Adobe AIR and Zinio troubles

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My problem appears when I try to use Zinio, but I think the root cause lies in the Adobe Air update process.
I have used Zinio for a year or so but have not accessed my magazines for a few months. Yesterday I tried to access a recent issue of a magazine (UK Amateur Photographer) and a message told me I must “upgrade” to Zinio 4 in order to view that issue.

And so began the saga … The upgrade entails installing a new version of Adobe Air. I have just submitted the following to Zinio support. If anyone has worked out how to update Air, I should be grateful for ideas.

“I am unable to read recent issues of Amateur photographer. Zinio wants me to upgrade to v4. Bu that fails, possibly because of a problem in updating Adobe AIR. Is that likely to be the reason?

Running Windows 7 Home Premium.

I try to uninstalled Zinio via Control panel. That fails as it says it cannot find a setup.msi file. I don’t believe there is a zinio setup.msi file on my system.

I appear to have Adobe Air 2.0.4.13090 on my system. I see the current v is 2.5.1. So I tried to install that. It fails with a meaningless error message.

So I tried to uninstall AIR. That also fails with a similar uninformative error message: “An error occurred while uninstalling Adobe AIR”.

So what do I try next? This is a home-office PC, managed by me.”

No response yet from Zinio, but I onlly posted the question yesterday.

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I would use Revo Uninstallerto uninstall Zinio v3 and see if this makes a difference. I would also use CCleaner to check on any leftover items that Revo misses. I also use Zinio Reader and have version 4 installed with no problems.

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Thank you, Tedshemyers.
I have never so far used any of the 3rd party uninstallers for fear of making registry problem worse. I had thought about this approach for the Air probem and I think I will try it tomorrow. It’s late here now.

tfspry,
I looked at the adobe troubleshooting pages last night – and simply went around in circles getting nowhere.

I had hoped someone might have a “silver bullet” for this one.
But no, so time for a forced uninstall, first of Air, then possibly Zinio itself as well.

Thank you both.

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My problem appears when I try to use Zinio, but I think the root cause lies in the Adobe Air update process. …….
……
If anyone has worked out how to update Air, I should be grateful for ideas.
……..

I appear to have Adobe Air 2.0.4.13090 on my system. I see the current v is 2.5.1. So I tried to install that. It fails with a meaningless error message.

So I tried to uninstall AIR. That also fails with a similar uninformative error message: “An error occurred while uninstalling Adobe AIR”.
……..

This may offer some assistance…..
Troubleshoot AIR installation

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I would simply uninstall both, then download and install the Zinio Reader v4. On my installation Adobe Air was piggybacked with the reader. Having 2 separate apps with different versions may be what’s causing the problem. I have NEVER had a problem uninstalling with Revo. In fact it tends to find a lot of leftover stuff the the apps own uninstallers leave behind.

As can be seen in my attachment, both Adobe Air and Zinio Reader are displayed in the installed app list so both can be removed by Revo:

27558-AdobeAirZinio

I always use the advanced scan when deleting additional stuff. Never had any problem.

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David and Ted,
You DO NOT need to uninstall Adobe Air. The problem is with the Zinio reader itself. I got ahold of them (twice) to resolve the same issue that you are having.
When you install version 4, it should put an icon on your desktop and a folder in your start menu. In the previous version you could click on the magazine from your e-maail notification,and open it from there.
Not so any more. Click on their icon and start your reading. It takes a little getting used to their hierarchy (sp) but it works well.
DAvid the easiest way to get ahold of them is to call them. They are very responsive. I don’t remember where I found their number but I will look for it and post it when I find it.

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This problem is still with me.

In reply to t8ntlikly: I never got as far as the situation you describe. I have always opened Zinio the pedestrian way, from the program list on the start menu. When I first did so this weekend, after a long gap, I was immediately into the update problem.

For better or worse, I have uninstalled both Air and Zinio using the Revo tool, as suggested by Tedshemyers. I see that Revo, quite sensibly, gives the product’s uninstaller a chance to run first. With Zinio that failed because it couldn’t find some msi file. However Revo went on to remove registry keys and the program. Zinio support had also asked me to remove other folders from appdata/roaming and i did as they asked.

I am familiar with CCleaner and have used it for a long time and it has usually served me well. After a reboot I let it scan and fix the registry.

I have just sent Zinio support a further message as follows:
“I then rebooted – always a good idea after such steps – and retried the install by executing the file ZinioReader4.air which I obtained from your web site this morning..
I attach a screen shot of the message I now get. Not very helpful, is it.
Then I spotted an additional message
“Something went wrong trying to install this application. Please install the latest version of Adobe Air from http://www.adobe.com/go/getair and then try again.”
I did as instructed – and the Air installation failed again.”

I have also tried the installer with the -uninstall command. It runs siently with no message.
The Air install still fails.

As a reminder: since Air is now not present, the Zinio Air based installer won’t run.

I have a nasty feeling I must have something lurking in the registry entries to do with one of the several Adobe tools one uses (Reader, Flash, Shockwave, etc.) that is interfering with the Air installation. But what, where, why and how to fix it?

Any ideas, good people?

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I do not have more ideas as the above is what I did to switch to the Zinio Reader 4. When I installed Zinio Reader 4, it piggybacked the Adobe Air installation which also needed installation and everything worked smoothly. Sorry, hope someone will find a solution. If another Adobe product is causing problems you could always remove Flash and Shockwave player then install the Zinio Reader 4 and Adobe Air prior to reinstalling Flash, etc. I’m wondering if there are tidbits of the Zinio Reader 3 leftover and interfering with the Zinio Reader 4 install, since you did not have the installer for Zinio Reader 3 available for the uninstall. Perhaps reinstalling Zinio Reader 3, then uninstalling it would help to rid yourself of all it’s parts. I have seen weird things like this in the past.

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Wow, you have a much more in depth problem than I had. I am wondering also as Ted mentioned what would happen if you re install Zinio Reader 3, and then uninstall it. I see it is still on their web page near the bottom.

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Dave and Ted,
I’ve been following your trials and tribulations with Zinio and Adobe Air updates, and having had trouble with Adobe updates myself, I would like to offer a suggestion, even if it appears somewhat obvious: First, use Revo’s Uninstaller to remove both Zinio and Adobe Air. Then, open your trusty Regedit, and have it find every instance of Zinio in the Registry, and delete it. Then, repeat the same thing for Adobe Air. You might be surprised at what it might find. By doing this, you should also locate any bits and pieces of both programs that might have been left behind from previous versions. Now, after removing both of them, reinstall your newer versions of both, probably starting with Adobe Air first. I’ve used this technique a number of times to correct for cranky programs, and it usually is successful. And, by the way, please make a full backup of your Registry before you undertake this procedure (just use Regedit to export a full copy of your Registry to a safe place). Best of Luck!!

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I just came across this forum searching for the same answers to OP question. I’ve been trying for days to get the app LiveBrush installed. After pulling almost all my hair out, I finally found a video online that pointed me in the right direction. This is how I fixed the problem. I have a laptop using Vista Home Premium and IE7.

I have the newest version of AIR installed on my computer. I saved the downloaded LiveBrush app to my desktop. You have to go to your Program Files/Common Files/Adobe Air/Versions/1.0. There you should see the Adobe Air Application Installer.exe file. Click on that and it will bring up your Windows Explorer folder. Search for your downloaded app wherever you saved it and click on that. It should install from there without any problem. I did have the dreaded error box come up once at the end of the installation (at least it wasn’t over and over for eternity), and I x’d out of it. I was then able to open LiveBrush. The silly error box opens one time each time I open the app, but does not re-appear after I close it. This isn’t the final solution because I still have to close out the box, but at least I can use the app. It’s just one extra unnecessary step.

Hope this helps some of you.

Carolyn

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Thank you for posting that tip, Carolyn.

I had not heard of Livebrush and so I took a look at the website. Curious, I installed it. No problem at all: it installed and runs quite happily.
I was then almost immediately prompted to install an Air update (2.6 I think, replacing 2.5), which I did. Livebrush still ran happily.
So I tried yet again to install Zinio: same failure at the same point.

So, we have established that Air is capable of running applications on my system.
The Zinio mystery remains. Two days ago I sent a further plea fo rhelp to Zinio support, but I have not received a reply as yet.

As for Livebrush, it looks to be fun. I will have a bit more of a play with it at some stage, and perhaps show it to the grandchildren.

Thank you.

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You’re welcome, David. Sorry this didn’t help you, though. Yes, I’m going to have fun with LiveBrush, too, when I learn how to use it.

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This evening I have spent a careful hour or so using REGEDIT to search for every occurrence of “ZINIO” in the Registry. I lost count; there were several dozen. And that is despite having tried to uninstall Zinio in various ways.
I deleted each and everyone, the whole lot, until REGEDIT could find no more.
Then finally the Zinio Air installer ran properly … and i have at last been able to look at the recent issues of my subscriptions.

Thank you to those who offered their ideas on this.

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I’m also having a problem with Zinio Reader 4, my problem is I get the message “Could not connect to server. Please check your network” when I enter my username and password. I can access my magazines through version 3 of the reader but after sever uninstalls of Adobe Air, Zinio Reader 3, and Zinio Reader 4, I have the same problem. I’ve tried running Zinio Reader 4 with my anti-virus and firewall disabled but it still does the same thing. I’ve contacted Zinio Customer Support who were responsive at first but now have apparently given up on me since they haven’t responded to my most recent request for help. Can anyone think of any settings that would cause this and how I can fix it? I am running Windows XP SP3.

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Try following the instructions and links in this link, lifted from the Zinio FAQ pagfes
http://imgs.zinio.com/faq/zr4.htm#manualinstall

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I do use Zinio Reader 4 and I feel the problems I experienced as well as others are caused by the reader, not Windows. I had to uninstall Adobe Air and the Zinio Reader, using Revo Uninstaller, then used CCleaner to clean up the stuff left behind by the uninstall, then finally was able to use the Zinio Reader 4 link to install the reader. During the installation, Adobe Air was installed.

There is a new beta version of Adobe Airavailable. This might help some of you still having problems. Since mine is working I have not yet tried the new beta yet. I will definitely create a new Image before trying it.

Edit on 4/9/2011: After creating a new Image just in case, I upgraded to the Adobe Air beta version, and everything continues to work as expected!

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Thanks for the help. I removed Zinio Reader 4 and Adobe Air using Revo Uninstaller and using CCleaner to clean up anything left behind but after installing Adobe Air for Adobe’s Website and Zinio Reader 4 from Zinio’s website, I still get the message that it cannot connect to server but still can log in using Zinio Reader 3 and at their website. Does Zinio Reader 4 or Adobe Air create any log files where I can view error messages? It would be helpful if I was able to see any error messages that could give me a clue why I am receiving the message that Zinio Reader 4 cannot connect to server. I also tried running Zinio Reader 4 with my Anti-Virus, Firewall, and DEP disabled on it and still get the same message. It’s impossible to debug since it appears that no log files are left which would be very helpful since a specific error message could help me determine the cause.

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http://imgs.zinio.com/faq/zr4.htm#manualinstall.

Follow the link above I had the same problem and it worked for me.

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