Multiple Errors when Installing Photoshop Elements 2023: Error 16 + Organizer/Editor fail to open

Report · Aug 20, 2023

Installing Photoshop Elements 2023 on a fresh install on my Microsoft Surface Pro 9 fails in so many ways. I'm in France but I've ran the installer using English (North America) as «Language» and «Default Location» in Location.

My PC information: Windows 11 Pro 22H2 / Microsoft SQ3 Processor (ARM-based) / 16GB RAM / Qualcomm Adreno 8cx Gen 3 Display Adapter

It seems to be a rather tricky issue to solve, so please find below all the details.

First, when the installer finishes I get a Error: 16 message (see image below):

After going through the Forum, I found that this could be solved by fixing a configuration issue, as described in this page:
Resolve configuration errors 1, 15, or 16 | Creative Cloud (adobe.com)

I followed the instructions, and the problem didn't disappear. But, I discovered that if I run Photoshop Elements as an admin, the software loads correctly and the Home screen is shown.

However, if I click on the «Photo Editor» button, I get a message saying «Loading Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor Workspace...», and it disappears after a few seconds without nothing else happening. I have the same behavior if I click on the «Organizer» button (see image below):

Next, I tried executing the Organizer directly, by going to «C:\Program Files\Adobe\Elements 2023 Organizer» and double-clicking on «PhotoshopElementsOrganizer.exe» directly. The application did load; but I got two errors. First, one saying «The required components were not completely installed. Please reinstall the application»; and then if I click on OK, I'd get a second error that reads: «Online Services could not be initialized. Please reinstall. Press OK to continue without Online Services.» (see images below). These pop-ups appear each time I open the Organizer.

If I click «OK», the Organizer loads and seems to be working. However, if I click on Editor->Photo Editor, the Photo Editor won't open and a pop-up saying that I need to install it appears.

I have tried:

- Uninstalling and reinstalling Elements 2023 multiple times (including installing as admin)

- Running the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool after I've uninstalled Elements

I've also tried installing Elements 2023 on another laptop which is also Windows 11 Home (2021H2); but it has a Intel processor i7, and it works fine, no issues at all.

At the moment the software it's unusable; but I'm currently using the trial period, and I would really hope to fix this issue before it ends so that I can get a copy permanently as I've been using Elements 15 for a long time and I want to upgrade to take advantage of the latest features.

Any help would be appreciated, so thank you in advance.

Report · Aug 20, 2023

If I were in your shoes: I'd use something like ccleaner to uninstall it, then I would restart the computer, and go ahead with a new install. Occasionally I do come across background processes still running after I uninstall it.

You may also want to do this:

Unistall it. Shut your computer down, go get a cup of coffee, and restart everything.

Report · Aug 20, 2023

You may want to contact Adobe Support for assistance. With your permission, they can take control of your computer and figure out what is going on. You can start a support chat session by clicking on the blue Contact Us button under the Help & Support menu at Adobe.com. Hours of operation outside of the United States are limited.

One other suggestion: Turn off your anti-virus and firewall while installing. Or make sure that your anti-virus is not blocking the program or any of its processes from running.

Report · Jun 27, 2024

I have a new Surface Laptop 7 with an ARM processor had the same errors. The key was running the program as an adminstrator like the OP had listed. Running as an administrator got me to the elements landing page but I when tried to open photoshop elements or premiere elements from there it would spin and not actually open.

What I got to work was I went into the program files and opened the software directly from there. So under your C Drive, in the folder Program Files, and then under the Adobe Premiere/Photoshop Elements 2024 folder. Once there there is a application file listed as either "PremiereElementsEditor" or "PhotoshopElementsEditor". I ran that file as an administrator and was able to get photoshop and premiere elements to work like normal after that.

To skip using the elements launch page i right clicked on that application file and sent a shortcut to my desktop so I can get directly to the program going forward.

Report · Aug 15, 2024

Thank you for sharing your workaround.

Running as an admin did make the Editor work; but unfortunately when I run the Organizer as an admin I get the same errors I described in my first post.

So if anyone has a solution for the Organizer, please do share.