removed flash player but yet it still runs and overheats pc

I am using a laptop and it is a bit older, but it was working fine until I updated my flash player earlier this year. That’s when it started overheating and turning itself off. I can’t watch streaming netflix movies anymore and my pogo games that use flash. I can play the ones that use java for hours and my laptop does not shut down, I’ve checked for threats or viruses or bugs or malware, but I can’t seem to find anything malicious. But when I run anything using flash my pc gets hot and shuts down usually within 30 mins. I don’t like doing that, so I try not to use the flash/ The weird part is I removed it from my control panel but yet those games will still play and I can still watch movies on netflix, but it does overheat. I thought about removing google chrome and see if the flash will go away. I noticed google chrome has plug ins for different drives. i think thats what they’re called and maybe that’s where the flash is running from. I do use xp. Like I said this is an older model laptop but it was working great until the flash problem. Thanks for any suggestions. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t afford a new computer.