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viewing youtube video

lal77
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: ‎20-03-2010

viewing youtube video

Please can someone help me, I'm tearing my hair out.  My 80 year old mother has recently bought her first laptop and has gone online with plusnet.  We have set up her wireless router.  Everything is working fine.  Connected straight away.  Our only problem is that she can not view any youtube videos.  Keeps getting message "need latest version of flash player or java script not enabled"..After installing latest version and still no joy,, in desperation I brought her laptop home to my house  -hey presto  -youtube videos worked first time.  I am using virgin media cable and a belkin router. Mother has thomson router and bt phone line. Both are running windows 7 although hers is 64-bit and mine is 32.  I can only surmise that her router is blocking the content somehow.  Please help.  Thankyou
17 REPLIES 17
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: viewing youtube video

Is it just Youtube or is it all flash videos?
Try BBC iPlayer (for example).

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

Have you tried working through the YouTube troubleshooter for these error messages ?
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=57669
ChrisL
Rising Star
Posts: 760
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-12-2007

Re: viewing youtube video

Might it be the firewall settings in the router blocking Java?  Just a layman's thought....
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

I don't know anything about the Thomson router (and you didn't say which model it was anyway), but I have looked at my Linksys router firewall and that does have the ability to filter Java.
If you look at the attached files below, one shows a screen shot of what the security settings page looks like, and the other is the associated help for these settings.
So if your Mother's Thomson router has the equivalent Java and cookie blocking capability AND it is set to filter ON, then that would explain the difference you are seeing.
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: viewing youtube video

Java doesn't enter into it...
Blocking ActiveX on a Windows system is a good idea.
Don't block javascript - no relation to java - as all / most sites will fail.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Mav
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22,371
Thanks: 4,725
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Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: viewing youtube video

Flash won't run in a 64 bit browser under Windows.
You can run it in the 32 bit browser in a 64 bit system, though.
Flash Player support on 64-bit operating systems

Forum Moderator and Customer
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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

While the above information about running Flash on a 64 bit browser is a very useful tip, I don't think it is the answer to this particular problem, as 'lal77' says that the mother's laptop YouTube viewing works on their home router, but NOT when the same laptop is connected to the mother's router.  Therefore it is unlikely to be a problem with the laptop configuration.
So if the problem really is location dependant, then that leaves -
1) Laptop Internet Security firewall blocking when on "HOME" location profile, but not blocking when "AWAY" from home.
2) Filtering by mother's router - unlikely but see my previous posting above.
3) Filtering by PlusNet firewall on mother's account - see https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=firewall.
4) Location sensitive content filtering - such as use of OpenDNS DNS to filter mother's IP address - check DNS setting for mother's laptop and router.
5) Finger trouble ?  Wink
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: viewing youtube video

Quote from: Mav
Flash won't run in a 64 bit browser under Windows.

However, Flash does run in a 64 bit browser on Linux. Cheesy

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

lal77
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: ‎20-03-2010

Re: viewing youtube video

Thanks all for your replies so far.  Firstly i must tell you that I can't visit my mothers house again until next weekend and so am unable to check some of the things suggested. I can't say if iplayer is working or not .  Thanks "Purleigh" for your advice.  In your first post you suggest checking the security settings of the router.  Am i right in thinking that if I put the routers ip address in the browser address bar, it should bring up the information.  (Thats what I do with my Belkin router). 
I have looked into the 32/64-bit question, but if this is the case, it wouldn't work on my connection either  - and it does.
I think your next post "Purleigh" may hold the answer - if only I could really understand most of it (bit of a novice!)
1.  Laptop internet security firewall blocking when on HOME location profile, but not blocking when AWAY -  I really don't understand this.  She is using windows firewall.  Do you mean that the settings change?
2 Filtering by router - I will check this when I can
3  Firewall on mothers account is turned off.
4.  Not sure about this at all, but if I am looking in the right place.  Obtain ip address automatically is checked on settings in laptop.  Again I can't check router settings.
5 No its definately not finger trouble!
Thanks for your help.  I

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

Quote
... checking the security settings of the router.  Am i right in thinking that if I put the routers ip address in the browser address bar, it should bring up the information.  (Thats what I do with my Belkin router).

Yes that is how most routers work, and it would be helpful if you could tell us the exact model number of the router in question, so we can have a look at the settings from a downloaded handbook from the manufacturers website !
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

Quote
1.  Laptop internet security firewall blocking when on HOME location profile, but not blocking when AWAY -  I really don't understand this.  She is using windows firewall.  Do you mean that the settings change?

OK, I had assumed the laptop had something other than the Windows Firewall.
What I was referring to, was that many third party Internet Security products (such as Norton Firewall, and others) allow you to configure several "profiles" and associate these "profiles" with different networks.
So for example you might have three profiles set-up, perhaps -
  "HOME" - where the firewall has strict rules for internet access, but open access for other trusted computers on the local network.
  "WORK" - again strict rules for internet traffic, but moderate access for anything else.
  "PUBLIC" - for use in public places (e.g. airports, or cafes). so very strict internet access, and total blocking of any other traffic.
On some of these security products, the software will detect a change of network and apply the relevant settings, on others you can change profiles manually.

Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with the capabilities of the Windows 7 firewall, but if it is anything like that on Windows XP then I don't remember it having the capability I described above, and therefore my original point is not relevant.
lal77
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: ‎20-03-2010

Re: viewing youtube video

Thanks  "Purleigh.  I understand now about the different profiles, but she has only got windows firewall.
Sorry I can't check on exact model of router at the moment, but am almost certain it is a thomson  585v7 4 Port Wireless router.
I will supply you with the information as soon as I can.  As things stand I think I will have to wait till next weekend to get it sorted,  ( posted this now because I thought someone might have an easy solution and I could have sorted it for her whilst at my house - realise now I should have waited - sorry  )  so please can you keep track of this post.  I'm sure that you are going to be the answer to my prayers eventually and make an old lady very happy as well.
Thank you
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

Quote
4.  Not sure about this at all, but if I am looking in the right place.  Obtain ip address automatically is checked on settings in laptop.  Again I can't check router settings.

On the laptop, in the place where the setting for "Obtain an IP address automatically" is, check that it is also set to "Obtain DNS server address automatically".  This will ensure the network configuration for the laptop is provided by the router.
Now you need to check in the router set-up, whether the DNS settings are obtained automatically (by querying the PlusNet servers), or whether they have been manually specified (in a similar way to the Windows network settings).
Anyhow, there should be a "DSL Status" page of some sort, which should list which DNS settings the router is using.  If you can record these numbers and post them here, then someone will tell you whether these are PlusNet values, or something else.

If the DNS values are PlusNet settings, then we know what you are dealing with.  However there are services such as "OpenDNS" where you change the router or PC DNS values to 'point' at their servers, and from then on every request to the internet passes through their filtering system, and depending on how those filters are set, but may cause unexpected results (if you are not aware that filtering is going on !).  This can be helpful in providing some level of content filtering, although in the case of YouTube, you would be totally blocked.
From what you have said, it is very unlikely that the DNS settings are a problem, but worth checking anyway even if just to completely eliminate the possibility of misconfiguration.
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: viewing youtube video

Do you own (or can borrow) another laptop, when you next visit ?
If you can get another laptop working with YouTube on YOUR home router, then take that laptop to your mother's and see whether it then works with her router.
In fact as you are setting automatic addresses, you should be able to run BOTH laptops at the same time.
If that is successful then you will have eliminated the router filtering, PlusNet filtering, any DNS issues, and would tend to point to a laptop configuration issue (although I have no idea what !)
Good luck  Cool