Shot in the dark, but have you repaired permissions since installing?  Also - did you move anything after installing? (is the app still located where it was installed in your applications folder?)

Hi Wade, I have already tried that, for good measure I did it again, but same result. Crash on launch. Jesse. Permissions repaired since install, yes. Nothing moved, everything is in default locations.

That is half the battle.

Here are two thoughts

1. the permissions on the settings folder is corrupt and need to be changed and be changed manually, Control or right click on your Adobe Illustrator CS 6 Settings folder in's in the preferences folder.

Then go to get info and make the permissions read write for all listed users and have that option apllied to all items inside the folder, it all done with the Get Info under sharing and permissions.

2. You have font corruprion and or a font cache problem you have to clewan the font cache out and find the font causing the bloat.

adn one more

did you trash the com.adobe.illustrator.plist? If not do so I think that is actually the problem. Or it too has to have the permissions repaired manually.

Chad. When you created your new user. Did you have any other addtional software running? start-up items, pref-panes or extensions? Illustrator runs for me if I restart with shift key held down - so at the moment I'm concluding it's one of my system extensions/start-up items.

As far as I can tell I've checked for font corruption. Remove, hidden or disabled all fonts other than system fonts, which I've validated in fontbook.

Looks like I need to look harder at my fonts then. Thanks for letting us know.

You're welcome!

A note a lot of people will come here and tell us that why is Illustrator so sensitive about fonts when ID or other programs open use them just fine.

The problem is that the corruption over use does not get diminished but simplydevelops further and then one day hey I can't open all my old files and that goes for all the apps that use those fonts.

So it is important that Illustrator ltells you hey I am not going to do this, this font stinks and I do not even have to use it to know just loading them is enough.

So this could saave you in the future.

It would be great if Illustrator could actually point to the font(s) it thinks stinks but as it is it cannot.

I am encountering the same problem as the op, but neither of the solutions provided here works. I have even used the Adobe CS6 Cleaning Program and reinstalled my CS6 but it does not seem to help anything. Whenever I launch Ai it just freezes on startup, even with the launchAI.command provided (http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/unable-set-maximum-number-files1 .html) does not help.

Any suggestions?