"License for this product not functioning..."

[Henry111]

I have been using PRE 7 for a couple of month.
All of a sudden PRE 7 would not load. I got an message:
"The license for this product is not functioning."
I called adobe and got connected with a man in India. He tried to help but I could hardly understand a word he was saying. He attempted to walk me through some steps that were supposed to make a "...license recovery..."
No good.
Several removals and reinstalls of PRE 7 have not helped.
I have been screwing around with this for 6 hours, and see no reason why I should have to do that in order to make something work that I paid hard-earned money for.
I cannot find an email address for adobe.
If anybody knows of an adobe email address, please let me know.
I want to give them a piece of my mind.
Of course, if anybody has any suggestions here I certainly would appreciate.

[ATR]

Henry 111

Try the Customer Service and Technical Service numbers in the Contact Support section of the following link:
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/contact.html

Few things:

When did the program work last? Try for a System Restore to a Restore Point when you remember everything working.

Uninstall Premiere Elements. Set up a new User Account with Administrative Privileges. And then reinstall Premiere Elements with this new User Account with Administrative Privileges. Do you have multiple User Accounts on your computer? And could you be using one without the Administrative Privileges? Do not bother with Repair. Remove (uninstall) with install.

Are you having an Firewire or antivirus issues? Anything new added to your computer recently? Have you been using Premiere Elements with its serial number on any other computers? If so, how many others at the same time?

Keep me updated on your progress.

ATR

[ATR]

Henry 111

I have been following your progress elsewhere.

Did you ever find the email address for Adobe in the route SB suggested? The way that the Adobe web site is set up all roads seem to go to the Customer Service toll free telephone number (800-833-6687) where you are required to go for a case number.

The links that Hunt gave you on the problem reported in other Adobe systems was very interesting. One thing that caught my attention was the mention that this type of situation could occur "temporarily" if the computer's memory was very low. Has your computer been experiences episodes of low memory? What is your situation related to installed RAM and available RAM?

Be that as it may, for the quickest resolution, I would invest your time by banging on the door of Adobe via its Customer Service telephone. You rarely if ever get the same person more than once. So, if not satisfied with the first response, then call again and again. And, if need be, ask for a supervisor.

A lot of factors in and out of the control of Adobe could have brought about your present situation. So, keep a cool and organized frame of mind until you resolve the issue and then go into action if the final diagnosis warrants it.

Again, please update on the outcome.

ATR

[Henry111]

ATR, you suggested that I try a system restore.
That was the first solution that occurred to me.
But, apparently, my system restore is not working.
Yes, itt has worked in the past.
There is no other problem on my computer; I can open all websites and perform other operations with no problems.
I checked to make sure system restore was not turned off. It tells me that one cannot turn off system restore on my main hard drive anyhow.
Any suggestions?

[ATR]

Henry 111

Be careful with that System Restore business.

If you have had it ON, you should have Restore Points.

When you shut OFF a System Restore that has been ON, you lose (wipe out) all the Restore Points....that is the bad news. The good news is the you will be amazed at how much hard drive space you will gain. It is a neat trick if you need more free hard drive space and do not need those Restore Points.

Are you OK with how to turn the System Restore ON and OFF and use those Restore Points? If not, I will fill you in on the details.

What has and is your computer memory situation looking like these days? I do not know about the new User Account with Administrative Privileges and trying to run a newly installed Premiere Elements from it????

If you do not have pressing appointment this afternoon, why not invest the time and get on the phone to Adobe Customer Service and see how far you get. You may get a rep who can work you though recovery in a short period of time.

To be continued....

ATR

[Henry111]

ATR, the system restore calendar shows highlighted dates.
When I click on one of those dates--I tried several--I get usual message: "confirm restore point". I click next. Nothing happens.
In the past things did happen and I was able to restore.
I would like to get it to work.
If I can't then I would like to gain the disc space as you outlined.
Some guidence please.

[ATR]

Henry 111

With regard to System Restore, check out the following Microsoft link with special attention to those factors that will cause System Restore to disable itself
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx

Assuming everything falls into place as per the link, then give the System Restore enough time to kick in at the point where you say nothing is happening.

I would like you to check the values for the following in your System Information (with my Windows XP, SP3 it is:
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information)
a. Total Physical Memory
Available Physical Memory
Total Virtual Memory
Available Virtual Memory

If you want to turn OFF System Restore and get rid of all your Restore Points, but gain free local hard drive space then:
a. Right click My Computer
b. Click on Properties
c. Click on System Restore Tab and click "Turn OFF System Restore on all drives".
Under the Settings Tab in the area, you can get at the Disc Space Usage.

I will be watching for your progress.

ATR

[Henry111]

ATR, I am not going to worry about System Restore untill after I have PRE 7 up and running again.
Here is where I am on the PRE 7 problem:
The 24 hours was up, but a lady from India did call. After I told her that I had tried Adobe's "Solution #1" and told her of the result, it became clear that she was anxious to get away from this one. She suggested that I try ALL of the "Solutions." There are eight of them. She specifically suggested Solution 8. I looked at it and Adobe says very plainly that it for Vista only. I have Windows XP Home.
After trying a couple of the other "solutions" without success, I called again.
I got another man in India. Told him my story. He decided that he had do some research on my problem and that he would get back me within 24 hours.
Ya know, 24 hours here and 24 hours there, and pretty soon you are talking about a year, or maybe never.
Question:
For all the time this is taking with Adobe, it occurrs to me that in the same length of time I could have cleaned out my main hard drive and reloaded all my programs.
All of my data is on an external drive.
BUT:
Would I then be able to reload PRE 7?

[ATR]

Henry 111

That is a good question. But, the program is no good to you now if you cannot get it started because of the License message.

From what I understand that License Process that occurs when you install a program is a unique process between your computer, Premiere Elements, and Adobe. So, you would probably be wasting your time with that hard drive clean up and reloading...Registry, maybe, but that is a dangerous place to be if you are not up on every aspect of doing that type of job. Are all the other programs still running OK?

You never said what your computer resource situation is (available RAM/free hard drive space)? Is the System Restore still not working? That could be a clue. Do you remember what you were doing within Premiere Elements and/or the computer when the problem first set in?

What type of approaches were on the list of possible remedies from Adobe? Did any involve System Restore and computer resources?

This is my advice for now. Give this second rep his 24 hours. If he does not call back, call again this time ask for a supervisor.

I have another idea, but think about your timing on doing it. Have you ever downloaded the free 30 day tryout for Premiere Elements 7? If you have, forget about the rest. But, if not, download and install it and see if it will work in your present computer environment.

You could try this approach either with the problem Premiere Elements 7 still installed or you could uninstalled it for now. I do not want to mess up any troubleshooting schedules with you and Adobe, so decide accordingly.

Remember, just hang in there. It will all work out. Just keep cool.

ATR

[ATR]

Henry 111

Any new news about your Premiere Elements 7 License issue?

Did you see my thread where I posted a copy of the Open Letter re: Adobe Technical Service written by the Vice President of Adobe Technical Service?
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50168

Hope your Premiere Elements 7 is running as I type.

Looking forward to an update on this issue and a successful outcome for you.

ATR