Dell 2400 with XP home edition SP2 512 MB of ran purchased in 04

Hey all. I have a computer that I had purchased way back in 04, and just until literally 2 days ago I didn't use it for anything but music because I could not figure out how to get it online.

I did the netsh clearing the registry trick and that allowed me to access the net through IE. I'm able to get online and the computer seems to be working excellent until... I try to use anything that has to do with adobe flash. I can't download adobe player 10 manually or through the download manager, nor will alternate browsers work when I try to download them. I've tried Mozilla, Opera, IE 8, and Netscape. None of those browsers work, the only one that will work is the stock IE that came out with the purchase of my computer. Another thing that I NOTICED is If I download limewire it will not connect so that I can download music. I want to my computer to work like a normal computer and it's on the right road, but it still needs some work.

Can anyone help me out with this problem? Thanks in advance!Frankly, I didn't understand most of your post.

But the part I did understand was that you had a problem upgrading flash. I've had that problem a couple of TIMES too.

You need to go to control panel, add/remove programs and delete previous versions of flash, then you can download the newest version of flash. There seems to be some kind of conflict with older versions and upgrades. That tip was from Adobes site.

IMHO it's just poor programming on flash's part. Haven't had that problem with other upgrades.Sorry if my wording wasn't CLEAR, but I did fix the computer...

Basically my computer did nothing but playback my CD's for three whole years. Approximately 5 days ago I cleared the registry on my computer via run< netsh winsock reset. This allowed my computer to find my broadband connection as well as pull up my stock windows xp internet explorer browser, therefore I was able to surf the net.

However, any downloads I tried to make be it activex, adobe, limewire, even alternate browsers i.e. Mozilla Opera, etc. did not work at all. I couldn't see youtube, get into facebook, myspace, all that jazz.

The fix all together was simple, yet so difficult for a non computer guru like myself...

I reset the registry... run>ncpa.cpl>REPAIR connection immediately after run>netsh winsock reset black screen momentarily pops up after that reboot computer.

Following that process I deleted an antivirus software (Kapersky, maybe different for someone else) that was blocking my ability to pull alternate browsers or any type of video even audio.

Both these simple steps let my 5 year old computer, that did nothing but play CD's and sit in a storage unit for 8 MONTHS, work!

Hope it helps someone else. And thanks for your advice!

Perfect example of why reg cleaners and/or editing the Registry without knowing the results can be should be avoided at all costs.....