17 Troubleshooting and Support¶

Please also refer to the sections pertaining to specific deployment methods.

17.1 Troubleshooting Windows¶

Why do I get a Setup.ini not found error?

If you get a Setup.ini not found error, create an empty setup.ini file in the AIP’s root.

Why am I not getting the right language in the installed product, the logs, or some other feature?

When you are using a transform file, select the language as follows:

msiexec /i AcroStan.msi TRANSFORMS="1043.mst;Custom.mst" /qf

What are some common Windows cmd line syntax errors?

All mst files should be separated by semicolon (;).
The entire mst string along with separators must be enclosed in ” ”.

For example:

Correct: "<mst1>;<mst2>"
Incorrect: "<mst1>";"<mst2>"

Why am I getting a “Cannot use this product under a guest account” error?

Acrobat with a volume license will not run for users under a guest account. This error will appear if a local user account is in an administrator group as well as a guest group. Removing the user account from guest group usually resolves this issue. Verify any group policies applied to the user’s profile are not in the “guest” category.

Why does my patch or update result in the product being reverted to an earlier version?

All browsers must be closed. If they are not, it is possible that the updates will fail and the application version will be reverted to an earlier one. For more information, see this thread: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2902858#2902858.

Why does my install fail with a fatal error?

If the application event log generates errors similar to those below every time the PC is started and the installation is started over, verify the license key is correct.

Event log install errors

EVENT ID: 1040
Beginning a Windows Installer transaction: {ac76ba86-1033-0000-7760-000000000004}.
Client Process Id: 1120.
EVENT ID: 1013
Product: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro -- 1118################ error.
EVENT ID: 102
The install of application Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional from policy Install
- Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional failed.  The error was: Fatal error during installation.

Why doesn’t my install respect the “silent install” settings I specified with the Wizard?

If your command line is something like:

MSIEXEC /I C:\A9\AcroPro.msi TRANSFORMS="C:\A9\AcroPro.mst

. . . then you are not using Setup.ini your workflow. The Wizard rewrites Setup.ini when you specify a silent install to include this option. The silent install switch is not saved in the MST. Either run Setup.ini or change your command line to:

MSIEXEC /I C:\A9\AcroPro.msi TRANSFORMS="C:\A9\AcroPro.mst" /qn

Error 16 appears during GPO deployments

This error occurs because one of the product’s subdirectories under Program Files does not have the correct group permissions. To fix the problem, modify your GPO policy so that the Everyone group should have write permissions on the “Adobe PCDcache” folder.

Broken-missing icons, error 1730, and other issues appear after a GPO deployment

If you are attempting a per-user install, change the install to per-machine. Per-user installs are not supported.

Error 2203: Database: C:<productName>.msi cannot open Database file”

AIPs should not be created on the drive root. Use TARGETDIR on the command line or the UI to specify another location.

Why does my new Acrobat installation on WTS result in a crash?

Some users have experienced issues where Sophos Anti Virus software conflicts with Acrobat’s licensing components (e.g. PDApp.exe). If you are experiencing problems, try uninstalling Sophos.

What is the error “EmiOrientation: Verified that it is NOT a volume binary?”

The installer is expecting a volume installer but thinks you are using a retail installer. Possible reasons include:

You are using the wrong installer and may be entering a volume serial key in a retail binary. 9.x products have separate installers for Retail and Volume.
A volume serial number requires that it be used with a volume installer with its signature intact. For example, if you change the installer tables in the MSI via Orca, Admin Studio, or some other tool, the installer logic will mark that MSI as RETAIL build instead of volume build. It is unlikely (but possible) that the MSI’s digital signature was lost for some reason or that CryptQueryObject failed because the Crypto library on the system is missing or not functioning.
Verify you are updating in the required order. If using an AIP, throw away your old AIP and start over since you cannot slipstream updates in most cases. For 9.x products, slipstreaming the patches into a volume license version changes it into a retail copy and the volume license is no longer valid. See http://forums.adobe.com/message/2602438#2602438 for other reports of the same issue.

I modified the installer tables directly, and now my install fails. Why?

Using the Wizard’s Direct Editor does not modify the original MSI. The Wizard operates on temporary copy which is later used to create MST.

Why do I see a “The upgrade cannot be installed by the windows installer service” error?

Error: “The upgrade cannot be installed by the windows installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade.”

If you see this error in the log file, you may be updating the product in an unsupported order. For example, 10.x installers are cumulative. You cannot install 10.1.1 over 10.1. 10.1.1 should be installed over 10.0.

Setup has detected that you already have a more functional product installed. Setup will now terminate.

This error appears for various reasons:

A lesser product is being installed over a more functional product; e.g. Acrobat Standard over Acrobat Pro or 10.1.1 over 10.1.2.
An AIP deployment is attempting to use an unsupported install order.
The uninstall of previous versions and products you did in order to avoid this issue was not clean. In this case, try Microsoft’s cleanup tool or Acrobat’s tool on LABs.

Why do I get a serial number-LANG_LIST error?

When language values which the serial number does not support are provided as arguments to LANG_LIST, this error appears: “LANG_LIST contains values which does not match the serial number.”

Why do I get a Visual C++ 2010 SP1 (x64) runtime error during install?

Visual C++ 2010 SP1 (x64) is required on 64-bit machines during Acrobat installs. For details, refer to the IGNOREVC10RT 7 Adobe Properties documentation.

Why do I see Error: 213:11 during install or first launch?

First launch requires write access to a temp file in C:\ProgramData\Adobe\SLStore. For more information, see http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/error-213-19-licensing-acrobat.html.

Why does my 10.1.5 and later install invoke the UAC dialog?

This is not a common scenario in enterprise settings since admins typically disable UAC or deploy via methods that provide elevated privileges. 10.1.5 and later requires such methods. When UAC is not disabled, the dialog will always appear on Windows 7/Vista machines.

17.2 Troubleshooting Macintosh¶

Why does my serial number not validate?

If validation occurs through an authenticating proxy, the Adobe Provisioning Tool may fail to validate a serial number.

17.3 Generating a crash dump file¶

If you are experiencing application crashes, it may be useful to create a dump file. To do so:

Install WinDbg from http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/installx86.mspx.
Launch WinDbg via the shortcut.
Choose File > Open Executable.
Select the program exe. For example, choose Acrobat.exe from C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe.
Choose OK.
Press g and Enter when you encounter the first breakpoint. You should see the text Debugger is running, and the application should launch.
Open the file that produces the crash.
After you successfully reproduce the crash scenario, enter the following in the WinDbg terminal: .dump /ma c:\temp.dmp.
Choose Enter.

These steps produce the crash dump at C:\temp.dmp. Use this file for troubleshooting or provide it to your support contact. Support may also need the PDF file that cause the crash.

17.4 Contacting support¶

If you need to contact Adobe Technical Support, please prepare answers to the following questions:

Server software:
- Management tool software version (e.g. Citrix, SMS, WTS, etc):
- Operating system:
- Service Packs:
- Are the system requirements met?
Client software:
- Operating system:
- Service Packs:
- Adobe product
- Are the system requirements met?
Problem details:
- Type of problem:
- Error message (if any):
- Logged on as administrator or user?
- Problem persists as administrator?
- Can you reproduce the problem when you test the problem on the server?

Deployment details

If you are having deployment problems, also record the following:

Base version
Any patching/chaining?
Using MSI or EXE?
Using the Customization Wizard?
Deployment method (AIP, GPO, SCCM, ARD?)
Installing over other products?
Did you attempt to install any third-party scripts or application programming interfaces (APIs) with Acrobat during deployment? If so, does the problem reside with these elements? (To find out, create a test package containing only Acrobat.)
How did you create the package?
Does the problem occur when you install the application from a DVD? If so, does the problem occur when you copy the contents of the DVD to a local or network drive?

17.5 Installation FAQs¶

For FAQs about a particular deployment method, refer to the documentation for that method.

Why does my installation of one product over another fail with a file-related error?