Error 1401, 1402, 1404 or 1406 during installation of Adobe Creative Suite 3 products (Windows)
Issue
When you install Adobe Creative Suite 3 products, the Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log returns one of the following error codes:
- Error 1401: Unable to create key \Software\Classes\.tif\OpenWithList\Illustrator.exe. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
- Error 1402: Could not open key \Classes\.pdf\PersistentHandler. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
- Error 1404.Could not delete key \Software\Classes\CLSID\{DF9A1DA0-23C0-101B-B02E-FDFDFDFDFDFD}. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
- Error 1406: Could not write value Folders to key \Software\Classes\CLSID\{B801CA65-A1FC-11D0-85AD-444553540000}\PersistentHandler. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log sample error:
Key: \Software\Classes\CLSID\{DF9A1DA0-23C0-101B-B02E-FDFDFDFDFDFD}, Name:
Key: \Software\Classes\CLSID\{DF9A1DA0-23C0-101B-B02E-FDFDFDFDFDFD}, Name:
Error 1404.Could not delete key \Software\Classes\CLSID\{DF9A1DA0-23C0-101B-B02E-FDFDFDFDFDFD}. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
Action ended 21:48:41: InstallFinalize. Return value 3.
Reason
These errors all occurr when the Windows Installer cannot successfully modify the registry. These errors occurr when the installer cannot create, read, orwrite the necessary entries. The registry key causing the error can be identified in the Adobe Creative Suite installation log. For additional information on finding and reading the installation log, please refer to the section, "Adobe Creative Suite installation log." The solutions below reference the most common locations of the errors.
Solution
Do the following in order:
Solution 1: Set permissions to their defaults in the registry.
Important: The registry key in the error messages appears immediately after, "Unable to create key", "Could not open key", "Could not delete key", or "Could not write value Folders to key". The parent registry key is the key immediately before the last key referenced in the error. In the error messages above, the parent directory to the 1402 error would be ".pdf".
The Administrators group listed below is the default local administrative group for Windows XP and Vista.
Disclaimer: This procedure involves editing the Windows registry. Adobe doesn't provide support for editing the registry, which contains critical system and application information. Make sure to back up the registry before editing it. For more information about the registry, see the Windows documentation or contact Microsoft.
- Write down the path to the key referred to in the error message and leave the installation running. Multiple registry keys may be referenced in the log file. Write down all of the paths listed in the file. For example: \Software\Classes\CLSID\{1171A62F-05D2-11D1-83FC-00A0C9089C5A}.
- Choose Start > Run, type regedit in the Open text field of the Run dialog box, and then click OK.
- Back up your current Registry file:
- In the Registry Editor dialog box, choose File > Export.
- Type a name for the file and choose the location.
- For Export Range, choose All.
- Click Save.
- Navigate to the parent of the key referenced in the error message. For example, for the key \Software\Classes\CLSID\{1171A62F-05D2-11D1-83FC-00A0C9089C5A}, open (double-click) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >SOFTWARE > Software > Classes > CLSID.
Note: These steps may vary slightly depending on the path in the error message. All registry keys listed begin in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder.
- Right-click on the parent key and select Permissions (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Software\Classes\CLSID).
- Verify that the Administrators and SYSTEM is present and that Full Control is selected under the Allow column.
- In the Permissions dialog box, click Advanced.
- Select the Administrators group (1), check "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" (2), click Apply (3), and select the Permissions tab (4).
Note: Select the current administrator account if the Administrators group is unavailable.
- Select "Reset permissions on all child objects and enable propagation of inheritable permissions" (1) and click OK (2).
- Click OK in the "Advanced Security Settings" dialog box. Windows will now reset the permissions for each child object to correspond with its parent.
- Repeat steps 1-10 on any additional registry keys.
- Repair permissions to all registry keys identifed in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log.
- After all keys have been repaired run the Adobe Creative Suite 3 product installation again.
Important: You must accept or continue through any User Account Control dialogs that are displayed to complete this process.
- Write down the path to the key referenced in the error message. Multiple registry keys may be referenced in the log file. Write down all of the paths listed in the file.
- For example: \Software\Classes\CLSID\{1171A62F-05D2-11D1-83FC-00A0C9089C5A}.
- Choose Start, type regedit in the Search text field, and then press Enter.
- Back up your current Registry file:
- In the Registry Editor dialog box, choose File > Export.
- Type a name for the file and choose the location.
- For Export Range, choose All.
- Click Save.
- Close Regedit.
- Navigate to the parent of the key referenced in the error message. For example, for the key \Software\Classes\CLSID\{1171A62F-05D2-11D1-83FC-00A0C9089C5A}, open (double-click) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >SOFTWARE > Software > Classes > CLSID.
Note: These steps may vary slightly depending on the path in the error message. All registry keys listed begin in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder.
- Right-click on the parent key and select Permissions (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID).
- Verify that the Administrators and SYSTEM is present and that Full Control is selected under the Allow column.
- In the Permissions dialog box, click Advanced.
- Select the Administrators group (1) and "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" (2), click Apply (3), and select the Perrmission tab (4).
Note: Select the current administrator account if the Administrators group is unavailable.
- Select "Replace all existing inheritable permissions on all descendants with inheritable permissions from this object," (1) and click OK (2) on the Permissions tab.
- Click OK in the "Advanced Security Settings" dialog box. Windows will now reset the permissions for each child object to correspond with its parent.
- Repeat steps 1-10 on any additional registry keys.
- Repair permissions to all registry keys identifed in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log.
- After all keys have been repaired run the Adobe Creative Suite 3 product installation again.
If the Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log still displays an error message, then you may need to investigate permissions on the particular registry key causing the error. Occasionally, renaming the key allows the installer to re-create the key and reset the permissions if the key is corrupted. If you can't change permissions or rename that key, then contact Microsoft or your hardware vendor for assistance.
Solution 2: Remove spyware.
Note: Adobe provides this information as a courtesy only. Adobe Technical Support does not support third-party applications. Users are encouraged to read the release notes for these applications before installing.
Some programs can install software that can be damaging to your Operating System. Scan for these programs with an anti-spyware utility such as Ad-Aware or with anti-spyware software provided by Microsoft.
Solution 3: Check your system for viruses.
System viruses can cause erratic behavior and prevent the product from installing. Use current anti-virus software, such as McAfee VirusScan, to check your system for viruses. Make sure that you have the latest virus definitions for the anti-virus software you use. Although virus infections are rare, they can cause strange system behavior, including system errors. Running virus-detection software regularly prevents viruses from damaging software on your system. For instructions, see the documentation for the anti-virus software.
Solution 4: Disable Webroot Spy Sweeper.
For more information or help disabling Spy Sweeper, contact Webroot Corporation. Adobe technical support does not support third-party applications.
Solution 5: Remove all previous versions of previous Adobe products, and then reinstall.
- Choose Start > Control Panel.
- Double-click Add Or Remove Programs.
- Select Adobe product and click Remove.
- When prompted, confirm that you want to remove.
- Repeat the above procedure for all installed versions of previous Adobe products.
- Restart the computer, and then try the installation again.
Adobe Creative Suite installation log
The Adobe Creative Suite 3 installer log contains detailed messages on why the install failed (or succeeded). The log file can help you diagnose the problem faster. Every attempted installation will append information to the previous installation log. Deleting the current installation log and running the installation again can simplify the troubleshooting process. The log file is created on both Windows and Macintosh. The error messages contained will defer in format because of Operating System differences.
- Navigate to the Adobe Creative Suite 3 log file.
\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Installers folder. - Decompress the Adobe Creative Suite 3 log file.
Important: The log file is archived using a compression utility called gzip and will require a decompression tool such as Winzip or WinRAR.
Note on log names:- The log file for the Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, for example, is: Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium 1.0.log.gz
- Search the log file(s) for Error 1401, Error 1402, Error 1404, and Error 1406.
- Record the paths identifed near the error message.
Important: The registry key in the error messages appears immediately after, "Unable to create key", "Could not open key", "Could not delete key", or "Could not write value Folders to key". The parent registry key is the key immediately before the last key referenced in the error. In the error messages above, the parent directory to the 1401 error would be "OpenWithList".
Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation log sample error:
Key: \Software\Classes\.tiff\OpenWithList\Illustrator.exe, Name: , Value:
Key: \Software\Classes\.tif\OpenWithList\Illustrator.exe, Name: , Value:
Error 1401.Could not create key \Software\Classes\.tif\OpenWithList\Illustrator.exe. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel.
Action ended 22:06:00: InstallFinalize. Return value 3.
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