Troubleshoot update issues | CS5, CS5.5, CS6

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Adobe Creative Suite 5, CS5.5, and perpetual (serial number) versions of CS6 products use an update manager called Adobe Application Manager, or AAM. You can also download and install updates directly from the Adobe website. If you are using a subscription version of CS6 or the Creative Cloud (CC), updates are installed through the Creative Cloud desktop app. To troubleshoot the CC desktop app, see: Troubleshoot Creative Cloud download and install issues

Manually update Creative Suite 5, 5.5, or 6 products

  1. Go to the Adobe.com Product updates site and choose the update you want to download.
  2. When the download completes, start the update by double-clicking the Set-up.exe (Windows) or Install.app (Mac) file.
  3. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the update.
  4. If you are prompted to shut down conflicting applications, do the following:

Windows

  1. Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager.
  2. Select the Processes tab, select a conflicting process, and click End Process.
  3. Repeat for any additional conflicting processes.

Mac OS

  1. In the Mac OS Finder, choose Go > Utilities.
  2. Double-click the Activity Monitor application.
  3. From the process category filter pop-up menu, choose All Processes.
  4. From the list of processes, select a conflicting process, and click Quit Process, then click the Force Quit button.
  5. Repeat step 4 for any additional conflicting processes.

Troubleshoot Creative Suite 5, 5.5, or 6 manual product updates

  1.  Check to see if the update downloaded successfully. 

    Navigate to one of the following locations to see if the download is on your local drive:
  • Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\[user name]\Local Settings\Applcation Data\Adobe\AAMUpdater\1.0 2\
  • Windows Vista/7: \Users\[user name]\Local\AppData\Adobe\AAMUpdater\1.0\
  • Mac OS X:  /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AAMUpdater/1.0/
  1. If there is no update Set-up.exe (Windows) or Install.app (Mac OS) file in the folder, try the download again from the Product updates site.

    Note: Updates that are not product-specific are listed under Creative Suite.
  2. For information on troubleshooting installation failures, see Updater installation problems or failures.

Troubleshoot Adobe Application Manager problems or failures

AAM doesn't launch

If AAM doesn't launch (that is, nothing happens when you start Adobe Application Manager), see Troubleshoot launch issues or problems — Adobe Creative Suite 5 and CS5.5 products (cpsid_83223).

A login dialog box appears when AAM starts

If you are prompted for proxy server information on launch, enter the requested information. For assistance, contact your system administrator.

AAM says that no updates are available

  1.  Verify that you have an Internet connection.  If you have any firewall software, temporarily disable it or allow Adobe Application Manager access to the Internet.

    If your computer is behind an authenticating proxy server, and your user name or password have multi-byte characters (Japanese, Chinese, and so on) then the updater is unable to connect to the network. Connect without the proxy or connect with credentials that are in ASCII characters.

  2. Verify that the update has not already been applied:  Launch the Creative Suite product and choose Help > [Product Name].  

AAM freezes while applying updates

If AAM freezes when you apply an update, download and install the update manually. If you're trying to apply multiple updates, download and apply them individually. See Manually update Creative Suite 5 or CS5.5.

AAM update installation issues

To troubleshoot updater installations problems or failures, try the following, in order:

  1. Search the knowledgebase for errors.

    Use any additional information that appears below the error, "The following updates were unable to install..." to search for a solution in the Adobe Knowledgebase.
    1. Select the error information and press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command +C (Mac OS) to copy it.
    2. Visit the Adobe Support website and choose your product from the Select Product Support Center menu.
    3. Paste the error text into the Search The Knowledgebase field and click Search.

      Note: Omit file paths and registry keys from the search string.

  2. Use the Adobe Support Advisor.
    The Adobe Support Advisor is an AIR app that helps identify and resolve installation issues. Click the Customer Support link on the Some Updates Failed To Install panel, or click Adobe Support Advisor to download it. You can leave the Some Updates Failed To Install panel open while you run the advisor.

  3. Identify errors in the installation logs.
    The Adobe Creative Suite 5 installer records all errors and actions in two log files. You can use the logs to search for solutions in the Adobe Knowledgebase. See Troubleshoot CS5 and CS5.5 installation with install logs.

  4. Perform general troubleshooting steps
    Follow the steps in General installation troubleshooting | CS5 and CS5.5 products.

  5. Contact Adobe Technical Support

    If you still cannot install your Adobe Creative Suite 5 product, contact Adobe Support. If you ran the Adobe Support Advisor and uploaded your Support Package, Adobe Technical Support can use the ASA token number to access your error information.

Manage Adobe Application Manager updates

The Windows Messenger Service (Windows) or Growl (Mac OS) displays an Adobe Application Manager pop-up window when updates are available. When an update is available, an icon appears in the taskbar until you apply the update.

  • To turn off update notifications, deselect Notify Me Of New Updates In The Menu Bar or disable the Windows Messenger Service (Windows) or Growl (Mac OS).
  • AAM runs automatically once a day at 2 am local time, or on the next user login. Change how frequently AAM checks for updates by editing the Windows scheduled task or the Mac alter the plist files.
  • Start AAM by doing any of the following:

    • Click the pop-up notification.
    • Choose Help > Updates in a Creative Suite 5 product.
    • Double-click PDApp.exe in the following locations:

      • Windows 64 bit: \Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\PDApp\core\
      • Windows 32 bit: \Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\PDAApp\core\
      • Mac OS X: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE/PDApp/core/

The updater accesses the following URLs to obtain update information:

  • http://adobe.com
  • http://swupmf.adobe.com
  • http://swupdl.adobe.com
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