If YouTube is slow, stuck or weird, and people suggest that
you either change or install stuff....DON'T TOUCH A THING.
Please don’t mess with java scripts, firewall settings, flash
players, anti-virus utilities, activeX controls, popup blockers
or different browsers.
None of those things will help you, because your computer
and YouTube were working perfectly fine at one point, right?
The first rule of thumb and best option should ALWAYS be:
don't disable, erase, uninstall, switch, download, alter, add,
change or install anything. That'll only make matters worse.
Every day, YouTube often shuts down many of their servers
to update stuff. Please be patient if YouTube is slow, stuck
or mangled. Transmissions from YouTube to your computer
are actually done in small chunks of "Flash" at a time. That
is why sometimes you may only get bits and pieces of text,
video, the spinning circle and/or a blank screen. Your issue
may fix itself within a few hours or by the next day.
If your YouTube continues to behave slow, stuck or strange,
it's very possible that your directories of "temporary internet
files" and memory (often times called "cache") are full to the
maximum and just can't take anymore, the end result being
that YouTube videos either A) start/stop/start/stop, B) grind
to a halt, or C) never even make it onto your screen.
"Temporary internet files" are tiny bits of webpages that get
permanently put on your computer. They will remain forever
and ever, gradually plugging up your computer (just like hair
slowly clogs a sink drain) until you get rid of them, or "clear
your cache" including "cookies" and "history".
If you're not sure how to clear your "cache", or if you would
like extra 'tips' on making YouTube run even better (without
having to buy or install anything), click my avatar and send
send me a message -- ideally with your YouTube or regular
email address. I will guide you step-by-step through "cache"
clearing and my 'tips' in plain English with full explanations.
Note 1: if you have Google Web Accelerator (or something
similar to it), dump it, burn it, trash it, disable it, uninstall it;
-- do all that you can to get as far away from it as possible,
even though this contradicts all my advice. Not only does it
conflict with YouTube, simply clicking on "Don't Accelerate
This Website" will not help you whatsoever.
Note 2: longer videos only require "Flash" and "Shockwave"
in order to play smooth. You don't need anything else.
Note 3: an unusual fix that once worked for me was altering
the URL "www . youtube . com" to simply "youtube . com",
(or you can even try "ca . youtube . com").