besides causing the document to be stuck in deletion or cancelation. Testing the printer will only increase the documents in the print queue. There is an easy way to relief this problem in a few simple steps by clearing the print queue manually.

Print Queue Info

There are many applications with a print function. To stop the printer from printing documents from different application all at once, the “print queue” application sequences the printing process. When a document is finished printing, the next requested document begins to print. The print queue is achieved by a “Print Spool” service. Each printer connected to the computer has its own print queue.

Before Clearing Queue Manually

Before even clearing manually the print queue, look at the regular signs of why the document has not printed. Remember if any dialog box came up about of the printer’s status when requesting the print. This usually means the printer is out of ink or out of paper. If so, reload these items accordingly.

Clearing Queue Manually

1. Click the Start Button.

2. Search for “Administrative Tools” in the search box.

3. Click on it.

4. Click “Services.” A “Windows Management” window should pop up.

5. Click on “Print Spool.” You may need to scroll down to find it.

6. Click “Stop” on the left side of the window.

This should clear the print queue so you can finally print out the documents you need. If manually clearing the queue does not work or the problem persists, call TalkLocal to talk to local computer repair services.

If you want to print out a Web page in Internet Explorer and only to find to your dismay that the web page prints in HTML source code instead, don’t despair!  It’s usually caused by a single setting that can be easily changed and you’ll be printing regular pages in no time!

Why does this happen?

This problem usually occurs due to one of two different causes.  One possibility is that the temporary files (.tmp) that were used to print the web page were associated with a text editor (like Notepad), and as a result, these temp files were converted to text when sent to the printer.  Another possibility is that certain Internet Explorer settings were changed after installing new add-ons or during usage–both can inadvertently cause your web pages to print in HTML.

How do I solve this problem?

There is one simple way to solve this problem, which will work for the majority of the cases: Reset Internet Explorer’s settings back to default.  All you have to do is open Internet Explorer, click “Tools”, and then click “Internet Options.”  Under the Advanced tab, there will be a “Reset Internet Explorer Settings” options; click that button.

Your web pages should be printing normally now. However, if this solution didn’t solve your issue, it’s highly suggested that you change web browsers to alternatives such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.  Both of those browsers usually don’t have issues when it comes to printing out web pages in the correct format.

Ultimately, if none of the above options worked, then you should use TalkLocal to contact a IT professional near you today.  TalkLocal will automatically choose the best quality professional in your area in just minutes, saving you time and money to spend on more important things!