Installing Adobe Application Manager: "the remote server is not responding in a proper manner."

[Guest]

I am running Windows 7 and have signed up today for the trial version of Creative Cloud.  I am trying to download my first application (InDesign).  When trying to install the Adobe Application Manager I download a 1866 kb file, then when I try to run it I get this error message (over and over, all day long): "The remote server is not responding in a proper manner.  Please try after a few minutes."

The only other things I can think of that might be pertinant are 1) I have a few other licensed Adobe products installed on my disk (Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat); 2) I have a few background programs running, such as Spotify; and 3) I'm trying this from a work computer and I wonder if it is the network's firewall or my permissions to download that is hosing this up.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Jeff A Wright]

#3 is the most likely cause.  Please work with your I.T. department to ensure that the Adobe Application Manager/PDApp.exe has permission to access the Internet.

[DaddyBurrito]

I am having a similar problem with the cloud installer but I haven't been able to determine the correct course of action. Jeff, can you tell me if AAM uses ftp to download the software or if the application uses some port other than 80 or 443 to download? I have download failures on all systems using different subnets.

Thank you,

Chris Bolton

[Jeff A Wright]

The Adobe Application Manager utilizes port 443 to download the software.

[DaddyBurrito]

Hmmm... I ran Microsoft Network Monitor on PDapp.exe and it looks like it is trying to access an IP address of 216.156.149.43 expecting traffic back through port 80 and when it attempts to access this address it tries on TCP ports starting with 3249 and ranging up to 3547 before the error pops up and the AAM tels me to cancel and retry. I also see communication with 23.62.195.235 which resolves to: e935.g.akamaiedge.net and this is expecting return traffic through port 443. All the attempts are failing to access the destination. Any suggestions? My Enterprise Operations guys are going to take a look at the firewall but they think I should be able to get to the destination.

[Jeff A Wright]

Firewalls can also be configured to provide access only to particular applications.  If you have already engaged the department responsible for your firewall then you are in the correct spot.  If they continue to have difficulty then I would recommend having them contact our support team to work through the issue directly.

[nate_unhappycloudman]

I've checked the forums and see that this problem was brought to Adobe's attention more than a year ago but it's still not fixed. I recently purchased the Creative Cloud service and am receiving this message. I'm running Windows XP and made sure to turn my firewall off. The included applications (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Muse, etc.) don't download. And the other services, like Business Catalyst, don't work. Come on Adobe! I purchased this service because it was supposed to be quick, easy, and professional. Why can't you fix this!?

[Jeff A Wright · Accepted solution]

Nate_unhappycloudman this error has actually been resolved for countless people once their computer and or network is configured properly.  A good starting point for possible causes on an individual computer can be found at Sign in or activation errors | CS6, CS5.5 Subscriptions, CS6 Perpetual - http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html.

If your network is managed then please contact and work with your I.T. department as was discussed previously in this discussion thread.

[DavidGaryEsp]

Yet another potential cause:

• Wrong (obsolete) Adobe Application Manager executed, of more than one present on the system.  The latest one should be present in Windows 7's QuickLaunch tray.  Run it from there.

Cause of that situation:  update from a state of over a year ago.  I recently recovered a Windows 7 laptop back to over a year ago (from total system backup), due to partial disk failure and consequent corruption of operating system, and was in the process of updating everything.  However in principle could the same thing have happened if it had been a laptop I simply hadn't touched since then?

In that (historical) state, CS5.5 and CS6 were installed and there was an existing Adobe Application Manager (AAM) Shortcut from Desktop to .  Naively I ran that and (not surprisingly) it triggered a newer version of AAM to download. I let that happen, then (naively) I double-clicked the same shortcut (which I assumed now pointed at the just-now downloaded new AAM).  That gave the infamous error:

• "the remote server is not responding in a proper manner." (etc.)

Following a day of re-trying - as the remainder of that error message suggested, I  checked the Soft-Firewall settings, where I noticed two instances of AAM (both fully enabled to network).  Consequently I went into "Detective Mode".  Maybe there was more than one AAM on the system, or uninstalling and reinstalling AAM would help.  But looking in Windows' "Programs and Features" Control Panel, I could find no instances of AAM.  So maybe AAM was not a "Program" in that sense but some kind of background "Service", the thought of which led me to look at Windows' QuickLaunch tray.

AAM was indeed present in the QuickLaunch tray so I ran that instead.   It initially opened but then failed to progress, because the error popup from the previous (wrong) AAM was still open (buried under some other windows).  However, once I closed that popup, the new (QuickLaunch) version of AAM progressed as expected, listing applications to be updated.  YAY!

A rare situation perhaps, but with Adobe's popularity, maybe even "rare" is too big a big number of users, especially if the occasional VIP/deadlined/embedded user/suer 😉 could be embarrassed/frustrated by this.  Regardless of technical definition, it could be perceived by such a person as a "Cloud Glitch".  Thus...

Suggestions to Adobe:

• Make the new (QuickLaunch) version of AAM check for the presence of any obsolete ones and (prompt user to?) delete?
• Or if it's actually the same program [PDapp.exe] but it must only be executed from the QuickLaunch tray then could it detect that "state of misuse" and give a more helpful error nessage?
• Would AAM benefit from more thorough development attention to its (direct or indirect) processes of error messaging?  For example could it do simple diagnostics (broadly like ping) to check network connectivity and rule that in/out (and inform the user).  Then maybe higher level protocol-tests (which might reveal that AAM version's obsolescence or corruption)?

[Breakfast]

This is a super old thread but it was still the top hit when searching for the error. What worked for me was to temporarily disable Symantec Endpoint Protection. Our SEP was probably configured to block whatever the creative cloud deployment tool needs to access the server correctly.