Any Computer Experts? Need YouTube Help

[Crockett]

First off, I must confess I do not understand computer lingo. That is why searching Google or internet-related boards have been little or no help with this problem. It's like reading a foreign language for me.

Anyhow, here is the problem. I have had this Compaq laptop for little under a year now. (Windows 7). Has been working just fine until now. I frequent YouTube...often.
I have not changed or messed with any settings. Have never had any problem watching videos on YouTube. That is, until last night.

Now, whenever I go onto YouTube, it shows a black box where the video would normally appear/load. No play button. Just a black rectangle.
I have Googled this countless times today, and the only solutions I've read seem like a foreign language, or sound like a sales pitch to upgrade to blah, blah blah.

Has anyone had this problem? Surely a laptop would not stop playing videos after this short of time. Granted, I use YouTube a lot, but it has never given me any sort of trouble until now.

Thanks so much for any advice/tips.

 

[Crockett]

p.s.
I've already tried logging off/on again, clearing cookies, restarting computer...no luck.

 

[lilclerk]

have you tried a different browser? Or seeing if you need a Flash update?

 

[Crockett]

Or seeing if you need a Flash update?

I think that was it. I clicked on the Adobe icon and it prompted an update. So far, YT seems to be working just fine (knock on wood). Thank you thank you so much!!

 

[Master Yoda]

You more than likely need a Flash update. Go to this link. in the right hand corner you will see buttons for Adobe reader, flash player, air and shockwake. Download and install them all.

 

[Crockett]

You more than likely need a Flash update. Go to this link. in the right hand corner you will see buttons for Adobe reader, flash player, air and shockwake. Download and install them all.

Just downloaded all 4. When I went back to YT and logged-in, it was back to the black box; no video. Maybe it has something to do with my log-in account. It was working just fine for a little while. :shrug:
Thanks for the help though.

 

[Crockett]

*Update*

After Googling to find more solutions to this, I noticed it was flooded with complaints/questions concerning exact same issue...all posted within the past 24-hrs. Apparently, this is a widespread problem. One girl on a tech-support discussion forum deleted her entire channel with 200+ videos thinking her problem was somehow connected to her account. That might have been overkill.

But anyhow, the problem is expected to grow over the hrs/days to come. YouTube is aware of the problem and working on it. So in case any of you get the same problem with viewing videos...it is NOT a problem with your computer or YT account. Here is the official statement from YT:

Hi everyone,

If you're experiencing one of the following problems:

-The video player is replaced by a black or white box
-Colors are splotchy
-There’s a green line splitting the player in two
-The seek/navigation bar is missing or displaying incorrectly
-The video stops playing when you change the resolution

...you may be running into a known problem with hardware accelerated video playback in Flash 10.02 hitting a percentage of YouTube users. We're working hard alongside Adobe to get this fixed, but in the meanwhile please visit the following Help Center article for workarounds that will get you back to watching videos:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=1209379


We realize this has been frustrating, and we really appreciate your patience as we iron out the bumps in this new feature.

Happy surfing,
Roscoe

 

[Mammymouse]

I started with a similar problem a month or so ago. I rarely view youtube, in fact it has only been to watch videos that folks from this forum post links to. But all I get now is a white box where the video used to be. I get audio fine but no picture, and all the display around the box is there and normal. Previous to this it worked okay, although video had been getting a little choppy lately (not audio) and I attributed that to my computer being old and maybe didn't have enough memory for newer files. As far as I know all my Adobes, etc. are up to date. So maybe it isn't my computer after all. Thanks for the post - I'll wait and see if Adobe gets this fixed. I'm not much of a tech person.

 

[lilclerk]

We're working hard alongside Adobe to get this fixed, but in the meanwhile please visit the following Help Center article for workarounds that will get you back to watching videos:

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=1209379

Huh, interesting! Did any of the workarounds work?

 

[Mammymouse]

Huh, interesting! Did any of the workarounds work?

I had no luck because the "fix" says to click Settings, and couldn't find the settings anywhere.

 

[R W B]

I have been getting the same thing for about 2-3 weeks now. I watch alot of music videos on Youtube and one day the music came on but the video never started. I'd say about 1 in 20 videos I try to watch on Youtube actually plays now. I can watch youtube videos that are posted on other sites but not on Youtube itself. My computer at work plays videos just fine. I didnt realize it was a big problem, now I dont feel so bad, lol.

 

[Alexx]

This usually happens to me and I scroll down then back up and the video works again.