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Error 1603 | Install | CS3, CS4 products

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Issue

When you install an Adobe application or suite, the installation fails and you receive a 1603 error. The 1603 error can be displayed as "Error 1603. A fatal error occurred during installation" or as "#_AdobeError_# 1603."

Solution

The 1603 error is an MSI error code indicating a failure which is generic, but computer specific. This document lists possible suggestions to solve this error. The following table lists known causes of 1603 errors when installing Adobe software.

Error code Details Solution
Error 1603. Fatal error during installation. (AdobeColorCommonSetRGB) The installer is trying to install the "sRGB Color Space Profile.icm" on top of an existing copy, which is locked. Proceed to Solution 1
Error 1603. Fatal error during installation. (Google Desktop) Google desktop is installed on the target system Proceed to Solution 2
Error 1603. Fatal error during installation.(Double Byte folder) You have a double-byte folder on a single-byte Windows operating system Proceed to Solution 3
All other 1603 errors ("#_AdobeError_# 1603") The above solutions aren't applicable, or haven't worked. Proceed to Solution 4 working through to Solution 7 if needed.

 

Solution 1a: Start Windows with Startup Items disabled and fix.

  1. Windows Vista/7: Choose Start and type msconfig. Click to launch the matching application.

    Windows XP: Choose Start, then Run, and then type msconfig and press Return.
  2. Choose the Selective Startup option.
  3. Deselect the Load Startup Items option and click OK.
  4. When prompted, click Restart.
  5. Install the CS3 or CS4 product.
  6. After installation, confirm that all applications are working as expected. Then, relaunch msconfig, choose the Normal Startup option, then Restart your computer.

Important: If Solution 1a does not solve your problem, proceed to Solution 1b.

Solution 1b: Fix permissions on the Windows Color Profiles folder.

  1. Windows 7/Vista: Choose Start while holding down the Windows key. Press R to open the run command line, then enter  C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers and press Enter.

    Windows XP: Choose Start > Run. Type C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers and press Enter.

    Note: If your startup drive is not the C:\ drive, enter the appropriate letter for your startup drive.
  2. Right-click the Color folder and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
  3. Click the Security tab.
  4. Click Advanced.
  5. Click the Owner tab.
  6. Windows 7/Vista: If the current owner is not the Administrators group and click Edit. Choose the Administrators group from the list of Names in the Change Owner To field.

    Windows XP: If the current owner is not the Administrators group, choose the Administrators group from the list of Names in the Change owner to field. 
  7. Select "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects."
  8. Click OK.
  9. If you get a message indicating the need to reopen the object's properties dialog box before you can view or change permissions, click OK.
  10. Click OK to all remaining dialog boxes until you have exited the Color Properties dialog box.
  11. Right-click the Color folder and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
  12. Click the Security tab.
  13. Click Advanced.
  14. Windows 7/Vista only: On the Permissions tab click Edit.
  15. Select the Administrators group in the list of permission entries.
  16. Select the options labeled "Inherit from parent the permission entries" and "Replace permission entries on all child objects."
  17. Click Edit.
  18. Change the Apply to option to "This folder, subfolders, and files."
  19. Select the Full Control option under the Allow column.
  20. Click OK to exit the Color Properties dialog box.

Note: If you are prompted with a Security dialog about removing explicitly defined permissions, click Yes.

Solution 2: Remove Google Desktop.

  1. Uninstall Google Desktop.
    • On Windows Vista
      1. Choose Start > Control Panel, and double-click Programs and Features.
      2. Select Google Desktop, and click Uninstall. Follow the onscreen instructions to remove the product.
      3. Restart the computer.
    • On Windows XP
      1. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, and double-click Add Or Remove Programs.
      2. Select Google Desktop, and click Remove. Follow the onscreen instructions to remove the application.
      3. Restart the computer.
  2. Install the CS3 or CS4 product.

Solution 3: Install the Adobe Creative Suite 4 or Point Products into a single-byte folder.

  1. Launch the Creative Suite 3 or  Creative Suite 4 installer.
  2. Follow the onscreen instructions in the Installation Location dialog box.
  3. Click Browse and select a folder without double-byte characters.



    Note: Double-byte or high ASCII characters are any character that requires more than 1 byte to describe. Most glyph-based languages use double-byte characters to display the language, such as Japanese.

Solution 4: Clear contents of user and system temp folders.

  1. Delete the contents of the C:\WINDOWS\Temp folder.
  2. Delete the contents of the users Temp directory as follows:
    • Windows XP: Choose Start > Run.
    • Windows Vista: Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run.
  3. In the Open box, type %temp% and then click OK. The contents of the Temp folder appear on the computer.
  4. Select all the files in the Temp folder, then press the Delete key.

Solution 5: Check if the Windows Installer Service is started.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Windows XP: Choose Start > Run and type services.msc.
    • Windows Vista: Click Start and type services.msc in the Start Search box.
  2. Double-click the service named Windows Installer.
  3. Ensure that the value of the Startup Type field is set to Manual.
  4. Click OK to confirm the setting.
  5. Try reinstalling your Adobe application.

Solution 6: Unregister Windows Installer, and then reregister Windows Installer.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Windows XP: Choose Start > Run.
    • Windows Vista: Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run.
  2. In the Open box, type "msiexec /unreg" and then press Enter.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Windows XP: Choose Start > Run
    • Windows Vista: Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run.
  4. In the Open box, type "msiexec /regserver" and then press Enter.
  5. Try reinstalling your CS3 or CS4 application.

Solution 7: Run the Adobe CS5 Cleaner Tool.

The Adobe CS5 Cleaner Tool is designed to only be run if an Adobe Creative Suite 3, 4, or 5 installation or removal failed. To obtain the Cleaner Tool and information on how to run it, see http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cs5clean.html

Solution 8: Use the Package for Support button in the ASA tool and contact Adobe Technical Support.

In the results section of the Adobe Support Advisor, click the Package for Support button and follow the onscreen prompts. This process uploads your installation logs to an Adobe server.

For more information on this process, see Use the Adobe Support Advisor.

After obtaining the key, contact Adobe Technical Support with this key so Support can obtain your logs. Support uses the logs to try and solve your issue.

 

 

 

Keywords: cs3, cs4; kb408716

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