Why do you say that Firefox has stopped supporting the Java plugin? The plugin list next to your question (Question Details > More Question Details) definitely is missing this one:

Name: Java(TM) Platform SE 8 U65 Version: 11.65.2.17 Description: Next Generation Java Plug-in 11.65.2 for Mozilla browsers

If you check your Add-ons page, is it disabled? Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. On the right side, look for that plugin, especially toward the bottom of the list where disabled plugins may be found. If it's there, can you change the permission from Never Activate to Ask to Activate?

If Firefox won't let you activate it, could you click the More link and see what version you have? If it's very old now, that could explain it.

You can get the current installer from the following page:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Please note that even though you have a 64-bit version of Windows, Firefox is a 32-bit program, so it uses the 32-bit version of Java. The installer is named "Windows Offline" and installing that should take care of the problem.

Oops, on closer reading, your plugin list does say:

"Next Generation Java Plug-in 10.9.2 for Mozilla browsers"

Version 10.9 is too old now, please update.

I'm not at all computer savvy, but when I try to update the Java plug-in, this is the message I get, which is why I'm looking for a browser that will allow Java:

Java Plugin 7 update 11 and lower (click-to-play), Windows has been blocked for your protection.

Why was it blocked?

   The Java plugin is causing significant security problems. All users are strongly recommended to keep the plugin disabled unless necessary.

Who is affected?

   All users who have these versions of the plugin installed in Firefox 17 and above.

What does this mean?

   The problematic add-on or plugin will be automatically disabled and no longer usable.
   When Mozilla becomes aware of add-ons, plugins, or other third-party software that seriously compromises Firefox security, stability, or performance and meets certain criteria, the software may be blocked from general use.

Okay, since you have such an old version, you might not be able to update through the built-in Add-ons page.

Please use the page I linked to before on the official Java site, and download the full "Windows Offline" installer:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

I did. I went through the installation process and then opened Firefox and accessed the game I want, Alchemy. It still won't work. The message I receive is this (which makes NO sense to someone like me):

Java Plug-in 11.65.2.17 Using JRE version 1.8.0_65-b17 Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM User home directory = C:\Users\Deedra11

c: clear console window f: finalize objects on finalization queue g: garbage collect h: display this help message l: dump classloader list m: print memory usage o: trigger logging q: hide console r: reload policy configuration s: dump system and deployment properties t: dump thread list v: dump thread stack x: clear classloader cache 0-5: set trace level to <n>

Sorry, where does that message appear? I think that's the Java console, but it just has some standard text and doesn't mention any errors, so it's hard to understand why it would pop up.

When you load the page that should start the game, do you get the plugin notification icon in Firefox's address bar? It looks like a dark gray Lego block. If you click that, does it say that Java is allowed on the site?

This is very frustrating. Every time I try to load the game page so I can get the information for you, Firefox freezes. Here's the first message that came up this time: Application Blocked by Java Security. It then went on to say that Java settings will only allow applications that meet their High or Very High security requirements. I'm paraphrasing because the whole thing crashes every time I open it now before I can get an deeper.

So does that mean the problem is Java? Is there a way to alter the Java security settings for the Alchemy site only?

I'm getting a little scared about downloading and altering things, because I don't know enough to dig myself out of any hole I might be diving into. *shudders*

It's weird that it freezes, but it may be related to the Java security issue.

Oracle has an article on how you create site-specific exception using the Java control panel: https://www.java.com/en/download/help/jcp_security.xml

What site is Alchemy hosted on? I would check with their support on whether it is normal to need an exception to play the game.

I'm poking around and I found the place where you can edit the Java security. I pasted in the Alchemy location

http://www.popcap.com/sites/www.popcap.com/prettypkg/games/alchemy/java/1033/alchemy.html?env=live&lcid=1033

and got a warning message that scares someone like me who isn't sure of what wrath they might be incurring by doing this. I tried to contact the makers of the game, popcap, and received a message that they no longer support any of their games.

Any suggestions? Am I risking everything by making this one site an exception in Java's security?

I really appreciate all the time you're spending on this...I know it's not super-important to anyone but me. Thank you.

Okay, the games seems to be discontinued on the publisher's site, its page just redirects to a list of other games (http://www.popcap.com/games/free/alchemy).

When I try it here, I do get that error: http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/alchemy.jsp

My Firefox doesn't crash as a result, but that could be due to something I'm blocking.

When your Firefox crashes, do you get the Mozilla Crash Reporter dialog? In that case, your Firefox may have logged some data that would help track down the cause of the problem. You can submit that data to Mozilla and share it with forum volunteers to see whether it points to the solution. Please check the support article "Firefox crashes - asking for support" for steps to get those crash report IDs from the about:crashes page, and then post some of those recent ones here.

The version of Java you were using before was from 2012, so if this game is still popular, I'm sure a lot of people have been making an exception for it. If you search around and don't see any reports that it caused problems, it's probably okay.

I don't get any redirection, just the Java Security message and then everything freezes. I don't get any Mozilla Crash Reporter dialog at all.

A lot of what's wrong here could be due to my computer-ignorance. I'm going to try installing the Alchemy site and see if it'll play. I'll cross my fingers and rely on my Norton security program to run interference for me... wish me luck. *gulp*

IT WORKED IT WORKED IT WORKED *does happy little skip*

Thank you! You are my hero....