OK I won’t make yet another post on how horrible the install for CS3 has been. Let’s just say that I opened the box from UPS Wednesday around 5:00 PM and only a short 34 hours later I actually got it installed. In the end I took the shotgun approach and tried every solution I could find at the same time and it worked… so here is my recipe for a CS3 installation….USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
You will need for this recipe, the following ingredients:
(I should mention that this is for a Windows XP machine)
* Your CS3 Installation media and serial number
* Administrative rights on your machine. (Member of the Admin group)
* Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
* Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller
* Adobe CS3 Pre-release Cleaner
* Adobe Acrobat registry ACL repair utility
0. Copy and Merge the Install Files
Make a directory on your hard disk (i.e. C:\Software\ )
copy the “Adobe CS3″ directory from all of your install disks into this directory letting each copy overwrite any duplicate directories. You want to end up with one directory (C:\Software\Adobe CS3\) that contains the contents of all of the Adobe CS3 directories from each of the source disks.
1. Uninstall *ALL* Adobe and Macromedia products.
This includes FlexBuilder 2 and 3 Beta and in my case ColdFusion 8 Beta, also the AIR Beta runtime.
(note I did not uninstall ColdFusion 7)
2. Uninstall *ALL* Adobe and Macromedia products.
No not a typo… just go check and do it again if need be.
and if you didn’t do it the first time I said it, do it now.
3. Delete the applications\Adobe directory
Remove the C:\applications\Adobe directory. Yep just delete it.
4. Reboot make sure that there are no active installs/uninstalls
How do you do this… try installing an a program that uses a .MSI installation file. My suggestion would be the
Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
because you will need this later in the process anyway.
5. Run the CS3 removal utility
Run the
Adobe CS3 Pre-release Cleaner
but use the hidden level 4 clean. It doesn’t show on the menu. It’s sort of like the Spinal Tap level 11. (Actually I wish they had included a level 11!)
6. Run the CS3 removal utility AGAIN!
Yes again, in level 4 keep running it until it doesn’t actually do anything at the end.
7. Make sure flash player is really gone
Run the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller
8. What the hell, run it again for good measure
9. Fix the registry permissions
Run the Adobe Acrobat registry ACL repair utility
10. Yep you guessed it… do it again
MISSING STEP
OK Looking back over this post and my notes I realized that I missed a couple of things between steps 10 and 11
10b: run Windows Installer CleanUp Utility (You probably installed it in step 4 above. ) It will be in your programs menu. Run it and remove any remnants of left over installs for Adobe and Macromedia products that you have removed. Oddly enough sometimes the un-install/modify install is left behind in the Add/Remove programs list after an uninstall.
10c: Manually fix registry permissions… I don’t know if it actually had an effect on ANYTHING. Basically what you want to do is open regedit, right click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, select permissions, select Administrators at the top and check the Full Control - Allow box at the bottom, then click Apply, then Advanced then check the “Replace permission…” box at the bottom, the click Apply. It will take a minute or two but regedit will try to replace permissions on all subkeys of the HKLM, you will get an error message that permissions for some keys could not be updated. Unfortunately there is no way to tell which key.
You can stop here, but if you want you can do what I did which was do the same thing for all the other top level keys. In particular I would do the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG. I believe I also spent some time poking around in the sub keys looking for anything that I thought the install might be trying to modify and doing this same process to keys. Unfortunately there is no way that I have found to update registry permissions en mass.
Now go make sure that your user id you are using to install is a member of the local administrators group in windows.
11. Clean the registry
Run RegClean
12. Clean the registry AGAIN repeat as needed
Keep cleaning the registry, until the reg undo file that it generates does not change. (i.e. open up the last two files in notepad, if they are different run it again)
13. Stop everything else running.
Go to Start->Run and type “msconfig” and hit enter.
On the “General” tab of the System Configuration Utility select “Selective Startup” and uncheck all 4 boxes under it.
Go to the “Services” tab, click Enable All, then check the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box, then click “Disable All”, now click “OK” and let the system reboot.
14. Install
Go to the directory you setup in step 0. and run the Setup.exe. If you encountered any problems when copying the files from the DVDs, determine which program those files belong to and skip the installation of that program. (I had to skip AfterEffects for the time being.) Also if you are so inclined you might skip installation of Acrobat Pro, this seems to be the one program that is causing the most problems with installation.
If this ends up working for you… Please come back and comment.
29 Comments
2007.07.21 at 2:00 pm
FYI: I went back and installed Acrobat (via "add/remove programs" and it worked just fine.
2007.07.23 at 4:40 am
Thx for the tips, but it didn’t work for me ;-). Getting still "component install failed" (Design Premium)
Peter
2007.07.24 at 9:21 am
thx for the issue!!!! with your help now cs3 works!!!! very good work!
2007.07.25 at 10:54 pm
I had lukewarm hopes for this method, and I was right - it didn’t work. At the natural end of one segment of install I was asked to plsce the next disk on the C drive. Clicking OK dd nothing, putting the proper DVD on the D drive (my DVD drive) did nothing. I’ve tried everything short of a "silent install" - I’m giving up. A new laptop is arriving in a month and I’ll install CS3 then. In the meantime I’m going back to CS2, Macromedia Dreamweaver, and Flash.
If you can tell me how to try again without the request to place the next disc in the C drive, I am willing to try one more time. I am a glutton for punishemnt.
2007.07.26 at 11:57 am
One more thing - I also started the system with boxes unchecked - a bare minimum start.
2007.07.26 at 12:08 pm
Perfect!!! What a bunch of crap to have to do just to get CS3 to install, but at least this worked. THANKS!!
2007.07.26 at 12:56 pm
ozziea,
The only thing that I can think of that would cause the problem that you are describing is missing (or perhaps corrupted) install files in the directory you created in step 0 on your hard drive. Just to be clear on the setup that I had: I have a directory C:\software\Adobe CS3 inside of that directory I have 4 directories (deployment, payloads, redist, resources) and 6 files (Media.cab, setup.exe, setupcache.ben, WinBootstrapper1.cab, WinBootstrapper.msi, WinMediabootstrapper.msi) Most of those came off the 1st DVD, About the only On the 2nd 3rd an 4th DVD is a payloads directory so the payloads directory above ended up containing 63 directories and one file (setup.xml) I assume that since all the files were there in the same directory this is why it never asked for each disk to be inserted. One thing you could try if that happens would be to copy the files from that DVD to the directory while the prompt is up and then click ok when it is finished. Not sure if it would work, but it should be the equivalent of inserting the disc to drive C: As a side note an interesting thing happened when i did the install this way. At one point near the end the progress bar read something like "now reading disk 5" Disk 5!? I about freaked out because I only copied over 4 disks I figured it would fail because it would ask me to insert the next disk and like you I wouldn’t be able to. However, oddly enough the install continued on for another 10 minutes on "disk 5" without any problems. WTF is that all about? I now call disk 5, "the ghost disk".
BTW I also made an update to the post about a couple of steps that I missed (they were on the back side of my note pad) I doubt they affect your problem (ozziea) but they might be useful for people getting "component install failed’ (Peter) as from what I read this typically has to do with the installer not being able to update the registry.
2007.07.26 at 4:22 pm
I’ll try it again. It wouldn’t be such a nightmare if it didn’t take so long - well over one hour - to find out it didn’t work.
I have the same folders and files you mention. I created the AdobeCS3 folder on my desktop - I don’t know if that makes a difference. ALSO, there is one Adobe directory I can’t erase because "it" won’t let me. The message was - "file in use". The Adobe folder is in my c:\Program Files\Common files\Adobe directory, which contains one sub-folder - \Acrobat\- and inside that \ActiveX\ where we find three files - AcroIEHelper.dll, AcroPDF.dll, and pdfshell.dll. From their names I can guess they are connected to IE browser (which I rarely use; Firefox is my choice.) But that was the only Adobe branded anything left in my system prior to re-installing.
Okay, so it’s back to the Killing Fields again. I presume I can leave the AdobeCS3 directory intact when removing all the rest of the Adobe modules? Thank you for all the help.
2007.07.26 at 5:36 pm
Ozziea,
You mentioned that you still had 1 remaining adboe directory that the system would not let you remove. Another suggestion I have in that case would be to use the MSCONFIG to re-start in a bare minimum configuration, (I would even turn off the Microsoft Services for this step) then try and delete the directory. You might also scan through the registry looking for "adobe" and "acrobat" and delete any registry keys that you find. As crazy as it sounds, the directory that remains may (MAYBE) very well be the reason why the install fails. It apparently is very important to remove all traces of Adobe products. It amazes me that this install is just so horrible and takes sooooooo loonnnngggg Makes we wonder if Microsoft secretly took over Adobe when I wasn’t paying attention. BTW: You will have to turn the Microsoft installer service back on and reboot in order to do the install.
2007.07.26 at 8:54 pm
I just remembered one more thing. I also uninstalled the Safari Browser from apple and the companion program Rendezvous. This may (or may not)be important because Rendezvous is included with CS3.
2007.07.26 at 11:43 pm
Justin,
Before the last failed attempt, I went through the registry and manually deleted ALL references to Adobe, CS3, and Acrobat. I’m taking Friday off to work on this (I am self-employed.) It will be my last because even reformatting my hard drive and re-installing a fresh Windows XP Pro SP2 is no guarantee it will work.
Oz
2007.07.28 at 11:57 am
You rock, I can’t believe that you found time to put this article together after spending so much time fighting with a retarded Adobe installation. This is my second visit to Adobe install hell and it was much shorter thanks to you and all your handy links!
I almost love you!
2007.07.30 at 11:18 am
Justin,
I just wanted to bring closure to my ongoing installation hell, and it is ongoing. I tried re-installing CS3 for the 6th time after I spoke to an Adobe tech support person who was cordial, earnest, but ultimately dumbfounded. He had me re-install CS3 and then un-install it completely, even if the initial install failed. I did so, and needless to add, it failed. Last night I decided to download the trial version of Photoshop CS3 Extended. After all, I did have the trial version installed in my system before the full version came out. I left the system to its own devices overnight - this morning I woke up to find only the supporting files had been installed, not the actual application - the same problem as with the failed CS3 installed.
Since I will be getting a new laptop at the end of August, I am now going back to AE CS2 and PS CS2, just to tide me over. Of course, this assumes CS3 will install with no problems in my pristine Windows Vista system. If it doesn’t, I think a loud rant accompanied by a law suit would be in order.
Oz
2007.08.04 at 9:14 am
I think that for me the critical step was lucky number 13. Actually I didn’t do it, but I noticed that mt Safety.Net firewall was saying that during the install Adobe was trying to use the network / internet. So I set the permissions to "Ask" (I had previously blocked it) and allowed the installer to "Phone home", just like ET. The install worked.
Note: I had previously done 1-12 (uninstall everything, clean registry, replace kitchen sink) with no luck. Disabling all of your services would kill your firewall, so that would have the same effect as allowing Adobe to connect. It tries to connect to 0.0.0.0:0. Maybe that is an essential part of the install? Anyway, allowing Adobe to do its thing through your firewall may make the installer work.
2007.08.10 at 3:52 pm
Hi - many thanks for the time involved in putting all of this info together but it still failed for me! Shared components and flash seem to be the problems. Rubbish software for the kind of money they ask. Almost makes me want to get a cracked copy which would probably work! Annoyingly, I don’t even want this software, but must install it as I need it at work…
2007.08.12 at 8:04 am
Thanks for taking the time to document all this. I eventually got so bogged down I decided it would simply be easier to reinstall Vista (I keep all my data on separate hard drives, so while a pain, it’s not the end of the world to reinstall the OS). The very, very first thing I did after getting to the Vista desktop - even before going online - was to install CS3. Hallelujah, it worked. So if all else fails, that does do the trick.
2007.08.12 at 8:04 am
Thank you for taking the time to chronicle your nightmare and help shorten the task for others! I have a problem with your methods above, however, becasue I currently do not have 18G of space to copy the
installation files to my local hard drive and then install the darn application too. I am going to put the PC in question on to my network and use the space there to have the install files in one area. Hopefully that
will simulate the same environment - all the needed files in one area so there is no need to prompt for another disk which cannot possibly be put in the drive letter Adboe wants. I realize you are just the messenger,
but how silly is it that you cannot install from OEM disks? Thank you again, Alex
2007.09.02 at 3:36 pm
I formatted my HD, reinstalled Vista completely, but it wasn’t the first thing I installed. I installed iTunes first though, the rest was mozilla stuff and flash player. I disconnected from the internet and did the whole CS3 install. Put in my serial and all went well as it should.
When I started Photoshop, I got a "License has expired" error, which is the one I got for 5 times already.
2007.09.02 at 9:05 pm
Found this forum page with a list of possible solutions to the nightmare that is Adobe CS3 installation.
http://www.deploymentpro.com/forum/showthread/9/Problems_with_installing_Adobe_Creative_Suite_3
Managed to get my install working with their help.
2007.12.29 at 12:19 pm
After hours and hours of struggling with the "installation of master premium set failed" and other bs I finally got my CS 3 installed (using your drastic measures).
To the people @ Adobe: Shame on you..
Thanks for the help,
Etienne
2008.05.05 at 3:11 am
. . . too much for words. Their own “advisories” are a testament to the nightmare.
I’ve been using Acrobat Pro 5. Dreamweaver 8, and Contribute 8 for a few years. The ONLY THING I set out to do two days ago was to add Fireworks. (Would have loved it if I could have just gotten at standalone version of Fireworks 8 . . but no. . .)
Tragically, I made the HORRIBLE mistake of reading their hype and thinking “Gee, why don’t I try out Acrobat 8 Pro and Flash while I’m at it?”
And so began the lost weekend. If I could affort it, I’d be on a plane to Adobe HQ in San Jose tomorrow and . . . .oh, I don’t know. . .
Would tar and feathering too much? Or too little for Shantanu Narayen and Johnny Loiacono?
A couple infuriating excerpts from http://www.managementcv.com/documents/ADBETeam112807.pdf (Which I had to view in html from google. It may be awhile before I can open another PDF. The Acrobat 8 Pro uninstaller has been chunging away for an hour — generating about a bizillion page faults on a machine with a gig of memory).
=== ======================
. . .Shantanu Narayen, recently assumed the position of President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Adobe. . . He is responsible for Adobe’s tactical market plans, product development. . . Shantanu Narayen’s 2006 base salary was $575,000 and he received a cash bonus of $376,925. . . As of February 15, 2007 Narayan’s Adobe holdings consisted of 102,357 shares held by the Narayen Family Trust, of which Mr. Narayen is a trustee, and 1,059,766 shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding options held by Mr. Narayen exercisable within 60 days of February 15, 2007. . .
. . .John “Johnny” Loiacono is the Senior Vice President for Adobe’s Creative Solutions business and was recruited to Adobe in April of 2006. . . Loiacono erved as executive vice president of software at Sun. . . He also , , worked in sales. . . These skills were readily evident during an awkward and extended “pregnant pause” demo glitch at the CS3 launch
event in New York on March 27th!
=========================
A real gem they’ve got — developers couldn’t even make their CS3 crap work for a major launch. (But isn’t it wonderful that Loiacono’s sales background enabled him to get by the mess with a joke — or whatever the heck he did. . ).
Anyone up for a class action suit? Know a good/creative lawyer? Time is money. Not to mention the pain and suffering.
2008.05.10 at 3:26 pm
I finally got cs3 to install. Always got to the point where it would not install the shared components.
I tried all the clean scripts up to level 4. Still no go. I was just playing around and “right clicked” the setup.exe file. Clicked “Run As” - Then unchecked “Protect my computer and data from unauthorized program activity” - click “OK” and voila - InDesign CS3 installed. Tried it on Photoshop CS3 and it installed. I didn’t even uninstall shat I had tried before. Just ran the “repair”. I had be screwing around for days reading and trying to install but this FINALLY did. whoo hoo!!!
2008.06.02 at 3:28 pm
I followed your notes, and while I’m sure they helped me make a cleaner install, the installer still disappeared after a minute without doing anything at all. On a whim I enabled the Indexing service which I vaguely recall having to do once years ago for some application to install. Normally it’s one of several services I disable by default on our school computers. Lo and behold, the application window actually started up this time.
2008.06.23 at 7:53 am
thanks for the tip
i wonder who exactly wrote this installer from helll?
it is very very slow even if you can pass by with out a single problem!!!
try google for “cs3 installer” and tell me if you see anything good about it!!!
good job adobe!!!
2008.09.08 at 11:53 pm
This thing took my 2 days to install. Your method worked perfectly. I just didn’t use the Acrobat cleaner, but in addition, I did use the CCleaners. Thanks a lot!
2008.09.17 at 1:16 pm
Helped. Thank you for sharing!
2008.09.30 at 5:04 am
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Did I say thank you????
I have been obsessing for days trying to fix this issue. Nothing like having over $2000 of software and not being able to use it, and not having the manufacturer give you any help.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I am eternally indebted!
2008.09.30 at 5:08 am
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Did I mention Thank you???
I have been obsessing for days on how to get this to work. Thank you so much.
2008.10.26 at 2:06 am
spent 10 hrs trying to get this installed…i had the “initializing files” popup then disappearing…that happened when i tried to install with either the autorun.exe or setup.exe
im runnin XP pro SP3 x86 on an intel pent 4, 4 gb RAM, plenty of drive space….
**i have the 3gb switch on my puter, and now when i boot into the 3gb OS i get an error about “not enough registry space, future requests will be ignored”, i originally tried to install onto that (the 3gb) so i installed all this onto the “normal” xp pro**
(sorry ’bout not posting links to all this stuff but im not digging thru the masses of bookmarks from all this; its all well documented anyway and are in most of the postings ive found)
what didnt work for me….installing in safe mode, creating new admin, running as admin, using msconfig with just essentials, installing from disc
heres what i did (a culmination of everything that didnt work and adding another process onto it one at a time……which is basically throwin almost everything i found at it)
–uninstalled any and everything adobe including commom/ shared files in all users (docs and settings) and program files
–ran the wincs3clean script cleaner from adobe at hidden level 4 until nothing came back (bout 4 times just to make sure)
–ran Windows Installer CleanUp Utility to make sure nothing adobe/macromedia/apple/iTunes existed
–ran CCleaner until nothing was left anywhere; checked their uninstall tool
–ran Revo uninstaller to make sure nothing was left
–registered java.dll thru cmd.exe
–disabled all AV/firewall
–ran flash player uninstall from adobe
–ran adobe stock photos CS3 patcher/remover
–copied disc to desktop
–moved only the CS3 folder into C drive, re-named CS3_master
—————->>>made IE my default browser; doesnt make sense to me either
—————–>>>enabled Bonjour service; another doesnt make sense, cause apple and iTunes use it (at least thats what it says in the “services” description
—————->>>moved “deployment” folder out of CS3 folder
–ran setup.exe from new CS3_master folder
and………it worked!!! everthing installed except Acrobat, which i could really care less about at this point…the three i indented (before running the setup.exe) were done together, not individually…
adobe really has some work to do on its next release especially the installer…this is the most expensive software i ever installed and the most downright pain in the ass, buggy, pulling my hair out bullshit ive dealt with in a while…if i had paid fer this and not the company, i’d be outraged….
hope i could help someone put there…good luck………….ya gonna need it
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