Fixing CS3: All apps crash when saving
Post updated, jump directly to the improved solutions.
I spent the better part of today remotely trying to figure out why our latest Creative Suite 3 installation was crashing. Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign all crashed when saving. CS3 (Design Premium) was being installed onto a new 24" iMac, everything else with the machine is fine.
For whatever reason, CS3’s shared VersionCueUI.framework component was not installed. Here’s what was showing multiple times in the logs of the problem machine:
2007-08-10 19:30:33.926 Adobe InDesign CS3[919] CFLog (21): Cannot find executable for CFBundle 0x2e1b5a50 </Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0/VersionCueUI.framework> (not loaded)
Even though we aren’t using Version Cue (I’ve yet to meet anyone who does), that component is necessary for all save functions. If it can’t be called, as I found to be the case here, all CS3 apps will crash out immediately upon invoking Save or Save As. We aren’t installing the Version Cue server on any stations, but I did try installing it once to see if that would fix this. It didn’t.
I re-installed. I repaired. I wiped everything with maccs3clean, restarted and reinstalled — three times. From two different accounts. If you’ve ever installed CS3, you know how much time that eats.
Then I gave up on the installer.
Checking /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0/ against a functioning install showed that VersionCueUI.framework had the wrong byte-count. I decided to try replacing it with a copy from a working installation.
Starting from a working installation, I tgz’d the framework with this command:
tar -cvzf ~/VersionCueUI.framework.tgz VersionCueUI.frameworkNext I copied the archive to the machine with the problem install, untarred it, moved the bundle to the right directory and changed ownership to root:admin:
tar xvfzp VersionCueUI.framework.tgzthen
sudo chown -R root:admin VersionCueUI.framework I’m sure there’s an easy way to integrate user, groups and permissions into the tar commands to save the chown, but after a day of dealing with this I wasn’t in the mood to look it up.
After that, saving from various CS3 appears to be working perfectly and updates installed without errors.
This experience was very similar to the solution I found to my Illustrator 13.0.1 upgrade problems. Manually doing the installer’s job solved the problem there too.
Dear CS3 Installer,
Thanks so much for ejecting the DVD after a failed install. Everyone I called to shove the DVD back in for me were really glad they could help.
Update: Several great self-contained solutions in comments, I’ll be trying these first if I run into this again. Thanks to everyone who posted.
- Dave Pijuan-Nomura’s solution looks the simplest and builds on Dusty’s earlier method:
- Delete
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0 - Run Adobe Updater
- Delete
- Dusty was first to report success after deleting
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0/. He also paused Adobe Updater to make a copy of the Version Cue installer, Updater will otherwise delete the file after the install fails. That standalone updater now appears to be here: Adobe Version Cue CS3 client 3.1.0 update. - Dave Henderleiter got it working by renaming an older version of Version Cue:
In [
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0/]… I had a 3.1.0 version and a 3.0.0 version. I deleted the 3.1.0 version and renamed 3.0.0 to 3.1.0 and all the apps worked right away without even a restart.Faking CS3 into using older component versions makes me nervous, but several people reported success with this method.
thanks dusty, thanks dave, and of course thanks joe for starting this posting!
my illustrator crashed, when trying to place some file on the page.
now everything seems okay.
rita
thanks , works great now!
i have the similar problem too which is my photoshop cs3 on mac ‘jammed’ everytime i hit the Save or Save For Web button. it wont open the OS dialog to save files….etc
i tried the solution above, none work for me, maybe it’s a different problem. anyway, for those who cant save file, here’s the solution… http://tancredi.co.uk/2007/7/31/abode-photoshop-cs3-fix-for-crash-on-save
simple step that save the world.. :)
Genius! thanks everyone for saving me HOURS of time
I had a problem with flash (crash on publish) when 2 keys for a tweened shape animation were 1 beside the other. I removed the tween on 1 of the frames and it was ok.
Woke up this morning early with the intention of getting a flash project finished when I started to have crashing issues on export!! read through lots of posts and finaly came across Freds post above. I had one frame where two tweens started at the same time right at the begining of the movie. if I moved one of the tweens a frame over it worked!!! THANKS FRED!!!
THANK YOU so much! This just fixed the crashing problem that I started happening after Adobe tried to update Photoshop today. Thanks for making it easy!
Hey guys – just a word of thanks; I’ve been struggling with this for weeks. Got a brand new Mac and Photoshop crash forced me to reinstall the OS and all my apps. Deleting the pref and running the updater has worked for me, many many thanks. But for your advice I would have been days on hold at a call centre!
heya, just wanted to say thanks, along with everyone else here. reading this stuff saved the day!
It may sound stupid but I could not locate the folder, /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Version Cue CS3/Client/3.1.0/
I tried to search it but I found the Adobe Version cue folder in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe Version Cue CS3\Client
Thanks for any help.
@rstvk that’s a Mac path, I don’t know what the equivalent would be on Windows.
perfekt, thanks!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
OMFG really I had this problem for weeks, in one hour I was just going to format my PC…
I have been looking for a week. Was getting ready to take the Mac in to the shop. One last search for a cure “crash report CS3.”
Reinstalled Version Cue 3.0.1 from your link and the problem was over I bet more people than we think are having this problem.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
THANK YOU TRINA!
I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled so many times now…removed default files and recreated profiles…all for naught…and your solution completely works! Thank you so much for posting.
I can quit using my laptop to design a 16pg brochure and can move back to my main setup.
I can’t express how much this helps!
May good karma come your way.
Hello everyone
This is the most informative page I found untill now, but it is not helping Windows XP users.
OK, for all the PC people
After having serious problems myself, I found a solution mentioned at the link below
In short – Uninstall Groove in Microsoft Office 2007
http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=36759&mode=linear
Worked like a charm.
Thanks
Trina,
You just prevented me having a nervous breakdown; Argh! – and its so easy/frustrating – just to reiterate for anyone go here to check this solution –
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.eed5198.3bbf1d01
, unbelievable!
thank you…thank you…thank you!!! By reading your post as well as about 100 others – i put it all together, deleted the version cue of the “client” and it works perfect!!!! I have spent at least 3 nights installing and reinstalling then reading forums and this is my 3rd night, I can’t thank you enough for you help!!!!! bless you, sincerely, allyson magda
PS now I’m off to see if this also worked for CS3 photoshop -I’ve only had this problem on my Mac Book Pro, versus my main machine, a Mac Pro.
no such luck, I will try your complete instructions!
used elements and must admit only a very limited portion of it. i moved up to a canon 40D camera, and because several people told me that submissions to magazines and newspapers would not be considered unless i sent in a raw image, i set both my cameras to shoot in the raw mode. at the same time i bought the then current version of photoshop cs3 extended – macintosh…. go figure ! I’d have done better to have shot my self in the foot. cs3 does not recognize camera raw from the canon, it does the leica pocket camera.
i am wanting to remove the photoshop investment as a financial loss, and install the EOS software that came with the canon.. I may go back to elements, however i believe that because elements for mac runs behind pc versions i will continue to have the same problem…
tell me how to remove the CS3 from my MacBook Pro.
Thanks!
John
I tried all of the fixes listed above, and Photoshop stills crashes when I try to save. Version Cue is disabled, the new update is installed, and I even tried replacing my 3.1.0 folder with my coworker’s whose works fine. Still crashes. Any other ideas?
@renee If you’re on a Mac, try resetting the printing system. in System Preferences -> Print & Fax, right click the left column. It seems like total voodoo, but I’ve seen that fix a CS3 startup crash more than once.
After I applied the version cue client updater through the Adobe Updater today, my InDesign CS3 would crash on open, save, place and export. The dialogue would not even come up. Just a hard crash.
Deleted my 3.1.0 folder and did the standalone vc client installer and it fixed it completely.
Thanks for the useful info.
My Illustrator is crashing when I press ‘place’(I installed an update this am). I’ve tried to delete the VC 3.1.0 and renamed 3.0.0 to 3.1.0 and still no luck. Any ideas, I am pulling my hair out! Thank you.