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1. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 12, 2013 5:25 PM (in response to NIRC)First thing to do is reboot.
If you continue to get the message, open the Task Manager and see if you can stop the running Installer process.
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2. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 12, 2013 6:30 PM (in response to P Spier)Each time the message came up, I looked under both Applications and Processes and couldn't see anything odd running--though I don't know what most of the items refer to. Is there a particular item I should be looking for?
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3. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 13, 2013 3:01 AM (in response to JWH-NIRC)Off the top of my head, I don't remember what the name will be, and I'm reluctant to sart the uninstaller to find out. It will probably be a process, and will probably say Adobe in the name. There may be some Adobe processes that run automatically anyway, like the license manager or Acrobat Quickstart or even update manager, all of which would be safe to turn off I think if you aren't sure which processes are which. You could try doing it after booting into Safe Mode, too.
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4. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
NIRC Jul 13, 2013 4:24 PM (in response to P Spier)When I start the "setup" I can see the Process called "setup.exe," but when the error message is close, it disappears. There is nothing else new. I did a reboot and checked carefully.
There must be something that tells it a setup of InDesign 3 is in process, when clearly it is not. Perhaps an errant line in the registry?
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5. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 13, 2013 5:19 PM (in response to NIRC)Possibly.
Try a system restore to before you tried the uninstall.
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6. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 13, 2013 5:34 PM (in response to P Spier)I first tried doing this two months ago, with the same results, and then abandoned it because I did not need CS3 immediately. There is no restore that goes back that far.
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7. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 13, 2013 5:39 PM (in response to P Spier)Try in Safe Mode?
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8. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 13, 2013 6:49 PM (in response to P Spier)Can I actuall install a program in Safe Mode?
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9. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 14, 2013 2:04 AM (in response to JWH-NIRC)Install, no, but I think you can uninstall.
I think maybe I'm confused about just what is and isn't installed at this point. If CS6 is currently installed, you should probably uninstall that, too, before trying to reinstall CS3, but for goodness sake set a restore point first, just in case.
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10. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
NIRC Jul 14, 2013 3:47 PM (in response to P Spier)I mentioned earlier that I manually deleted the CS3 subdirectories, so an uninstall in Safe Mode is not likely to work.
Do I really have no other choice than uninstalling the whole CS6 suite? It was such a hastle getting it installed in the first place, and I can no longer remember what I was told to do so that it would install without having to use the "open as administrator" each time.
Is there no way to delete files or registry entries to eliminate the error message?
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11. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 14, 2013 4:08 PM (in response to NIRC)I don't know what to tell you tee remove, but more important, ID should be reinstalled in version order, so you don't want to install CS3 after CS6.
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12. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
NIRC Jul 15, 2013 4:27 PM (in response to P Spier)Well, now I'm really messed up. I uninstalled CS6 but CS3 wouldn't install. So I ran the "clean uninstall" on CS6. CS3 still won't install.
What happens is this: When I select Install, the little window pops up for "Beginning install" and then disappears. Then everything stops. Nothing on the screen, no CD or computer movement.
Then I wait 5 minutes and try again, at which point I get the message that I there is an installation already in process.
Then I reboot and try again. All the same as it was when I sent my first post--except that now I don't have CS6, because you told me to install them in order.
So what's next?
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13. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 15, 2013 4:46 PM (in response to NIRC)do a clean boot (see How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista) and try running the installer again. There must be something on your system that's interfering.
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14. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
NIRC Jul 16, 2013 4:21 PM (in response to P Spier)I did the "clean boot" but the results are the same. I am afraid something more radical is called for.
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15. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 16, 2013 4:23 PM (in response to NIRC)There's something seriously odd about your system.
Can you get CS6 back using system restore?
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16. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 16, 2013 4:53 PM (in response to P Spier)Alas, alas the "clean boot" deletes the system restore points.
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17. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 16, 2013 5:06 PM (in response to JWH-NIRC)Can you copy the CD to the desktop and get it to run from there?
I've seen some slow reponse on installers in the past, too, so you might want to wait longer than 5 minutes, or even 15. It has to do a lot of background taasks checking system configuration and the like.
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18. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 16, 2013 5:08 PM (in response to JWH-NIRC)And I don't you have any sort of daily system backup routine in place that could be used to restore the computer?
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19. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 16, 2013 7:10 PM (in response to P Spier)I will try waiting, but since there is no disk activity after a minute, I doubt this will work.
I make an "image" backup at the start of each month, but this problem goes back further than my backups. In any case, it would not solve the problem. Are you suggesting I give up on CS3 altogether?
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20. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 16, 2013 7:59 PM (in response to JWH-NIRC)I'm just saying that right now you're worse off than you were two days ago, and at least we might be able to get you back to that point.
As I said a few posts back, something is very strange on your system, and I have no idea what it is. Is it the CS3 installer that's currently not running? As I recall, that was the worst installer of all time. You can download the tips I wrote for my students from https://www.hightail.com/download/bWJyS3hRT01UWUM5TE1UQw and maybe you'll spot something else we haven't tried.
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21. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
JWH-NIRC Jul 17, 2013 8:14 PM (in response to P Spier)I tried everything suggested and nothing helped, so I just reinstalled CS6. I guess I just have to give up on using CS3 on this machine.
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22. Re: Cannot uninstall InDesign CS3
P Spier Jul 18, 2013 2:52 AM (in response to JWH-NIRC)Sorry that it didn't work out. CS3 loaded OK here on Win7 Pro 64-bit.


