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steve_chessin
Inspiring
December 12, 2018
Question

What means "Exit Code 3" when installing Flash version 32.0.0.101?

  • December 12, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2356 views
  • Operating system version: MacOS 10.9.5
  • Web browser and version: Firefox 56.0.2 (the last to support Tab Groups)
  • Flash Player version​: 32.0.0.101
  • Explain your problem in step-by-step detail if possible:

I got pop-up telling me my Flash was out of date (I was on 31.0.0.153). As I always do when that happens, I went to

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html?promoid=DJDYF

and clicked on "Adobe Flash Player download" (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/).

I downloaded the disk image (AdobeFlashPlayer_32_a_install.dmg), opened it, and ran the installer. It did what it normally does, except at the end instead of saying "success" or some such it said something like "failed" with "exit code 3" and a message that said something like "click here for an explanation" that was a link to

https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/completion/adm/?exitcode=3&type=install

Unfortunately, clicking that link just took me to the standard "install finish" page of the women with the multi-colored hair that wants me to sign up for some Adobe product in which I have no interest.

Not sure what to do next, I reloaded the tab that had ​https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html?promoid=DJDYF in it and it now said I did indeed have the latest version (32.0.0.1) installed.

So a question, and a comment.

The question: What does "Exit Code 3" from the "Install Adobe Flash Player.app" (Version 2.0.0.332s) mean?

The comment: Adobe: Please make sure that the target of the error message link actually provides meaningful information.

  • A direct link to a web page that demonstrates the problem: Not Applicable.
  • If you get error messages, please provide a screenshot​:

Unfortunately, when I clicked on the link in the installer window it exited and I didn't think to snapshot it before I did.

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

_maria_
Community Manager
_maria_Community Manager
Community Manager
December 12, 2018

Normally exit code 3 = restart browser after a successful installation for it to load the newly installed Flash Player version.  The actual message states to restart the browser, not 'exit code 3'.  Exit code 3 is not normally returned if installation fails.  If you have version 32.0.0.101 installed, then it is the most recent version and installation did succeed, not fail.

To investigate further, I'd need to review the various installation log files:

  1. Adobe_ADM.log and Adobe_GDE.log, saved at ~/Library/Logs/Adobe_ADMLogs
  2. FlashPlayerInstallManager.log saved at ~/Library/Logs/
  3. The section of the Flash Player installation from the install.log file saved at /var/log
    1. This is a system install.log file that contains a lot of information, we only need the portion related to the Flash Player installation.

The best way to obtain the file is to configure your system to capture the log during installation.  See the FAQ Where do I find the Flash Player installation log on the Macintosh? for instructions on setting up your system to capture logs for the same installation attempt.

After gathering all files (for the same installation attempt), upload the files to cloud.acrobat.com/send (see How to share a file using Adobe Document Cloud ) or some other file sharing service of your choice that doesn't require user access.  Post the link to the uploaded file in your reply.

S
steve_chessinAuthor
Inspiring
December 12, 2018

Hi Maria. I appreciate your explanation, and am happy to have your confirmation that the installation actually succeeded. However, if I recall correctly, the message clearly used the word "failed".

/var/log/system.log (not what you requested) contains this line:

Dec 12 09:33:46 stevechssinsmbp Adobe Flash Player Install Manager[22901]: Install succeeded with exit code: 3.

Adobe_ADM.log contains this:

12/12/18 09:33:46:983 | [INFO] |  | ADM |  | ApplicationContext |  |  | 3423227 | Message received : <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>

<launchParams>

    <launchProcessGuid>2DB49932-662C-49A6-AE9F-E02CE07E9B9D</launchProcessGuid>

    <errorCode>0</errorCode>

    <returnCode>3</returnCode>

</launchParams>

Anyway, I've uploaded the files you requested (including the section of install.log) to

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Ad2df6e04-e542-49c2-a23f-95cb90f70ed6

I'm also going to re-run the installer and if it recreates the issue I'll get a screen shot this time and upload that as well.

Thanks,

--Steve

_maria_
Community Manager
_maria_Community Manager
Community Manager
December 14, 2018

I've uploaded the associated installation log files for this installation attempt to

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Ae960e6dc-3c70-4c35-897d-119176814aee

I had two browsers open: Firefox 56.0.2, and Safari 9.1.3. Note that I've had both of these browsers open during previous updates to Adobe Flash and those previous updates always completed normally. It's only the update to 32.0.0.101 that produced the failure message.

I do note that the version of the installer has changed. For Flash 31.0.0.153 (the previous one I had installed), the DMG filename was AdobeFlashPlayer_31_a_install.dmg and the installer version it contained was 2.0.0.318s. For Flash 32.0.0.101, the DMG filename is AdobeFlashPlayer_32_a_install.dmg and the installer version it contains is 2.0.0.332s. I speculate that, somewhere between .318s and .332s, a bug (or at least a change in behavior) was introduced.


Thank you for providing the log files and the online installer version numbers.  I'll investigate further.

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