*** From the Archives ***
This article is from July 25, 2009, and is no longer current.
Safari 4 Causes CS4 Installer Alert to be Blank
Let’s face it. Installers don’t seem to be Adobe’s strong point. There’s been way too many complaints of installation problems to try to brush it off to user error and now comes this bit of news.
If you’ve got Safari 4 installed and the installer finds any problem during the installation you won’t even know what the problem is because the installer alert will be blank. No information and no buttons. Because of this, the installation process will appear to have frozen.
Adobe has issued a Knowledgebase article about it but the article only mentions making sure to have the minimum system recommendations. But there are other things that can trigger an installer alert such as having a browser running while trying to install.
There’s really no fix for this other than to make sure that you’ve got nothing running in the background and that you do indeed meet the minimum system requirements. If you still run up against this, there should be an installer log located in the library/logs/adobe/installers folder (thanks to Adobe U2U contributor Eric@MCA’s post for this information).
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Would this have anything to do with some recent attempts by my Mac to update stuff without telling me what it’s trying to update?
I’m getting a bit paranoid about it — what’s so secret about whatever it is that’s getting updated? Why the mystery?
> Installers don?t seem to be Adobe?s strong point.
Understatement of the year.
Peter
Well, Safari 4 update stopped my computer from booting. IT had to come in and give out to me for installing Safari in the first place, but my OS wouldn’t load at all. I hate Apples updates that constantly ask me to upgrade iTunes and download Safari in the process. No matter how many times I disable it, it always manages to turn itself back on.
So, perhaps Safari has an issue too?
Intarwebz fame is mine! :-)
Seriously though, I don’t think this is the fault of Safari so much as Adobe’s decision to abandon system installers a while back and duct-tape together their own strange solution. I have no idea what they get out of it that they consider a win, but it is a huge loss for customers IMHO.
And for that matter, what is the big deal about leaving a browser running? If it’s gonna be 20 minutes to finish installing, I need something to do while I wait!
@Eric:
For a bit of insight on what went on in the minds at Adobe, you might want to check out this blog…
https://blogs.adobe.com/OOBE/
@Harbs: Wow. Thanks for that link! As one of the vocal masses he mentions, that is great news. Alas, we’ll be dealing with the fallout of this for so many year to come it’s not funny.
Some of our clients are finally letting us use CS3 (yes, that is not a typo). Not all, mind you, but some. So I will get to use the new and improved CS5 AUM sometime 2014, I bet? o_O
thanks for your help saying look in the logs. This is how I solved my problem, I had Firefox running and Adobe reader ( didn’t know I did) Once I had closed these programmes, it installed no problem.
I cannot get CS4 to install. Incredibly frustrating! Been checking the forums. Tried closing all browsers. Tried reinstalling several times. I keep getting the infamous installer alert window! I tried restarting computer in Safe boot, still blank window. I have more than enough space to download this program. I use Firefox 3.0.15, not safari. Any suggestions, PLEASE!
me too! Deleted safari etc, no cigar grrrrrrrrrr
I was getting a blank Installer Alert window and frozen Setup when trying to install CS4. I found a solution that worked for me:
Create another User (I call mine TEST) that will have only the basic system software and apps installed. Log into this account and then do the install. Worked perfectly for me.