[Framers] Adobe Illustrator re-installation woes and final success with Belarc

[Ken Poshedly]

For what it's worth, here's my personal endorsement of Belarc Advisor, the free program that tells you just about everything on your computer.

In my case, I continued running a Windows XP platform as ordered by my superiors because, for whatever reason, some FrameMaker files created by my coworkers in Windows 7, just wouldn't reopen but I could open them on my platform -- all of us running FrameMaker 11. Like they say, "Go figure."

So it was only last week when I was switched over to a Windows 7 platform. This included copying my legally purchased Adobe Illustrator CS4 file folder to its equivalent location from the old terminal to the new one. But AI wouldn't open, citing problems locating licensing data. And to make matters worse, the previous IT guy here is long-gone and had apparently disposed of the original CD from Adobe which, of course, has the serial number.

I have the original invoice from the third-party vendor and even talked with the guy, but he, of course, had not recorded my serial number (from its April 2010 purchase date). And Adobe has no record of the program being actually registered.
Hey! I was just a tech writer here and had no say in how things like this were done.
After various chat sessions last week with Adobe tech support in New Dehli and even a phone call to corporate in California with no results or sympathy, my new IT guy used Belarc Advisor on the old platform this morning and it provided the AI product key (serial number).

A new (and long) chat session followed with a different (and apparently more patient) Adobe tech support rep. The result was me being able to download the replacement AI CS4 files and his waiting online while I did the installation on my Windows 7 platform.

And yes, I made sure that this time, it IS registered and I'm keep the install files and serial number in a secured location.

In this case, thanks to Adobe for finally coming through and to Belarc for their life-saving product. (Oh, and if at all possible, either make a copy of or don't release any original installation disks.)

-- Ken in Atlanta