Can't start FM 9 on Windows 7: "cannot initialize dictionaries"

[ErnestScribbler]

I am trying to move a copy of FM 9 from an old laptop to a new one running Windows 7 Enterprise. My IT guy reinstalled the software from CD and applied my license key. When I try to start FM, it gives this error during the "Core" startup: "FrameMaker cannot initialize its dictionaries. Either the LanguageDir entry specified in the initialization file is missing or incorrect, or the files in the LanguageDir are missing or corrupted."

I still have the old laptop, so I can compare and copy the files and directories directly. As far as I can see, the LanguageDir entry in the maker.ini is identical on both machines. Both have a dict folder, and I see the same number of files in both. Just for good measure I copied the old folder's contents across to the new folder, but that didn't help.

[Bob_Niland]

Try renaming the "Linguistics" folder below C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\Adobe to any other name.

[ErnestScribbler]

Thanks for your quick response! Unfortunately your suggestion did not work.

I renamed C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Linguistics to "Linguistics-old" and tried again. FrameMaker created a new Linguistics folder with the same (4) subfolders as the old one, but stopped with the same error message ("cannot initialize dictionaries.")

I observe that in each of the four subfolders in Linguistics on my old laptop, there are two subfolders, "all" and "eng." On the new laptop, FM re-created only the "all" subfolders, not the "eng" folders. (Didn't get that far?)

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Have you got full admin rights? Was FM installed with full admin rights?

[ErnestScribbler]

No, not full administrative rights.

Our IT guy came back and tried again. He had placed the contents of the install CD on a USB stick, with which he did the installation yesterday that failed. He tried again today, and it also failed. He then tried downloading the software over the web from Adobe, and this installation succeeded. So I am all set.

I appreciate your suggestions! This is a responsive forum. I guess I can contribute the tip that if the installation fails, try reinstalling the software from the Adobe website.

[Winfried Reng]

Very good that you found the cause. I remember now that it was recommended to copy the installation files to your hard disk. See the FrameMaker online help:

http://helpx.adobe.com/framemaker/kb/troubleshoot-installation-problems-framemaker-9.html

http://helpx.adobe.com/framemaker/kb/troubleshoot-errors-or-freezes-installation.html