Troubleshoot installation | Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements | Windows

Use this document to resolve problems that occur when you install Adobe Premiere Elements or Photoshop Elements.

If you purchased the product after downloading a trial version, then do one of the following:

• When you install the trial version, enter the serial number that you received with your DVD or with your Adobe Store online purchase. Your installation converts to a full version. 
  
  Note: If you have already installed a trial version, launch the application and enter the serial number you have. Your installation converts to a full version. 
• Reinstall the product by using your installation DVD-ROM if you purchased boxed software. Or use the installer files that you downloaded from your account in the Adobe Online Store. 

Use these instructions if you downloaded the product from the Adobe Online Store and you cannot start the installer.

• If you used Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista to download the installer files, see Unable to find or start the installer after you download a product from the Adobe Store (Windows Vista).
  
• If you receive the error "A problem occurred while extracting the archive" when you try to start the installer, then see Start the installer after downloading.
• If you receive the error "Windows cannot open this file" when you try to start the installer, then see Start the installer after downloading.
  
• If you receive the error "The file archive part of Adobe <Premiere/Photoshop> Elements <version number> is missing" when you try to start the installer, then see Start the installer after downloading.

For more information, see Trials | Download, install | Photoshop Elements | Premiere Elements. 

If you receive the error "Invalid serial number" or "The serial number you have entered is not valid," see Cannot install software, or serial number doesn't work.

For further assistance with serial number issues, contact Adobe Customer Service. To contact Adobe Customer Service in your region, go to www.adobe.com. Select your region from the menu at the top of the page, and then click Contact Us.

Use these instructions if the installer freezes or closes unexpectedly, or if it returns an error during or after an installation attempt.

Do the tasks in order. You can combine Tasks 2, 3, and 4 to save time.

Log on as an administrator to perform these tasks.

Important: If you are running Windows 7 or Vista, some of these procedures initiate a User Account Control dialog box. Read the details in the dialog to determine if you want to continue. If you choose to cancel the dialog, then you can't continue with that troubleshooting step.

1. Make sure that the system meets the minimum requirements for the product you are installing.

To install Adobe Premiere Elements, your system has to meet or exceed the following requirements: 

•  2 GHz or faster processor with SSE2 support; 3-GHz processor required for HDV or Blu-ray; dual-core processor required for AVCHD
•  Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7
• 2 GB of RAM required for HD editing (including HDV, AVCHD, or Blu-ray)
• 4 GB of available hard‐disk space to install applications; additional 5 GB to install content
• Video card with the latest updated drivers
• 1024 x 768 display resolution at 96 dpi or less
• Microsoft DirectX 9 or 10 compatible sound and display driver
• DVD‐ROM drive (compatible DVD burner required to burn DVDs; compatible Blu-ray burner required to burn Blu-ray Disc media)
• DV/i.LINK/FireWire/IEEE 1394 interface to connect a Digital 8 DV or HDV camcorder, or a USB2 interface to connect a DV‐via‐USB compatible DV camcorder
• QuickTime 7 software (required if importing/exporting QuickTime formats)
• Windows Media Player (required if importing/exporting Windows Media formats)
• Internet connection required for Internet-based features

To install Photoshop Elements, your system must meet or exceed the following requirements:

• 1.6 GHz or faster processor
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 or 3, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7 (runs in 32-bit mode on 64-bit systems)
• 1 GB of RAM (Recommended 2 GB)
• 3 GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation)
• Color monitor with 16-bit color video card
• 1024 x 768 monitor resolution at 96 dpi or less
• Microsoft DirectX 9 compatible display driver
• DVD-ROM drive
• Internet connection required for Internet-based services
• Web features require Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 8 or Mozilla Firefox 1.5 through 3.x
• QuickTime 7 software (required if importing QuickTime formats)

 2. Install the Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements from a new user account.

Occasionally, a permissions or settings of a user account can 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. If you need additional assistance, contact your system administrator.

• To create a local administrator account on Windows XP, see How to create and configure user accounts in Windows XP on the Microsoft support website.
• To create a local administrator account on Windows Vista, see Create a user account in Windows Vista on the Microsoft support website.
• To create a local administrator account on Windows 7, see  Create a user account in Windows 7 on the Microsoft support website.

3. Install from an internal hard drive instead of from DVD.

Note: Skip this task if you purchased downloadable software.

The installer can fail if the installation DVD-ROM is dirty, damaged, or defective, or if your computer's DVD drive is malfunctioning.

First, examine your installation DVD-ROM for dirt, dust, or fingerprints. Clean it with a disc-cleaning kit or gently wipe the disc from the center outward with a soft lint-free cloth.

If the installer finishes without errors, delete the folder created in Step 2.

4. Perform a Clean Boot before you install Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements

Some applications or services (specialized programs that perform functions to support other applications) cause system errors or freezes when running concurrently with Adobe applications. Before installing Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements, disable other applications, including startup items (items that start automatically with Windows) and services using a clean boot.

• 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.

When you have restarted your computer into a Clean Boot, run the Photoshop Elements or the Adobe Premiere Elements installer. 

Important: Ensure that all Adobe applications are closed until the installation completes.

When the installer has finished, restart the computer in a normal startup configuration.

5. Delete temporary files.

The Windows operating system and various applications store working data in temporary (.tmp) files that they create on the hard drive. Excessive temporary files can interfere with the Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements installer.

Delete temporary files before you start the installer. For instructions, see one of these TechNotes:

• Delete temporary files using the Disk Cleanup utility (Windows XP)
• Delete temporary files using the Disk Cleanup utility (Windows 7 and Vista)

6. Repair and defragment hard disks.

The installer can fail if a hard disk contains damaged sectors or fragmented files.

Repair and defragment hard disks before you start the installer. For instructions, see one of these TechNotes:

• Repair and defragment hard disks (Windows XP)
• Repair and defragment hard disks (Windows 7 and Vista)

7. Scan for viruses. 
Use current antivirus software (for example, Symantec Norton AntiVirus or McAfee Virus Scan) to check the system for viruses. Virus infections can damage software and cause system errors. For more information, see the documentation for your antivirus software.

The installation of Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements may fail with one of the following errors:

• "The wizard was interrupted before Adobe Photoshop Elements could be installed. Below mentioned application has failed to install: Shared Technologies."
• "The Adobe Premiere Elements installation wizard was interrupted while installing Shared Technologies."
• "The installation process has encountered an error while installing Shared Technologies."

These errors indicate that one or more of the following Shared Technologies failed to install: 

• Adobe Player for Embedding
• Adobe Help
• Camera Raw plug-in
• Camera Raw profiles
• (Photoshop Elements 9 and later only) Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit CS5
  
• (Photoshop Elements 9 and later only) Adobe XMP Panels CS5
  
• (Photoshop Elements 9 and later only) Microsoft Visual Studio runtimes

To resolve these issues, use the Adobe Support Advisor (ASA) to analyze the installation log file. For instructions, see Analyze install logs with Adobe Support Advisor (ASA).

Note: If you are using a downloaded installer, or running the installation from the hard drive, the Shared Technologies can fail because of the installation path. Copy the installation files to a folder to the root of the drive, such as C:\PSE<versionnumber>Installer\, and rerun the installation.

If the ASA tool is unable to provide you with a solution, see the "Analyze the Main Installation Log manually" section in Troubleshoot install using logs | Premiere Elements, Photoshop Elements. 

While installing Photoshop Elements or Adobe Premiere Elements, you receive the following error message:

"Error 1311. Source file not found: <PATH TO INSTALL FILE>. Verify that the file exists and that you can access it."

This error can occur if you install from within a folder path that contains double-byte characters, like Japanese or Chinese characters. This error can also occur if you install from a folder path with characters with a high ASCII value, like Greek letters.

To resolve this issue, move the installation files to a path that does not contain any such characters, such as C:\PSE<versionnumber>Installer\, and then restart the installation.

When either one of Photoshop Elements or Premiere Elements is installed, and you try to install the complement, an error occurs and installation fails. Setup proceeds up to a point, and then an error occurs, and the installer rolls back. For example, if you have Photoshop Elements installed, then Premiere Elements fails to install, or vice versa.

Follow this procedure to resolve this issue:

Use these instructions if you downloaded Adobe Premiere Elements from the Adobe Online Store and you receive the following error message when you start the program:

• "A reduced set of content (InstantMovie Themes, Title, and Menu Templates, and so on) has been installed. To install the full content set, please insert your program DVD and run Install Content.exe."

To install the additional content, see the instructions in The message "A reduced set of content (Instant Movie Themes, Title and menu Templates, etc) has been installed" is displayed in Adobe Premiere Elements on Windows.

Use these instructions if you are unable to activate your copy of Adobe Premiere Elements or Photoshop Elements.

 You can receive one of the following errors:

• "Too Many Activations. The maximum number of activations allowed for this copy of [product] has been reached."
• "Excuse the interruption, but... Adobe's records indicate that this serial number has already been used to set up and activate Adobe Premiere Elements <version number> on two other machines, which is the maximum allowed."

Adobe licensing supports installation on two machines. The Adobe product license agreement allows the primary user to install the product on a primary computer. The primary user can also install the software on a home or laptop computer for personal use, if the two copies are not used simultaneously.

Do one of the following:

• Deactivate. Deactivate your copy of  the product that has been previously installed on another computer and reactivate it on this computer. To deactivate, launch the product on the other computer and choose Help > Deactivate, so it can be activated on this one.
• Buy another license. Click Buy Online to go to the Adobe store, or click the Enter Serial Number button if you have a new serial number to enter.

If neither of these solutions meets your requirements, contact Adobe Customer Service.

If the option Help > Deactivate is dimmed, then it can be because of the following reasons:

• It's a volume license serial number, which doesn't have a specific activation count--the Deactivate option is not applicable.
• The activation failed (silently) and the product is running without being activated--therefore deactivating is not possible.
• If none of these situations apply and Deactivate is still dimmed, contact Adobe Customer Service.

 To contact Adobe Customer Service in your region, go to www.adobe.com. Select your region from the menu at the top of the page, and then click Contact Us.