So one day, out of the blue, After Effects stops wanting to open. The worst part is, I can't think of any changes that would have caused this.

I am running After Effects CS5.5 (10.5.1) on my MacBook Pro 13" (Early 2011), which is running Mac OSX Lion. Here is my system profile (with some sections omitted).

Just a few weeks ago, I began to consistently receive this message during the AE splash screen:

After Effects Alert

 

Last log message was: <140735295236448> <ASL.ResourceUtils.GetLanguageIDFromRegistry> <0> Unable to obtain the User 'Language' registry key at: Software\Adobe\After Effects\10.5.1\ Defaulting to 'en_US'.

Here is a crash log.

Any ideas?

First attempt

I figured maybe I had a bad preference file, so I cleared my prefs. Nothing changed aside from a modified error message:

After Effects Alert

 

Last log message was: <140735295236448> <DynamicLink> <5> 0x114ee8418

And a crash log.

Also, if I try opening AE again, after I cleared my prefs and opened it once, the error message returns to the "registry key" alert.

Second, third, fourth attempt

So I uninstalled and reinstalled After Effects about 3 times. No change. I used the latest download from Adobe, and the original Master Collection image: no difference.

Fifth attempt

I created a second admin account to see if this was an isolated issue. It isn't; same problem.

Sixth attempt

I thought about QuickTime, so I opened up System Prefs, and uninstalled Perian. I left the prefpane there though.

Also, I have the latest version of Java.

Seventh attempt (Added 19 March 2012)

I used the Adobe Creative Suite Cleaner Tool to wipe out my entire Adobe installation. I still have the same problem after a reinstall. I'm going to try installing AE on my external drive next. This is really frustrating. Has anyone experienced this issue and found a resolution?

Notes

Interestingly enough, all of the other Abobe CS5.5 apps I installed work fine:

• Bridge
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• Premiere Pro
• OnLocation
• Extension Manager

Added 1:54PM, 13 March 2012:

Also, opening up the render engine causes the same error message.