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A
Anonymous
November 16, 2014
Question

How do I fix error message "installer file is damaged"?

  • November 16, 2014
  • 9 replies
  • 113694 views

I have tried to download an application that uses Abode AIR.  I always receive the same error message "Sorry, an error has occurred. The application could not be installed because the installer file is damaged.  Try obtaining a new installer file from the application author."  I have installed, uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe AIR and keep getting the same error message.  Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    9 replies

    R
    roscoworx1
    Participant
    July 22, 2020

    I had the same issue of receiving the "installer file is damaged" issue. Using Windows XP, I simply changed the date on Windows to a date prior to Oct. 30, 2017, reset the computer, then installed the software (as administrator) and it installed successfully.

    M
    mmushtaq
    Participant
    February 25, 2018

    Hello everyone!

    u can install SettingsManager.air simply by changing the time in pc settings to the year 2015 or 14...i just tried it out works fine then u can update the time again on pc.

    dand93139372
    dand93139372
    Participant
    November 14, 2017

    Will Adobe release updated versions of the AIR installers that came with Creative Suite 6?  I can't install AdobeHelp.air or WidgetBrowser.air using the files that were created by AAMEE 3.1 without changing the date of the computer.

    E
    ejf369
    Participating Frequently
    November 9, 2017

    Yes, this works, but can not be a solution to all of our customers who have installers and don't know about this workaround.

    I
    imdfl
    Participating Frequently
    November 9, 2017

    I think it's not difficult to build a new installer with exactly the previous content, signed with a new certificate.

    Since an air installer file is just a zip archive, you can unzip it and rebuild with the same version of the SDK that you have used for the original installer. Preferably you should have access to the original *app.xml that you had used for the original build, but you can also create a new *app.xml from the application.xml file in the archive.

    All that's left to do then is run the correct version of adt, telling it to create an installer from the content you have just unzipped, using your new certificate to sign the code. I did this, it's not a big task and new customers are installing from the new air file.

    As an aside I'll add that I've given up on air installers; I find their main merit to be the job security they provide for support personnel. The new version of our software is distributed as msi and dmg files.

    ridhij4208356012135538
    Adobe Employee
    ridhij4208356012135538
    Adobe Employee
    November 10, 2017

    Hi,

    For the non-working apps, you need to repackage the .air apps. Please refer to Adobe AIR applications installation issue , for steps to repackage.

    juergenasking
    juergenasking
    Participant
    November 8, 2017

    We have around 100 applications having this problem and looking forward @Adobe for help!

    D
    DaWo
    Participant
    November 9, 2017

    Similar problem here. We have stopped all delivery, work on new productions, but some hundred thousand applications are still around with customers.

    @Adobe: It is a bad idea to check the "end date" of a timestamp! The timestamp's function is to keep the certificate valid. btw: There is no documentation saying that a timestamp itself will lose its validity - in many cases almost at the same time when the certificate period ends. Adobe must have seen the problem because current timestamps are issued until 2031 - out of reach for warranty claims.

      E
      ejf369
      Participating Frequently
      November 8, 2017

      I am having the same issue with our adobe air installers.  Is there a way to resign the installers to change the timestamp without doing a whole new build?

        D
        DaWo
        Participant
        November 2, 2017

        general problem:

        Timestamps that were issued before 08 / 2015 were issued by Thawte. The period of validity of these timestamps ended with 30.10.2017.

        So all installations of older packages will fail.

        This is really a big issue.

        @Adobe: Workaround? (Of course you can set the system clock to 29.10.2017 - but that is no solution for our thousands of customers!)

          W
          Wouter Walmink
          Participant
          November 2, 2017

          Thanks for spotting the problem we just encountered, DaWo​.

          I hope we find a good work-around for this, because recreating releases with a new Flex Builder setup has been a real pain for us.

            I
            imdfl
            Participating Frequently
            October 31, 2017

            One option that worked for me, was to set the system clock to a date on which the code certificate was valid, install, then reset the clock to the current date.

              helenhelenhelenhelen
              helenhelenhelenhelen
              Participant
              November 30, 2014

              We are having the same problem.  Did you ever figure out how to fix it? 

              N
              nissanleafer
              Participating Frequently
              January 21, 2015

              This usually indicates that the certificate used to sign the AIR install has expired.  Based on an archived discussion on this topic, you can search for SignatureTimeStamp in the signatures.xml file in the META-INF folder and, if it is not found, then the install has no signature time stamp and will not install after the certificate expires. 

              I'm having the same problem, but searching for SignatureTimeStamp is found.  The search returns the following:

                  <xades:SignatureTimeStamp>

              So, it would appear that there is a Time Stamp for the Signature in my case so the install should not fail.   I would first check the above.  Since you cannot install the app, you can try to open up the installation file with the .air extension as a zip file and drill down until you find META-INF and then drill down to find signatures.xml.  Search for SignatureTimeStamp and see if it is found.

              In the meantime, I was wondering if anyone else in this forum can explain why the install fails for me even though I can locate <xades: SignatureTimeStamp> in the signatures.xml file in the AIR install file.

              N
              nissanleafer
              Participating Frequently
              January 21, 2015

              Found the problem.  The AIR package was installed using the "-tsa none" option which meant that no time stamp was applied to the signature.   Once removing this option from the ADT installer the AIR package could be installed even past the certificate expiration date.

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