CS5 "a problem occured while extracting some files...."

[SonjaY79]

I used both Firefox and IE to download the update for CS5. All seemed to successfully download to my desktop where I wanted them. When I double clicked on the .exe file, it began to extract and got to 99% (sometimes 100%) before giving me the error "A problem occured while extracting some files. Check availabile space on your computer and the write privilages on the destination folder."

I am using Windows XP, I'm the admin so I'm not sure what privilages I need.

I have 66 G of free space

*I tried using 7zip to extract the files, did not work.

*I tried to just get into the folder which was created during the extract and clicked on set-up.exe - it gave me the message "We've encountered the following issues: Installer failed to initialize. File not found. Please download Adobe Support Advisor to detect the problem." including a link to where I can do that. I did that and so far, it is stuck on "please wait while the application initializes." I'm thinking it's not going to happen so I've come here.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[Kruelaid]

@NOel: First, my comment about educating yourself was in reply to you, who wrote in a rather condescending manner:

"You  should take some responsibility for that (and for educating yourself)  rather than lashing out at people genuinely trying to help in their free  time."

Sorry, I lost it a bit because you really pissed me off with that having most certainly taken the time to educate myself and Chris most certainly did not try to help.

As to the other things you have presupposed, glossed over, or correctly contended:

1. Nobody has cried.

2. The problem with corrupt data is simply and esaily prevented by using downloaders that check hashes as the programmer in the office next to me has been telling me since all this began. I wouldn't know because I am at best an amateur with C++ and my html/css/php/js skills don't really qualify me as a REAL programmer, of which I am often reminded by my colleagues.

3. I certainly haven't blamed anyone for anything and I agree with you that blaming people is deplorable. And BTW, I really respect a company that helps cover the bases to ensure that needless blaming does not arise.

4. My installer didn't report that my file was corrupt. Had it done so I would have been very pleased. I downloaded it again, reinstalled my whole system again (I built the whole system as I have been doing for almost 2 decades and once, for a time, did professionally) and got the same result. Both times on a fresh default install Win7. Having an installer that reports corrupted files is a fantastic idea! Hey, haven't we already suggested that here?

5. I have two internet connections, one is business and one home, both are absolutely premium. I don't skimp on my servers, either. Here is the problem my dear friend: I am on contract in China now. No matter, I am confident that Adobe wants my download to go smoothly no matter where I live.

6. Agreed, professionals do understand that you get what you pay for. They also understand that sometimes corruption can occur despite all efforts because there will always be network and hardware issues that can't be foreseen... such as my settting up a really swank box at home but still having to dl across the pacific. As we all know that's why using a downloader that tests my checksums just might be a good idea.

@Josh: Chris is a photoshop programmer? Awesome. Then I happily reiterate the utter glee I feel every time I use the product he has worked on. As a sidenote: people come here because when they Google the error code this is the ranking page. Me--I had it with CS5DP. Also, the problem seems to be with Adobe's choice of downloading/decompression apps, not with Photoshop itself, so technically speaking everyone is in the wrong thread.

@Chris Cox: As an Adobe customer (and we spend a lot of money)--please, don't demean the customers. Engage with problems in a peaceful and friendly way. Let the irate masses (or even the irate few) know that Adobe cares, and this is especially important when people come to a forum freshly pissed off by glitches. Consider that they are angry because they can't use something that they love--not because they want to blame you.

Do that and everyone will be happier.

On the flip side: thanks for everything you've ever done with Photoshop, whatever it may be, that is an absolutely amazing program.

[Chris Cox]

I just love how he tells me to do exactly what I've obviously been doing all along...

We are listening, and we are trying to help - but communication requires listening on both sides.

My only guess at this point is that there is a 7z decompressor on his system different from the default utility, and that decompressor cannot handle the CS5 files for some reason.

Last I heard, the installer team was looking for a system with the problem so they could reproduce it and determine the cause.

(because stock systems, and even our dirtiest work system, don't show the problem)

BTW - checksums are not foolproof.  Checksums/hashes try to reduced a huge file to 1 number.  Many different possible files could give the same number, so it it possible to have a corrupt download with the correct checksum.  (in fact, this is how some encryption hacks work)

The Akamai downloader, and the Adobe installers all check the file length and checksums and report bad downloads.  But, again, they aren't foolproof.

And if something causes a valid download to decompress incorrectly - you will still get errors.

[Kruelaid]

Dear Chris, I am listening to you very carefully.

If you're a programmer then you should know full well that foolproof error detection and correction is easily achievable. Either you are trying to speak down to me, or you are (oddly) not aware that checking the whole HUGE file once is not the only way of detecting errors. In fact that's the Gomer Pyle method according to the lads over here. Regardless, if you guys at Adobe are going to offer your files electronically (which is INCREDIBLY convenient and greatly appreciated thank you) then you need to use an error free download system.

As for your obtuse posts, there is this one:

"The installer and downloads work for almost everyone else.

So what is Adobe supposed to do about your bad download?

How can Adobe post a fix for something that works for most people, and only fails for you?"

Yah dude. It doesn't fail only for me, as I had clearly stated. And Adobe certianly should help me out if the $2000 software package I downloaded using their system won't install because they've failed to implement an error free download system. And when I call customer service, they DO help me out and do so very politely, even though English is not their mother tongue. You could stand to learn something from the Indian dude who helped me out, Chris.

And there is this one, which is complete BS and "BS ain't polite" as my grandfather used to say God rest his soul (hey his name was Cox, too, maybe we're related):

"Even 2 people with bad downloads  does not indicate a problem that could be fixed on the source side.  If  there was a problem on the Adobe servers, we would be seeing tens of  thousands of bad downloads, at a minimum.

It is possible  for checksums to pass in some circumstances with corrupt data -- it's  maybe a one in 10 million chance, but it can happen.  TCP/IP already  should discard corrupt packets and handle missing packets, and the  Akamai downloader is supposed to do additional error detection.  But  with tens of millions of downloads, some of them are bound to be corrupt  due to circumstances beyond our control.

So, what exactly can Adobe do about your bad download?"

Yah that one really stank up the thread. And then there is this recent one with a clear subtext of "I don't want to help":

"I can't quite decide if that post is serious or not.

Let's start with the most obvious problems:

This is the Photoshop forum.  Flash Player and Flash Pro have their own forums.

Flash and Photoshop are not companies.  Photoshop and Flash are products from Adobe Systems, Inc.

These  forums are not customer support or technical support, they are user to  user forums where some employees sometimes respond (many of whom are  reading and posting in their own free time).

And I'm really not sure where you can find me not being polite (unless I've developed an evil twin somewhere)."

What I like about that one is you say "Let's start with the most obvious problems" but you never get to the problems that are not obvious.... and you certainly never try helpfulness. Chris, it is simple, saying this to someone who is upset because their software won't install IS NOT POLITE. Asking what "Adobe is supposed to do" when someone has a problem is not engaging the problem, it's turning a request for help around on a customer. Not cool. So you have certainly not been polite and engaging all along, sir. Now I don't expect you to have any skills at customer service if you're a programmer, heck you probably have very limited social skills if you're anything like my friends over here, but I do expect you to tell the truth (instead of b.s.ing me about file corruption) and to try being constructive. If someone has this problem with Flash what good does it do for Adobe for you to irritate them further just because this is a Photoshop thread? It does nothing for Adobe. It is entirely contrary to Adobe's interests, and if someone from Adobe customer service saw this thread they'd tell you the same thing. You are an Adobe rep on these boards. Act like one.

Lastly, if this is indeed a problem with file corruption (I've yet to see anyone from Adobe firmly establish this one way or another), then I suggest Adobe do this: IMPLEMENT_AN_ERROR_FREE_DOWNLOAD_AND_DECOMPRESSION_SYSTEM.

My 2 cents.

o.0

[Chris Cox]

If you're a programmer then you should know full well that foolproof error detection and correction is easily achievable.

Being a programmer, I know that such a thing is not possible without such overhead that it would be impractical (ie: download multiple complete copies and compare them).  You can minimize the errors by comparing checksums and lengths, but that is all.  And that is already what the Adobe installers do.  A mathematician could explain why it would require such a high overhead, but I really don't have time to go into the details here.

Someone who doesn't know the topic might think it is easy, until they take the time to study and think it through.  (that seems to be a constant in the world: everything you don't know anything about seems easy, until you actually learn about it)

And you are reading subtext that does not exist.   There is no subtext in my posts, just facts and simple questions (which you never answered).

I have been polite.  I have been patient. I have given you the honest truth (even if you don't take the time to understand it).

But you are demanding the impossible, and not even trying to help us help you.

[Kruelaid]

Chris, Adobe has been very helpful to me, as I keep saying. And I have taken plenty of time to understand this problem--I just sat through an hour lecture on error detection half in Chinese and half in English, over lunch, from some guys who are implementing Microsoft ERP hereabouts. High overhead? Sure, for someone who doesn't have broadband.

And I certainly have suggested what Adobe can do, both here and elsewhere.

As for this thread, I can't do anything else here without the correct checksum for CS5DP

Subtext? Heh. Your comments speak for themselves.

[Noel Carboni]

I can understand your being frustrated, and can see your hope to try to save face after making regrettable statements by responding with longer and longer posts, cutting apart others' responses line by line, but it's pretty clear you've become less interested in solving problems and all you're doing is compounding the trouble at this point.

You got some corrupted downloads.  Get over it.

Today, we have the opportunity to download gigabytes of software online, meaning we don't have to get off our butts to go down to the high tech store to buy shrink wrapped boxes - after waiting for it to hit the shelves.  Downloading giant gigabyte software packages is quite new territory - it was hardly even possible just 5 years ago and only a dream at the dawn of the new millenium.  Realists expect glitches and fix them or learn how to work around them.

The Model T Ford was invented in 1909.  5 years after that it wasn't perfect.  101 years after that the automobile still isn't perfect.

I'll be the first to say that people should be respectful, professional, and polite on the forum, but come in here with a nasty attitude aimed at good people and you'll get attitude right back.  If you can't stand the heat...

-Noel

[Kruelaid]

An Adobe employee brushed me off. Others were helpful. I told the guy who did the brushing what I thought. He has denied it... repeatedly. There's no saving face on my part, simply my being apalled at an Adobe rep's lack of customer service grace. I sure as heck wouldn't go onto my company's forums and brush customers off. Am I writing long messages to cover something up or get attention? Hehe. Nice one. Dude, I LOVE ADOBE's WARES. I have ADBE stock. 

Is my file corrupted? I don't know. Maybe you guys have some facts I don't have and don't want to show them. That's fair. And even if my checksum turned out to be correct, apparently it is still possible that there is an error in it. So what can be done....? Meh.

It is interesting to me though, but not to Chris apparently, that I downloaded the CS5DP package twice, and that both times it failed to decompress, giving me the error message as posted in the OP. That's an odd thing to see if we're look at a corrupt file. Maybe the Chinese are spiking my d/ls.

Anyway, I'm long over that because I was able to unzip on my office computer and physcially carried it to my home comp with only a day's delay in getting my beloved Adobe goodies. Had that failed, customer service was %100 ready and willing to send me the product by mail at no extra charge (all the way to China). Problem solved, I have written so again and agian, enough of that.

What I am not over is Cox--because he didn't learn his lesson after brushing me off. A wise man would have stayed away. He did not. And I do care. Plus I have a sadistic streak. And now, having had my kicks with Chris, and having also got a rise out of you, Noel, which was fun, I just hope that any more people who come to this forum are met with a helpful response like Karen gave, or perhaps the suggestion that they call Adobe's 1-800 number where folks are very gracious, rather then brushing them off and helping them feel like they don't matter to Adobe, as Chris Cox prefered to do with Alex and I.

Noel Carboni wrote:

"Today, we have the opportunity to download gigabytes of software online,  meaning we don't have to get off our butts to go down to the high tech  store to buy shrink wrapped boxes - after waiting for it to hit the  shelves.  Downloading giant gigabyte software packages is quite new  territory - it was hardly even possible just 5 years ago and only a  dream at the dawn of the new millenium.  Realists expect glitches and  fix them or learn how to work around them."

This is exactly what I want to say but failed. Thank you, friend. Yes, it seems we may have a glitch here. I am realistic about that. Sometimes my stuff has glitches, too. I calmly accept that there is a glitch. Hopefully, Adobe can fix it without undie expense (stricter error detection perhaps), or find a workaround... maybe in CS6. Until then, mailing out (at no charge) seems very reasonable to me and may well be cheaper for Adobe than revising the delivery app. In this solution, disappointment is limited to a one week wait for the person experiencing the glitch, and while this may irritate them, they still feel important because Adobe has quickly done something to solve the problem without them having to leap through a whole bunch of technical hoops.

Noel Carboni wrote:

"I'll be the first to say that people should be respectful, professional,  and polite on the forum, but come in here with a nasty attitude aimed  at good people and you'll get attitude right back.  If you can't stand  the heat..."

This is fine and true for you and me, Noel. But when a customer is upset because they can't get a product working and a company employee replies a different approach is needed. While you and Chris don't understand this, I think just about anyone in customer service management does. Consider that customer service is no longer limited to F2F, 1-800 numbers, or CS emails. Customer service now extends to all places where a company and their customers interact, such as this forum. When Chris realizes that, if he ever does, he will stop throwing problems back at customers, he will stop brushing people off, and instead he'll try to make them feel important and offer suggestions about how they can contribute to checking the product as delivered (maybe some checksum comparisons) or suggesting a simple solution (call the 1-800 number).

For example Chris could write something like this to Alex:

"Hi Alex, sorry you're having problems unzipping Flash and I understand it's upsetting. Although this is a PS forum and you have Flash, the problem isn't limited to PS so I'll address it as best I can: we think it might be a rare problem with Akami downloader's weak error detection, one that's only happening to people with connection problems. You can either try and compare checksums (on the Flash forum I suppose), you can dl somewhere with a good broadband link, or you can call customer service 1-800-WHT-EVER and they'll make sure the problem is resolved. If the problem is with your system settings that's something else: you'll either have to try unzipping on another system, or you can ask customer service to send you a physcial copy."

Peace,

o.0

[Noel Carboni]

A big company never says "I'm sorry".  Their lawyers tell them not to.  Never admit fault.  Never admit guilt.  The culture this breeds is awful.  But it is modern reality.

Laywers are the worst things that ever happened to the world, ranking ahead of even global killer asteroid hits.  Dick (in Shakespeare's Henry VI) was right on.

-Noel

[Kruelaid]

Dude, now you're talking to me. Before my current gig in marketing, copywriting and design I lectured on Shakespeare, Blake, and Milton.

I agree with you %100. Not necessary for anyone here to apologize or admit wrongdoing -- everything is cool. AFAIC, the company that brought me Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign can do no wrong. The best thing for this thread is to make sure that anyone who gets the error message knows how to work around it.

Sorry for all the harshness. “He that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.” - Milton.

[Guest]

Observer Zero wrote:

The best thing for this thread is to make sure that anyone who gets the error message knows how to work around it.

No chance of anyone getting far in this thread with all the verbose rants clogging it up!

"I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter."

  ~ Blaise Pascal~

[AlexanderRider]

Haha .. You are too funny Chris Cox you might  have your own comedian show and we could have some Pizza while we are watching your show. Whatever you are saying it doesn't change the fact that We are in ADOBE Website not in Youtube please show me how to laugh.. I am talking about the way that you are communicating to others here and in the end it doesn't solve anything.. Anyway that's only prove to me and to All ADOBE customers that ADOBE cann't carry to handle the company with such employees and you are too mean. I would advice u to sell Tomato online would be better for at less you could ask your customers for the taste ..

Good Luck

[Chris Cox]

From which I have to conclude that you weren't serious at all and just trying to cause trouble.

[AlexanderRider]

Good Bye ADOBE .. Personally i hate employees whom talk like you Chris Cox try to fix your communication language with ADOBE Customers..

[Scattered Atoms]

Alexander - you need to take a chill pill you are being obnoxious.

[AlexanderRider]

hahaha .. SonjaY79 another comedian but opss i had finished the pizza

[SonjaY79]

Um, who were you referring to?

And are there wild mushrooms on your pizza? Better lay off of those

[Avoworld]

I'm having the same problem trying to download Design Premium (Windows XP).

@Karen  Is there any chance that you could post the checksum values for Design Premium please?

[Guest]

I am also having the same problem, while trying to install a newly purchased copy of Premiere Pro.  Been working on it for 3 hours so far, starting to feel frustrated.