TechNote

Issue

Deutsch | English | Français

When you start Adobe Acrobat 9, Adobe Creative Suite 4 products, or other Adobe products, you receive the following error message:

Licensing for this product has stopped working

You cannot use the product at this time. You must repair the
problem by uninstalling and then reinstalling this product or
contacting your IT administrator or Adobe customer support
for help.

<error code>

Important: Although mentioned in the error message, uninstalling and reinstalling your product is not likely to be effective unless this is the first time you have launched the product and the message occurred during installation. If you encounter errors during the installation, proceed to the section, "Reinstall". Otherwise, continue to the solutions below after a successful installation.

This error applies to the following products:

Reason

Various issues cause this error, including the following:

• If the error occurs immediately after installation, a component likely needs to be updated to be compatible with your operating system. Or, the component needs to be configured slightly differently for your system.
• If the product previously started successfully at least once, or if it has been in heavy use, the issue is likely related to a system resource (such as low memory, low disk space, or simultaneous launch of several programs). The result could be a temporary failure in the licensing system or corruption of the permanent licensing data.
• If an interruption occurred during the installation process, it can prevent the licensing system from functioning correctly.
• If you previously had participated in a CS4 pre-release program, you may have a temporary serial number which was set to expire on June 1st, 2009. If so, see TechNote cpsid_49485.

Solution

Below is a table of possible licensing error codes and solutions. If a colon separates the error code, reference the first half of the error number as the error code. If the number in the Error Code column appears below the on screen licensing error follow the instructions in the Solution column. If none of the errors below appear in the on screen licensing error please proceed to Solution 1.

Important: Perform the solutions below in order. Do not continue to the next solution if a prior solution resolves the problem. After performing some of these solutions you may be required to reenter licensing data or activate your product. Furthermore, tryout editions of Adobe software may be prevented from launching.

Example:

In the example above the error code was 130. Referring to the table you would need to, "Proceed to the section, 'Reinstall'."

Solution 1: Apply the Licensing Service Update

1. Close any Adobe applications.
2. Download the Licensing Service Update.
3. Run the License Service Update.
   • On Windows
     1. Extract the LicenseRecovery109.zip.
        
        Important: A utility such as WinZip must be used to extract the contents on the zipped file.
         
     2. Double click LicenseRecover.exe.
   • On Macintosh
     1. Double click the LicenseRecovery109.dmg
     2. Double click LicenseRecoveryLauncher.app.
     3. Enter your administrator username and password when prompted and click OK.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.
5. Start your Adobe Creative Suite 4 product or Adobe Acrobat 9.
   
   Important: The patch applies to Adobe Creative Suite 3 and 4 products and Adobe Acrobat 8 or 9. Run the patch again and enter option 0, when prompt, if your issue was not resolved on the first attempt. If the issue persists after you run the patch a second time, proceed to "Set the FLEXnet Licensing Service to Manual and Start the service. (Windows only)".

Solution 2 (Windows only): Set the FLEXnet Licensing Service to Manual and Start the service.

1. Choose Start > Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools.
3. Double-click Services.
4. Double-click the FLEXnet Licensing Service to open the Properties dialog box.
5. Click the Startup Type menu, and then select Manual.
6. Click Apply.
7. In the Services Status section, click Start to start the service.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK.
9. Close all open dialogs.
10. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

Solution 3: Restart the computer.

• On Mac OS
• On Windows XP
• On Windows Vista

On Mac

1. Choose the Apple and click Restart.
2. Click Restart.
3. Attempt to launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.

On Windows XP

1. Disable startup items and services. For additional information, see "Disable startup items and services" (TechNote kb404984.)
2. Choose Start > Shut down, select Restart, and click OK.
3. Attempt to launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.
   Important: If the issue has been resolved you can re-enable startup items.

On Windows Vista

1. Disable startup items and services. For additional information, see "Restart Windows in a modified mode" (TechNote kb404913.)
2. Choose Start, click the right arrow, and select Restart.
3. Attempt to launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.
   Important: If the issue has been resolved you can re-enable startup items.

Return to the Error Codes table.

Solution 4: Reset your permissions on the licensing service folder.

Close out of all Adobe applications. Follow the operating system specific directions below to modify permissions to the folder.

Note: This solution requires administrative privileges on your computer. On Windows XP, you must be logged in using an administrative account. On Mac OS and Windows Vista, you need to provide administrative credentials.

• On Mac OS X 10.4
• On Mac OS X 10.5
• On Windows XP Professional
• On Windows XP Home
• On Windows Vista

On Mac OS X 10.4

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet.
2. Control+Click the FLEXnet folder, and then select Get Info.
3. Expand the Ownership & Permissions section.
4. Click the Details option to show the various owner and group options.
5. Verify that you have Read & Write permissions.
6. Click the lock icon next to the Owner field, choose yourself as the Owner, type in your administrator username and password when prompted, and click OK.
7. Change the Owner to system.
8. Change the Permission to Read & Write for Owner.
9. Click Apply To Enclosed Items and click OK to the warning dialog.
10. Type in your administrator username and password when prompted and click OK.
11. Close the FLEXnet Info dialog box.
12. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

On Mac OS X 10.5

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet.
2. Control+Click on the FLEXnet folder, and then select Get Info.
3. Expand the Sharing & Permissions section.
4. Click on the Details option to show the various owner and group options.
5. Click the lock icon in the lower right corner. Type in your administrator username and password when prompted and click OK.
6. Change your username to have Read & Write permissions.
7. Change admin to have Read & Write permissions.
8. Change Everyone to have Read & Write permissions.
9. Click the Gear icon and select Apply To Enclosed Item.
10. Close the FLEXnet Info dialog box.
11. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

On Windows XP Professional

1. Choose Start > Control Panel.
2. Double-click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) option.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Control Panel Explorer window, click the address bar, type %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data, and then press Enter.
6. Right-click the FLEXnet folder, and choose Properties.
7. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
9. Click the Security tab.
10. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control.
11. Click Advanced.
12. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
13. Click the Owner tab.
14. Select Administrators.
15. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
16. Click OK, and then click Yes in the Security dialog box.
17. Click OK to close the FLEXnet Properties dialog box.
18. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

On Windows XP Home

1. Restart in safe mode.
   1. Restart Windows.
   2. Press F8 before Windows starts (when you see a message such as For Advanced Startup Options).
   3. Select Safe Mode from the list of startup options.
      
      • If Safe Mode doesn't appear in each corner of the desktop, then repeat steps 1.1 through 1.3.
      • If Safe Mode does appear in each corner of the desktop, then log in as administrator of the local machine.
   4. If a dialog box indicates that Windows is running in Safe Mode, then click OK.
2. Choose Start > Control Panel.
3. Double-click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) option.
5. Click OK.
6. In the Control Panel Explorer window, click the address bar, type %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data, and then press Enter.
7. Right-click the FLEXnet folder, and choose Properties.
8. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
9. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
10. Click the Security tab.
11. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control.
12. Click Advanced.
13. Click the Owner tab.
14. Select Administrators.
15. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
16. Click Apply and select the Permissions tab.
17. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
18. Click OK, and then click Yes in the Security dialog box.
19. Click OK to close the FLEXnet Properties dialog box.
20. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

On Windows Vista

1. Choose Start > Computer.
2. Choose Organize > Folder and Search Options, and then click the View tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended) option.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Computer Explorer window, click the address bar, type%ALLUSERSPROFILE%, and then press Enter.
6. Right-click the FLEXnet folder, and then choose Properties.
7. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
9. Click the Security tab.
10. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control. If not, do the following:
    1. Click Edit.
    2. If the User Account Control (UAC) elevation prompt appears, then follow the instructions to accept it.
    3. Make the necessary changes.
11. Click Advanced.
12. Click the Owner tab.
13. Click Edit, and then accept the UAC elevation prompt if it appears.
14. In the Change Owners Section, click Administrators.
15. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
16. Click Apply and click Permissions tab.
17. Click Edit, and then accept the UAC elevation prompt if it appears.
18. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
19. Click OK, and then click Yes.
20. Click OK, and then click OK in the Windows Security dialog box.
21. Click OK to close the Advanced Security Settings for FLEXnet dialog box.
22. Click OK to close the FLEXnet Properties dialog box.
23. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

Solution 5: Reset your permissions on the Adobe PCD folder.

Close all Adobe applications. Follow the directions below to modify permissions to the folder.

Note: This solution requires administrative privileges on your computer. On Windows XP, you must be logged in using an administrative account. On Mac OS and Windows Vista, you need to provide administrative credentials.

• On Mac OS X 10.4
• On Mac OS X 10.5
• On Windows XP Professional
• On Windows XP Home
• On Windows Vista

On Mac OS X 10.4

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Library/Application Support/Adobe.
2. Control+click the Adobe PCD folder, and then select Get Info.
3. Expand the Ownership & Permissions section.
4. Click on the Details option to show the various owner and group options.
5. Verify that Your self has Read & Write permissions.
6. Click the lock icon next to the Owner field, choose yourself as the Owner, type in your administrator username and password when prompted, and click OK.
7. Change the Owner to system.
8. Change the Permission to Read & Write for Owner.
9. Click Apply To Enclosed Items and click OK to the warning dialog.
10. Type in your administrator username and password when prompted and click OK.
11. Close the Adobe PCD Info dialog box.
12. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

On Mac OS X 10.5

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Library/Application Support/Adobe.
2. Control+click the Adobe PCD folder, and then select Get Info.
3. Expand the Sharing & Permissions section.
4. Click the Details option to show the various owner and group options.
5. Click the lock icon in the lower right corner. Type in your administrator username and password when prompted and click OK.
6. Change your username to have Read & Write permissions.
7. Change admin to have Read & Write permissions.
8. Change Everyone to have Read & Write permissions.
9. Click the Gear icon and select Apply To Enclosed Item.
10. Close the Adobe PCD Info dialog box.
11. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

On Windows XP Professional

1. Choose Start > Control Panel.
2. Double-click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) option.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Control Panel Explorer window, click the address bar, type %PROGRAMFILES%\Common Files\Adobe\, and then press Enter.
6. Right-click the Adobe PCD folder, and choose Properties.
7. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
9. Click the Security tab.
10. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control.
11. Click Advanced.
12. Click the Owner tab.
13. Select Administrators.
14. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
15. Click Apply and select the Permissions tab.
16. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
17. Click OK, and then click Yes in the Security dialog box.
18. Click OK to close the Adobe PCD Properties dialog box.
19. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

On Windows XP Home

1. Restart in safe mode.
   1. Restart Windows.
   2. Press F8 before Windows starts (when you see a message such as For Advanced Startup Options).
   3. Select Safe Mode from the list of startup options.
      
      • If Safe Mode doesn't appear in each corner of the desktop, then repeat steps 1.1 through 1.3.
      • If Safe Mode does appear in each corner of the desktop, then log in as administrator of the local machine.
   4. If a dialog box indicates that Windows is running in Safe Mode, then click OK.
2. Choose Start > Control Panel.
3. Double-click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) option.
5. Click OK.
6. In the Control Panel Explorer window, click the address bar, type %PROGRAMFILES%\Common Files\Adobe\, and then press Enter.
7. Right-click the Adobe PCD folder, and choose Properties.
8. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
9. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
10. Click the Security tab.
11. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control.
12. Click Advanced.
13. Click the Owner tab.
14. Select Administrators.
15. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
16. Click Apply and select the Permissions tab.
17. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
18. Click OK, and then click Yes in the Security dialog box.
19. Click OK to close the Adobe PCD Properties dialog box.
20. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

On Windows Vista

1. Choose Start > Computer.
2. Choose Organize > Folder and Search Options, and then click the View tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended) option.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Computer Explorer window, click the address bar, type %PROGRAMFILES%\Common Files\Adobe\, and then press Enter.
6. Right-click the Adobe PCD folder, and choose Properties.
7. In the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box.
9. Click the Security tab.
10. Make certain that Administrators and System are listed and permissions for security are set to Full Control. If not, do the following:
    1. Click Edit.
    2. If the User Account Control (UAC) elevation prompt appears, then follow the instructions to accept it.
    3. Make the necessary changes.
11. Click Advanced.
12. Click the Owner tab.
13. Click Edit, and then accept the UAC elevation prompt if it appears.
14. In the Change Owners Section, click Administrators.
15. Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.
16. Click Apply and click Permissions tab.
17. Click Edit, and then accept the UAC elevation prompt if it appears.
18. Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.
19. Click OK, and then click Yes.
20. Click OK, and then click OK in the Windows Security dialog box.
21. Click OK to close the Advanced Security Settings for Adobe PCD dialog box.
22. Click OK to close the FLEXnet Properties dialog box.
23. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

Solution 6: Move the trusted store file to a new location.

If the above solutions did not help and you did not receive any errors during installation, then perform these steps in the order given.

Move the Trusted Storage File

1. Move the adobe_00080000.tsf.data file onto the Desktop or to another safe location from the following locations:
   • On Windows XP:
     \Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/FLEXnet folder
   • On Windows Vista:
     \ProgramData\FLEXnet folder
   • On Max OS X:
     /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet folder
     
     Important: Deleting this file discontinues any active Adobe tryouts and you will lose any remaining days.
2. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

Solution 6b: Rename the FLEXnet folder

1. Rename the FLEXnet folder to FLEXnetold in the following locations:
   • On Windows XP:
     \Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/FLEXnet
   • On Windows Vista:
     \ProgramData\FLEXnet folder (Windows Vista), or the
   • On Max OS X:
     /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet folder
     
     Important: Deleting this file discontinues any active Adobe tryouts and you will lose any remaining days.
2. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

View an Adobe Captivate demo of this procedure.

Solution 7: Remove the SQLite journaling file.

The journaling file exists only under specific circumstances where a client is accessing the database file with certain options enabled. If the file does not exist, continue to the next solution.

• On Mac OS
• On Windows

On Mac OS

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PCD/cache.
2. If present, delete cache.db-journal.
3. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or an Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

On Windows

1. Using Explorer, navigate to \Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe PCD\cache.
2. If present, delete cache.db-journal.
3. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or a Adobe Creative Suite 4 product.

Solution 8: Vista only, synchronize the pcd and caps databases located in the virtual store with the Caps and PCD databases located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe

Having both Vista aware and Vista unaware applications can cause files to be out of sync in C:\Program Files and in the virtual store location. To synchronize the folders do the following:

1. Close all Adobe applications.
2. From C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe, copy the Adobe PCD folder.
3. Paste this folder into C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe.
4. Select yes when prompted if you want to replace/merge the existing files. In the following dialog box, select Copy And Replace for all files.
5. Relaunch the application.
6. If the problem persists, do the same with the caps folder found in the same location and copied to the same location

Note: This solution may lead to the problem application as well as other Adobe application ask for the serial number again.

Alternatively you can rename or delete the folders in the virtual store and relaunch the application:

1. Close all Adobe applications
2. Browse to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe
3. rename the Adobe PCD folder to something else, for example AdobeoldPCD, or delete this folder
4. Launch the application
5. If the problem persists, do the same with the caps folder

1. Close all Adobe applications.
2. Log into Windows as an administrator.
3. Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run, and type regedit.
4. Click the continue button in the User Account Control dialogue box.
5. Make a backup copy of the registry by choosing File > Export. Name the backup and save it to a location you'll remember.
6. Right-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Classes > VirtualStore > MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Adobe
7. Select delete. Exit from the registry.
8. Launch the application.

Solution 9: (Acrobat 9 only) When installing Acrobat on a "Case Sensitive" file system volume, user gets an error "Licensing for this product has stopped working (error code 130:9).

Acrobat 9 is not supported on an OS formatted with a case-sensitive file system. The drive needs to be reformatted to a non-case-sensitive file system.
This situation is most likely to happen on Mac OS X.

To check if MAC OS X is formatted with a case-sensitive file system :

1. From the Apple menu select About this Mac.
2. Click More Info and under Hardware select Serial-ATA.
3. Select the drive Acrobat 9 has been installed on and check the file system in the list. Note if the file system is case sensitive.

1. From Applications > Utilities, launch the disk utility
2. Select the disk Acrobat is installed on and check its format.

Solution 10: Contact Adobe Technical Support

Adobe Technical Support can obtain logs from your machine to determine additional information about the failure. Contact Adobe Technical Support if the information provided has not helped to resolve your issue.

Additional Information

Adobe Captivate Demos of Procedures

For more information about viewing these demos, see "Viewing Adobe Captivate Demos in Knowledgebase Documents" (TechNote kb403894).

Solution 1 (Windows only): Set the FLEXnet Licensing Service to Manual and Start the service.

Return to Instructions

Solution 3 (Mac OS X): Reset your permissions on the FLEXnet folder

Return to Instructions

Solution 3 (Windows XP): Reset your permissions on the FLEXnet folder

Return to Instructions

Solution 3 (Windows Vista): Reset your permissions on the FLEXnet folder

Return to Instructions

Solution 5: Move the Trusted Storage File

Return to Instructions

Solution 5: Rename the FLEXnet Folder

Return to Instructions

Reinstall

This process requires you to completely uninstall and reinstall the software. Administrator privileges are required to install Adobe software. Log into an administrator account to perform the steps below. See the operating system documentation for additional information.

• On Mac OS
• On Windows XP
• On Windows Vista

On Mac OS

1. Using Finder, navigate to /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers.
2. Double click the Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products uninstaller.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the software.
4. After the uninstallation completes, choose the Apple menu and select Restart.
5. Click Restart.
6. Install Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products from the original media.
7. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.

On Windows XP

1. Chose Start > Control Panel.
2. Double click Add Or Remove Programs.
3. Select Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products and click Change/Remove.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the software.
5. After the uninstallation completes, choose Start > Shut Down, select Restart, and click OK.
6. Install Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products from the original media.
7. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.

On Windows Vista

1. Chose Start > Control Panel.
2. Double click Features And Programs.
3. Select Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products and click Uninstall.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the software.
5. After the uninstallation completes, choose Start, click the right arrow and select Restart.
6. Install Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products from the original media.
7. Launch Adobe Acrobat 9 or Adobe Creative Suite 4 products.

Return to the Error Codes table.

• Licensing for this product has expired” when launching CS4 applications that worked previously: http://go.adobe.com/kb/ts_cpsid_49485_en-us

• Launching Adobe products on Mac OS X 10.6 results in error "Licensing for this product has stopped working: http://go.adobe.com/kb/ts_cpsid_51260_en-us