Ok, guys. This is going to be a bit loose, but may help. It is how I got a failed CS3 update to install. I think but am not sure that the install initially failed due to inadequate free space on one of the relevant partitions. I then believe but am not sure that the retract procedure, which is pretty good in general, messed up the registry 'slightly'.
- first, the 'this installation failed' was driving me insane, of course. So finally I tracked down that there are logs, and where they are. Translating from a German XP, you will find those logs in: C:\Documents and Settings\YourLoginName\Applications Data\Adobe\PatcherLogs. There's one for each of your CS3 applications, and they are in text, so open the one matching your trouble.
- these logs get huge, if you've made multiple tries, as they contain every detail. Search for the word ERROR and you will probably find the point of trouble. Time and date stamps may help to locate an episode. There is also a phrase "Patching fails, Rolling back the changes done by the patcher..." which you can look for, which shows just after the original ERROR. There's another message (improperly?) marked ERROR just after, which comments 'Set status to rollback'.
- Ok, now you can see Adobe's idea why the patcher failed. In my case, it said: "Access denied to the registry key: DeviceCentral.advs\shell\Open\command".
- Well, in Microspeak that is probably pretty clear, to someone. I went looking for that key using Regedit search, helped by the cue a few lines above in the log saying "Regsirty Hive: HKCR". Presumably they meant 'Registry'.
- Obligatory message right now. If you have a log like this, and don't grok the Registry well, and know what you want to do about backups, etc., you should stop before even opening Regedit. Get someone who is very dependable and knowledgeable to do a fix for you. Have complete full reinstall backups. Etc.. Better safe than having to reinstall windows from a wiped disk, all your applications, recover all your precious data from right now where you crashed it, etc.. That valuable client project...
- Anyway, you would know what to do about the one or two key permissions if you are qualified, so would do that. In my case it was two keys which had had their owner (me) permissions completely removed.
- I mention and explain this detail so Adobe can explain it to their likely installer-builders, who seem somehow very likely to be outsourced and offshore. I have directed such groups, and don't envy the process. But something about the unwind procedure I think broke those permissions. And something about the patch procedure didn't preflight to assure there was enough disk space before getting in deep, which is the preventative side of the problem, or so I think. But I think both sides of the problem need to get fixed, unless the unwind failure might have been in an inability to write the registry.
- I will refrain from comments I made at the time which show my length of service ;)
- with all this buried under the layers of 'Automatic updater' activity which really hid any clues, I have to wonder why Adobe doesn't have some method for extracting the failure at least from logs, so this could be given to the support techs.
- I am also wondering just when and if I will truncate that log. After 5 or so tries getting to the root of issue, I now have just one of the logs at the 33MB point...
- all this was about something I will probably not use, or much besides prototyping something for a product design, Device Central. But it is very annoying, not to say concerning about futures of a big expensive and very useful package, CS3, to have repeated big failures in the update mechanism. Good to have run it to ground. And I don't do tech stuff for a long time, which shows the level of concern this caused.
- So, Adobe, please make a better situation for your many and varied 'users'. Thank you.
A nice holiday season to all, long may it last you (into Asian new year).
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