General installation troubleshooting | CS5 and CS5.5 products

This document can assist you in resolving problems that interrupt the installer for Adobe Creative Suite 5 and CS5.5 products. These problems can manifest themselves in many different ways, including (but not limited to) a frozen cursor, a frozen screen, or an error message.

Different factors can cause system errors, including conflicts among device drivers, software, and hardware, and corrupt elements in files. Although a system error occurs only when you work with Adobe Creative Suite 5 or CS5.5, Adobe Creative Suite isn't necessarily the cause. It could be the only application that uses enough memory or processor cycles to expose the problem.

Read Troubleshoot installation | CS5, CS5.5 (cpsid_82827) before you attempt the solutions in this document. Then, perform the tasks in order. Keep a log of the tasks you perform and the results of each, including errors or problematic behavior. Adobe Technical Support can use this information to assist you if you call.

Important: Back up all personal files before performing any of these tasks. Always restart the computer after a system error occurs to refresh its memory. Continuing to work without restarting the computer could compound the problem.

If you're installing from discs, examine the Adobe Creative Suite 5 product installation discs for dirt, dust, or fingerprints. Gently wipe the bottom of the disc from the center outward with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Verify that the disc drive can read other discs. If it can’t, clean the disc caddy or loading tray with a lint-free cloth. If it still can’t read other discs, contact the drive manufacturer. 

Tip: If you insert the installation disc into a different computer's drive, and that computer can read it, there's a problem with the first computer's drive.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 requires administrative privileges to install. Look in Accounts Preferences (Mac OS) or the User Accounts Control Panel (Windows) to see which accounts on your computer have admin privileges. Make sure that you are logged in as a user who has admin privileges. If you don’t have admin privileges, or don't know how to check, contact your system administrator. 

If you encounter an error message during the installation, search this knowledgebase for troubleshooting articles on the specific error message.

To maximize available RAM and reduce the chance that another application is conflicting with your Adobe product, quit all applications and then restart the installer.

• Mac OS: If applications don’t quit as expected, click the Apple menu, and choose Force Quit. On Mac OS, you can also use the Activity Monitor to identify and quit processes that are using large amounts of system resources. Go to the Apple support website for assistance with Activity Monitor.
• Windows: Right-click applications in the taskbar and choose Close. If applications don't quit as expected, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open the Task Manager. Select the nonresponsive application, and choose End Task. You can also close unessential processes in the Processes tab of the Task Manager.

To eliminate potential conflicts on the startup volume, perform a safe boot (Mac OS) or clean boot (Windows). Then try to reinstall your Adobe Creative Suite 5 or 5.5 product.

• Mac OS: To perform a safe boot, press and hold the Shift key as you start your Macintosh. See Starting up in Safe Mode on the Apple support website for more information.
• Windows XP: See How to configure Windows XP to start in a ‘clean boot’ state on the Microsoft support website.
• Windows Vista/Windows 7: See How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a ‘clean boot’ in Windows Vista or Windows 7 on the Microsoft support website.

System components and services such as device drivers and virus-protection utilities can conflict with the Adobe Creative Suite 5 installer and cause it to fail. To prevent these conflicts, install your Adobe Creative Suite 5 product from the desktop. For instructions, see Install Adobe Creative Suite 5 and CS5.5 products from the desktop (cpsid_82945).

Occasionally, a user account can become corrupted and prevent the installer from accessing or creating the necessary files and folders. Create an account with administrative permissions, log in to it, and then rerun the installer.

For assistance creating a user account, see How to create and configure user accounts in Windows XP, Create a user account in Windows 7, or Create a user account in Windows Vista on the Microsoft support website. Or, see Creating a new user account in Mac OS on the Apple support website. If you need additional assistance, contact your system administrator.

Note: On Mac OS, you can also try installing the Adobe Creative Suite 5 product from a root user account. See Enabling and using the root user in Mac OS X on the Apple support website for more information.

The Adobe Creative Suite 5 installer records its actions in a log. These logs can be useful in determining if certain errors occurred during an installation. For silent installations, the log file is the only place that records error messages. To review the log files manually, see Troubleshoot CS5 and CS5.5 installation with install logs (cpsid_84451). Or, use the Adobe Support Advisor to analyze the files and point you to documentation for known errors. See Using the Adobe Support Advisor (kb405816).

Install Adobe Creative Suite 5 or CS5.5 on a different computer. If the installation is successful, then the hard drive or the motherboard you were using previously could be the cause. For assistance, contact the hardware manufacturer. If the installation fails on multiple computers, contact Adobe Support.

You can see if other Adobe customers have a similar problem by visiting the user forums. If you confirm that other users have experienced the same problem, then Adobe Support can sometimes duplicate and research the problem.

If none of the above steps resolves the error or freeze that you are experiencing with your Adobe Creative Suite 5 product, then contact Adobe support. Have your serial number ready. If you can’t locate your serial number, see Find a serial number (tn_15290).