Macromedia hell with Update Service...

Lately when trying to run the Sony-Ericsson Update Service I get the
dreaded "Incompatible Macromedia version" error message.

I've tried all the usual suggestions, but no go: uninstall/reinstall
Shockwave & Flash players (using Adobe's uninstaller programs),
uninstall/reinstall SE Update Service, reinstall JRE; manually use
Regsrvr to register flash.ocx, etc.

As seems to be the case with most people experiencing this same
problem, I have Firefox installed. As recommended, I used IE to install
the Macromedia players, and I've changed my default browser back to IE.
Still no go...

Very frustrating. Any suggestions will be MUCH appreciated.

best,
JohnB