Note:
This article is applicable to Creative Suite 5.5 and earlier.
When you try to start an Adobe application on Mac OS, you receive the error, "Licensing for this product has stopped working."
Important: Perform the solutions below in order. Continue to the next solution only if a previous solution does not resolve the problem. After performing some of these solutions, you are required to reenter licensing data or activate your product. Furthermore, trial editions of Adobe software are sometimes prevented from starting.
Note: Adobe CS5.5 and CS5 products use a new licensing technology that has resolved these licensing issues.
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On your startup disk, locate and delete the following folder:
[hard drive]/Library/Preferences/FlexNet Publisher/Note the following:
- Important: The path above points to the Library folder at the root of your startup disk, not the Library folder in your user home folder.
- Apple made the user library folder hidden by default with the 10.7 release. If it's necessary to access these files to perform Adobe-related troubleshooting, use the instructions in Access hidden user library files | Mac OS 10.7 and later to make the user library content visible.
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Download the Adobe Licensing Repair Tool.
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Mac OS X 10.7
a. Double-click the LicenseRecovery111.dmg.
Note: Leave this window open and proceed to the next step.
b. Double-click your hard drive.
c. Double-click Applications.
d. Double-click Utilities.
e. Double-click Terminal.
f. Type “sudo python ”
Note: There is a space following “python”. Do not press Return.
g. Drag LicenseRecoveryLauncher.app from the LicenseRecovery111.dmg window onto the Terminal window and press Return.
Note: Make sure that the Terminal window has the command and the path to the APP file. For example: "sudo python /Volumes/LicenseRecovery\ 11.6.1/LicenseRecovery/LicenseRecover.py”
h. Enter your administrator user name and password when prompted, and click OK.
i. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Mac OS X 10.5 to 10.6
a. Double-click the LicenseRecovery111.dmg.
b. Double-click the LicenseRecoveryLauncher.app.
c. Enter your administrator user name and password when prompted, and click OK.
d. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Important: The patch applies to CS4 and CS3 products, Acrobat 9, Acrobat 8, Photoshop Elements 8, Photoshop Elements 6, Director, and Adobe Technical Communication Suite. If your issue does not resolve on the first attempt, run the patch again. Enter option 0 when prompted.
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Click Repair Disk Permissions.
Note: Repairing disk permissions can take a long time. For more information about using Disk Utility, see the Apple support website.
Important: The path listed below points to the Library folder at the root of your startup disk, not the Library folder in your user home folder.
Follow the Permissions instructions in Solution 5 to modify the permissions on the following folder on your startup disk:
/Library/Application Support/FlexNet Publisher/
Important: The path listed below points to the Library folder at the root of your startup disk, not the Library folder in your user home folder.
Follow the instructions below to modify the permissions on the following folder on your startup disk:
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PCD/
Close all Adobe applications. Follow the directions below to modify permissions to the folder.
Note: This solution requires administrative privileges and credentials.
The journaling file exists only under specific circumstances where a client is accessing the database file with certain options enabled. If the file does not exist, continue to the next solution.
Using Finder, navigate to:
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PCD/cache
Important: The path above points to the Library folder at the root of the startup drive, not the Library folder in your user home folder.
Adobe applications are not supported on an operating system formatted with a case-sensitive file system. If you attempt to install an Adobe application on a case-sensitive volume, you get an error that the file system is not supported. (Case-sensitive volumes include UFS, HFS+ case sensitive [HFSX], and SMB formatted drives.) Acrobat 9 doesn't display such error messages and allows you to install the application. However, attempting to launch Acrobat 9 results in the following error: "Licensing for this product has stopped working (error code 130:9)." Reformat the drive to a file system that isn't case-sensitive.
To check if Mac OS X is formatted with a case-sensitive file system, do the following:
WARNING! This process requires you to uninstall and reinstall all Adobe CS4 and CS3 software, as well as Acrobat 9 and 8. Administrator privileges are required to install Adobe software. Log in to an administrator account to perform the steps below. See the operating system documentation for additional information.
Important: Before you uninstall the software, make sure that you have the installation media to reinstall it. Replacement media isn’t available for previous versions of Adobe software.
Adobe Technical Support can obtain logs from your machine to determine additional information about the failure. Contact Adobe Technical Support if the information provided has not helped to resolve your issue.
Various issues can cause this error, including the following:
- If the error occurs immediately after installation, a component likely requires updating to be compatible with your operating system. Or, the component requires a slightly different configuration for your system.
- If the application previously started successfully at least once, or if it has been in heavy use, the issue is likely related to a system resource. (System resource issues include low memory, low disk space, or simultaneous launch of several programs.) The result could be a temporary failure in the licensing system or corruption of the permanent licensing data.
- If an interruption occurred during the installation process, it can prevent the licensing system from functioning correctly.
- If you participated in a prerelease program, you could have a temporary serial number that expired. See Error "Licensing for this product has expired" | CS4, CS5.
The FlexNet folders and files required to run Adobe applications can become corrupted or have permission problems if moved from one machine to another. They can also be damaged through a Time Machine system restore. FlexNet service licensing failures cannot be resolved by reinstalling the application or by using the Adobe CS5 Cleaner Tool. If permissions issues prevent the FlexNet licensing service from launching, accessing data, or communicating with Adobe processes, a licensing failure occurs.
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