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OK. This has been going on for a month or so now, and I've posted in various places and am still communicating with Adobe Tech Support on weekdays, but I thought I'd post my problem here on the off chance someone will read it and be able to help.

A while ago, I downloaded After Effects CS4. Before that point, the only Adobe programs I used were a completely legitimate (no, really) copy ofFlash CS3 and the trial of Flash CS4. These two programs were living happily next to each other on my desktop, and I don't know what dark temptation drove me to download After Effects. It was a fucking bad idea. \

I ran that program exactly once, having no real idea what I was doing, and then closed it, thinking that I'd just delete it when the trial ended. But then Flash CS3 wouldn't open. It'd start up with the little dialog window, flash some text, and disappear. No error message, nothing. Just a complete stop. Flash CS4 still worked, so I assumed I'd simply overwritten some part of CS3's basic files with something from AE. Once again, I decided I could fix it by simply uninstalling Flash and After Effects CS4, as well as Flash CS3, and reinstalling the latter. I uninstalled all three programs and reinstalled Flash CS3, which worked normally. I didn't think any more of it.

But then, a few days later, Flash stopped opening. The same problem occurred--a complete shutdown when the program was starting up. I reinstalled the program once more, and it worked again-- for a few days. Since then, this process has repeated constantly. The problem seems to arise independently of me opening or closing the program, restarting my PC, or anything else I try to do to induce its occurence. Many other programs have also been affected, and my computer seems to be steadily deteriorating--whatever AE did, I think it might have damaged my OS.

This is the list of all programs affected that I know of, as well as all details I know.
1. Flash CS3 Professional. When I start up the program, the dialog box appears and runs normally for about half a second. The last text displayed is "Loading Standard Profiles," and then the dialog box simply disappears. There is no error message and Flash.exe is not running in the Process Manager.
2. Mozilla Firefox. This program follows the same pattern as Flash. Every few days, it will stop opening. I'm greeted with a "Firefox has stopped working" message, infuriating in its vagueness, and must reinstall the program to use it. These crashes seem to coincide with Flash's, starting at the same time.
3. iTunes, as of yesterday, no longer runs, despite my best efforts to revive it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled and restarted my system multiple times, as well as reinstalling/uninstalling quicktime, but neither of those two items will run. Very frustrating.
4. The webcam software that came preinstalled on my computer has stopped working. When I try to open Dell Webcam Center, from which I can take pictures, video, etc, Livecam.exe stops working. I cannot use my webcam anymore. Also very frustrating.
5. For a time after all this started, QUICKTIMETASK and TABUSERW would both stop working when I started up my computer, and Vista would helpfully tell me so. QUICKTIMETASK is obviously related to Quicktime, and when I uninstalled QT, the error message went away. It returned when I reinstalled. Adobe tech support informed me TABUSERW was my tablet driver. Despite the fact that my tablet still worked perfectly well, I reinstalled the driver and this also went away. I haven't seen it since then.
6. AOL Instant Messenger will open and run perfectly normally. I have had no problems with it yet, however, sometimes when I close the program I am told that "This program requires a missing Windows component." This does not occur every time, and I'm not sure how to artificially make it happen. It's not a problem, just irritating, but it reinforces my feeling that Windows is damaged.
7. foobar2000, a free media player, stopped working after I installed AE. I haven't tried reinstalling it.
8. Microsoft Works Word Processor, which came preinstalled on my computer, can no longer open .doc files or save as a .doc. When I try, Wordconv.exe stops working. I have located this file, so I know it exists--once again, Windows is failing to do something.
9. Here's another odd factoid. Adobe gave me a cleaning script to purge all CS3 files from my computer, and it seems to work. However, there's a bizarre catch--I extracted all the files from the .zip I downloaded it from, and within a few days the exe no longer launched correctly. I was extremely unhappy until I tried running the original .exe from inside the zip. It worked.

Flash CS3 and Firefox are probably the two most important programs I use. I have no idea what the problem is or where it is rooted, but I am absolutely convinced it started with the download of After Effects CS4. None of these problems existed beforehand, and since then things have only been getting worse. Yesterday my computer took two attempts to boot up correctly, and that has never, ever happened to me before. I'm worried. I've backed up all my files and am calling Adobe as often as I can, but it's painfully slow progress and I can't get any work done under these conditions. I can explain things in greater detail if necessary, and any input at all would be welcomed.

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The People Have Spoken

29 Comments

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:34 PM ChillyCheese says:

I would just system restore my computer, but then again I have nothing important on my computer.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:49 PM Ansel responds:

I don't have system restore points going back that far--mine are only archived for a week or so, and by the time I realized I might have to do that, I couldn't.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:40 PM SkyBullet says:

Go back to macromedia. Adobe flash screwed up with me

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:42 PM Paryl says:

Why so serious?

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:50 PM Ansel responds:

because I've had to stop working on all of my personal work as well as school work. This problem has real consequences for me.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:46 PM Chakra-X says:

Yeah as long as you backed up everything, you may have to either do a system restore or reformat. You can try downloading a registry cleaner, perhaps they may clean up the files AE messed up?

A very bizarre and frustrating problem.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:53 PM Ansel responds:

I'm still hoping to avoid anything that drastic, so I'm still waiting on Adobe's input before I do that. I think it would fix the problem, but I have a lot of files and programs on here and I don't want to back everything up OR lose everything.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:56 PM fluffkomix says:

samething along the lines of that happened to me, too.

i bought photoshop CS4 (which came with flash CS4), and upon me trying to input the serial number, i put in a wrong number. the program still said i had the right number, tho, so i shrugged and happily explored the new wonders of flash CS4.

then every time after that, both photoshop and flash wont open (flash 8 still works, tho), and all i get is an error message saying that my liscense has expired.

wtf?

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:25 PM Ansel responds:

no, what that means is that you fucked up with your serial number. I have done nothing illegal or incorrect. I tried to download a trial of an Adobe product and it killed my other, legally purchased and activated Adobe product, which I rely on very, very heavily.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 3:56 PM LazyMuffin says:

You're 15, do more XD's please.
You talk too smart.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:26 PM Ansel responds:

i <3 ur flashes XD

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:00 PM jmtb02 says:

One nearly sure-fire way to clean this problem up in 2 hours tops is to just deactivate the software and reinstall the OS. It really, really sucks and takes up a lot of time but most likely will recover the program back to working condition. Might be better than spending hours trying to troubleshoot when it most likely will solve your problems. I also find it makes things run a bit faster when a bunch of kinks in the OS are ironed out from the fresh install.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:27 PM Ansel responds:

That's my last-resort method if nothing else will work. If I have to reinstall my OS because I tried to use the trial of a product, Adobe had better give me a free tshirt or something

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:22 PM skarai says:

I think system restore is the best option. Things like these just drives you nuts, they never make sense and aren't worth the effort.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:24 PM RainbowRiderAlpha says:

It seems more like a computer problem than a flash problem.

And use Google Chrome.

I hope this solved all your problems.

Your welcome.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:33 PM Ansel responds:

go away

Feb. 22, 2009 | 4:32 PM TheHeadStudios says:

Holy crap, I probably would've killed something by now if my computer went as screwy as that. You said you had all your stuff backed up, right? That, in and of itself, is a major step in maintaining your sanity. If this were happening to me, I'd probably reformat and install the OS. I'm thinking that would be the best way of making sure that whatever got corrupted up will become un-fucked... that will definitely get you back on track faster than dealing with Adobe over the phone.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 5:21 PM Ansel responds:

I do think that would fix it, but I'd actually prefer Adobe knows what's happening. If they have to keep helping me for weeks and weeks, maybe they'll fix their shit so no one else will ever have to experience this

Feb. 22, 2009 | 5:45 PM MindChamber says:

Im pretty sure the problem is vista, I have all of those programs you mentioned and never that problem, Vista is a broken OS

Feb. 22, 2009 | 6:05 PM Ansel responds:

you guys all use Macs, right?

Feb. 22, 2009 | 6:20 PM MindChamber says:

Jeff does, I dont, macs are overrated.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 6:55 PM Ansel responds:

totally agreed

I really would've preferred to buy an XP computer, but I figured I'd have to upgrade eventually and it would be easier to just go with it. Honestly, it really hasn't caused me much trouble since I got rid of the gay transparency effects, etc.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 6:36 PM Dazmi says:

It sounds like the program is timing out.
If this is what's happening, I'd recommend updating your computer with modern parts.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 6:56 PM Ansel responds:

My computer is modern, it's less than a year old, and I've never had any trouble with any of these programs before AE. It's not a hardware-based issue.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 7:13 PM MorrowDays says:

I don't really have any legit tech knowledge, but:

Could it be that your operating system messed up because of the install of a large program like AE, but not necessarily specifically AE? I had a similar problem last week where I was using some music software between garageband and my piano keyboard, and when I imported the file into flash, everything just timed out, even the mouse.

we took it in and it turned out the logic board had died.

But given that your computer's new, I dont think it would really die that soon. Really weird problem.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 7:15 PM animehound says:

Ive had issues along these lines, with other programs, as well. Vista is a complete failure and is most likely a big part of the issue. However i run on XP and had this happen to me while using macromedia. I had installed a game, nothing related to macromedia at all, Warhammer 40k the game ran once, then started that time out thing where it would open and shut down with no message. I got angry and decided to work on a flash i had in wait. Low and behold Macromedia was doing the same as Warhammer... long story short i had to go into my registry and remove everything Warhammer related, Macromedia worked and boom im in buisness. Some times programs just conflict with one another same as hardware does from time to time. Granted it sucked and was alot of work, but you should check your registry and maybe see if you can find forums, and info about conflicts with those programs and Vista.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 8:26 PM EvanHayes says:

hey bro :]
this happened to me before when i had a cracked version of flash. im not asking you to say if it is or is not. but i reinstalled it and it still didn't work. so i ended up buying flash cs3 and its worked flawlessly. i know that didn't help your problem,but the same thing happened to me :/
-sk8more

Feb. 22, 2009 | 9:01 PM Ansel responds:

I've stated several times that I paid for my copy of Flash completely legally. This is not an issue with my serial number or activating the software, it's an issue with my already-activated software not running correctly.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 8:46 PM PolishMatt says:

Solution to fix all the problems with the programs, above:
1. Buy a external drive (90$ for 750GB)
2. Put all your personal crap on a that external drive.
3. Pirate a copy of Windows Vista or XP/ Linux Unbuntu/ whatever you use.
4. Burn that OS to a CD/DVD.
5. Pirate all those programs to use them forever, instead of just a month because of the trial.
5. When just about to reinstall, format your entire hard disk clean.
6. Reinstall your operating system using that CD/DVD.
7. Reinstall all those programs.
8. Keep the computer well maintained of useless clutter.

Feb. 22, 2009 | 11:18 PM Ansel responds:

i'll just pirate myself a new computer and be done with it

Feb. 22, 2009 | 9:03 PM eatmoreflesh says:

SOuP
was
HeRe

Feb. 22, 2009 | 11:17 PM Ansel responds:

banned for gayness

Feb. 22, 2009 | 9:57 PM JoSilver says:

Woah... YOU got a problem....

if I were you I'd save everything you have that's important and no that doesn't include porn, and wipe your c drive clean and reinstall the os. They say that there is always a way to fix the problem with out doing that... but why not when it's so EASY!!!!

also to the guy above...

WHO PIRATES A COPY OF WINDOWS... DID YOU FIND YOUR COMPUTER???!?!?!
....MAC'S SUCK TURD NUDGETS!!!!

Feb. 22, 2009 | 11:19 PM Ansel responds:

apostrophes aren't really that difficult

Feb. 22, 2009 | 10:03 PM spagettio says:

Wow! That's an awful predicament you have.

In such extreme circumstances you might need to attempt to reinstall Vista (If it allows you to) but one thing someone did mention is the registery. Sometimes uninstalled programs leave deposits behind. You could get a registery cleaner and find the associated files or run the registry and manually remove them to see what happends next.

And you'd better give Adobe an earful if it doesn't work. Be it time is on your side it stops your progress considering you paid good monies to use it.

Real sorry son. :(

Feb. 22, 2009 | 10:22 PM Greenhotflame says:

Oh man that sucks! Computers are useful but EVIL!

Feb. 22, 2009 | 11:18 PM watzittooya says:

Hey man, I had a similar problem with AE. But, not the same by far. Here is my only solution.

1.) Restore your computer as far back as you can.
2.) Uninstall all Adobe Programs from your computer.
3.) Got to this Adobe web page, and download the OS version of, CS3 Clean.
http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/
cs3clean.html

That wil remove any Adobe Trial Software Files from your computer. After that, go back into the folders, delete anything that is still there, and then restart your computer, and hope that it works. This is all that I can think of.

I hope this helps man. Peace.

Feb. 23, 2009 | 12:24 AM Ansel responds:

Did you even read the whole thing, or any of the other comments? It's been too long for System Restore to be useful, I've already removed all programs, and I've run the CleanScript multiple times. ugh

Feb. 22, 2009 | 11:43 PM Wholyish says:

>.<
I hate it when people try to blame Vista.
DOES NO ONE REMEMBER ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH XP WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT?!

In all seriousness, that sucks.
Are all your actual files that aren't applications ok?
Have you tried opening any of it on another computer?

Feb. 23, 2009 | 12:25 AM Ansel responds:

I don't mind Vista.

All my files are still intact, including all .flas and .swfs. When Flash is actually working, I can open and use all of its files perfectly fine. Not an issue with Flash working incorrectly, but with Flash not working at all.

Feb. 23, 2009 | 8:30 AM S-K says:

I kinda know your pain, I had a random blue screen of death and now my cs3 suite is fucked the setups won't run, the software or even the unistal. Good luck fixing it x.x

Feb. 25, 2009 | 6:54 PM Elroy says:

CS4 trials were the worst idea adobe has ever had. I tried the trial of dreamweaver, and it wouldn't open.

For some reason, adobe thinks its cute to put obscure files in obscure places, and it may have accidently replaced some files in your OS.

Feb. 26, 2009 | 12:14 AM Ansel responds:

that's what i'm thinking is the problem

Mar. 3, 2009 | 10:16 AM ninjitashistory says:

i had a similar problem,but with adobe photoshop cs3.
i had flash installed,the i decided that fireworks 8 wasn't so good as photoshop is,so i unistalled it and the installed photoshop cs3,but almost a week later i found that i couldn't open flash!!!after double clicking the quick acces or selecting it from the programs menu it opens a blank window and the restarts my CPU!!!nor even photoshop worked fine since them!!!
but well,i had no other solution than installing the good old macromedia flash 8.
adobe you suck!!!

Mar. 5, 2009 | 6:01 AM SweetSkater says:

Probably doesn't sound good, but jmtb02's method is the easiest, and it sounds like nothing else is going to work. If that doesn't work, do PolishMatt's way.

Mar. 7, 2009 | 9:19 PM RexKwanDo says:

This problem is so out of the ordinary that I can only suspect it's a registry issue. There are so many obscure problems as a result of permissions being screwed up and other weird shit that I can't begin to tell you.

Apple software running on Vista is notorious for the "Please wait while Windows configures ____" bull shit. It's all permission problems.

If I know anything about customer support it's this: once you stray from the well-trodden path of problems outlined in a scripted conversation between you and a "trained technician" in India, you'll be lumped into an "elevated case" group which basically means they don't know what the hell else to do with you.

At least that's how Microsoft works...

Good luck!

Mar. 9, 2009 | 12:46 AM Ansel responds:

stopped reading at "Apple sofware running on Vista"

Mar. 14, 2009 | 9:19 PM ThreeStar says:

Hope you've gotten the issue resolved by now. I don't have a friggin clue what's wrong, just wanted to say I enjoyed reading your responses to these other comments... Oh, and I just watched "Larvae" today? Good stuff.

My AE broke when upgrading to CS3 (and at every update thereafter). Holding shift-option-command at the startup window solved the problem each time. I think it resets the program's preferences and temp files. I don't know what the PC equivalent of those keys are, but uh, worth a shot? Curse Adobe for being so cryptic.

Mar. 16, 2009 | 9:21 PM Ansel responds:

I hope I never have a chance to test your method, I fixed it by reinstalling Vista and then all of my programs one at a time. I'm still not totally sure of what happened, but I think it might've been related to the extension manager somehow. However, everything seems to be working fine for the time being