NOTE If this tip saves you time and your sanity, you can tip me by buying either of my iPhone apps: Split Finder or Splitcaster. Thanks in advance! :)
NOTE Check out the bottom of this post for some updates to possible solutions, including how to fix this problem under OS X 10.7 Lion
I fired up Photoshop today and was greeted by this message:
Same thing when I started Flash. Awesome… Keep in mind my Mac has been on for days and hasn’t had any other problems. I really hadn’t done anything strange to break something. And I’m sure I’d used an Adobe product yesterday.
Rebooting, of course, didn’t fix anything.
Looking for help on Adobe’s forum didn’t help.
But Google did.
I found a page that basically explained how to hack around Adobe’s activation. I didn’t need to go that far, since I actually have a legal license. But part of the “how to steal CS4″ post did help. All I had to do was get Adobe’s Licensing Repair tool here.
I ran that and it worked immediately. No reboot needed. I’m thinking I got lucky.
–
I just noticed that this process dumped a folder named “AdobeLicensingFilesBackup” into my Home folder. So, be aware of that.
–
UPDATE: Saturday, August 1, 2009
I see that this simply isn’t working for some people, but it looks like it still works for others. I don’t have an explanation for this. All I know is that it worked for me so I thought I’d share it with the world.
I know that a fair number of people are landing on this page every day and would love to hear from those who it does work for, so I know that this tip is still useful.
UPDATE: Monday, August 31, 2009 – Try deleting the FLEXnet Publisher folder
One of the replies below, from Simon, pointed out that you might need to delete the following folder for things to work again:
/Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher
That’s worked for a few people out there, so give it a shot before you throw in the towel.
UPDATE: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
From Rob B. in the comments below:
The Flexnet Publisher folder must be deleted. Not JUST the flexnet folder inside. ALONG WITH THIS the Adobe PCD.cache file must be deleted also. It is located in library/application support/adobe/adobe PCD/ cache/ cache.db
UPDATE: Monday, May 16, 2011 – Works with CS5 and CS5.5, too
Based on some comments below, this fix works for CS5 and the newly released CS5.5 as well.
UPDATE: Friday, October 7, 2011 – The Lion Fix
In the comments, codeman38 was the first to explain how to run the License Recovery app under Lion:
- Mount the .dmg for the license recovery app.
- Open Terminal.
Run the following two commands:
cd /Volumes/LicenseRecovery\ 11.6.1/LicenseRecovery/ sudo python LicenseRecover.py
I am suffering from the same 150:30 error as others have been. In trying to solve my problem, I can find no Flex folder (tried Spotlight and Houdahspot). Found the cache.db and put it in the Trash. This allows me to get the Accept or Decline page related to the legal stuff, then I get Error 6. I’ve zigged instead of zagging somewhere.
Initially, I too couldn’t find the Flexnet folder. I performed a software update with adobe updater and the folder appeared after I restarted my mac. I deleted both the Flexnet Publisher folder and the cache.db file and my adobe programs worked fine after I put in the serial number. (this was all after the licensing repair)
good luck
thanks!!
Just wanted let you know that I spent 7 hours today doing everything known to man to fix this problem…Never once did I delete those two folders at the same time…It fixed my issue!
Thank you so much for sharing this post and updating it with the Comment from “Rob B.”!
Finally done! YAY!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Oh wow, I’ve been battling this for about 2 weeks now upgrading from cs3 to cs4. cs3 doesn’t tell you what error it is so I didn’t know what to research, stumbled upon this.
Deleted the files mentioned.
BAM – no restart needed and it worked.
THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!
Didn’t have the cache.db file, but I deleted the FLEXnet folder, and it worked like a charm after running the tool you linked to. Thank you!
It worked for me, thx a lot! :)
I encountered this error as soon as I tried to time machine my computer back to normal after it got returned from repair with the drive wiped.
The license repair tool froze up and I had to force quit several applications that had been open at the time.
But deleting the flexnet folder fixed the problem immediately.
Will I also need to delete cache.db file? I don’t see a need to since PS is working fine now.
Woooowww…
Same problem, with a valid licence. I’ve run the Adobe’s Licensing Repair tool, always the same error message. Uninstall all of CS4 with the /Utilities/Adobe Installer/ program, reboot, reinstall CS4 with a valid licence, same error again! Grr!! Just test to update Adobe with Adobe Updater, always error message!
And, just find your ticket, deleted the “/Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher” directory, launch Photoshop and HOOOOOO, it’s crazy, that work !!!! ;-))
Many thanks for your post!
I thick this error hase something to do with replacing a backup from a medium like time machine. I’ve used time machine to restore my files on a different computer. Simply deleting the FLEXnet folder was sufficient to restore my CS4 suit again!
I HATE ADOBE!! Tech Support Useless, Can’t get CS3, tried by installing CS4, All I get is this error licensing code Adobe CS4 Error 150:30 .
I have tried everything!! Absolutely Everything! Lost so much time and $$$ because I can’t get PS CS3/4 to load. I have no FLEXnet folder, I have ditched everything ADOBE, wiped it clean of ADOBE products, NOTHING!! I am fed up!
I guess the only thing left top do is wipe my HD Clean and start again, but the way things are going I doubt this will do any good?! So Frustrated!
Same thing for me. I tried everything but nothing worked out. :/ It’s driving me crazy
THANKS! gotta love smart people.
Pingback: Fixed: Error 150:30 (Adobe CS4 licensing problem) – MAC | Linus-Neumann.de
Hi, I installed PSE8 after trial version expired. The same error message appeared (150:30). Tried license recovery tool, tried deleting FLEX folder, cache db…
What happen to me when I delete FLEX and Iaunch the PSE is that I get prompted for the license number. I type it, press the next button – license window disappear and nothing else happens.
So I go and launch PSE again and get error 3 message.
Crazy…
Can you help?
I ran the Adobe License Recovery tool (11.6.1) and it worked fine with my 150:30 error in Photoshop CS4.
It works! Fantastic!!! THAANX
It works for me!
Oddly enough, I got it today while running a disk sweep w/Omnidisk Sweep and running a defrag on winXP in Fusion. Never heard of it before. I closed everything, except my Remote Desktop connection for work and Firefox to look up wtf this error was. I then went against Adobe’s recommendation and DIDN’T restart my whole computer and PS opened up fine.
I think Adobe recommending that you reboot and try again is admission that “Hey guys, yeah there’s a bug in the code somewhere, damned if we can find it, so the best we can do is sort of tell you that in the info on this error message box. Yeah, we know, sorry dudes.”
I downloaded the license app thing and will run it anyway, but ya know, hopefully it’s all good now.
Perfect! My HD was corrupt, so installed a new one and put a backup on my new disk. Starting on of the Adobe programs gave the 150:30 error. The mentioned licensing tool didn’t work. After 2 reboots I still got the error message. Finally I tried the solution of Rob B. and this did work. I got a different looking activation window and had to give the product key again, but then it worked fine…
Thanks!!
Thank you for this post, Just saved me a lot of time. All programs working fine. :)
I ran the adobe licensing repair and still have no flex files or anything in the adobe support folders. I did a search and looked manually and they don’t exist for me to delete! HELP None of my CS4 products work. I also backed up my programs from Time Machine after getting a new laptop.
wooo worked fine for me with that hack of getting rid of the two folders. Thank you so much !!!
Thx forever! you’re AWESOME! God bless you!
ps: I can at least finish my “mémoire”
Just wanted to say thank you! It works like a charm to use CS4 after following the exact instructions from you and the updated information from Rob B.
The adobe licensing repair tool worked for me! I din’t need to try any other solution, thanks for posting!
Hi It is good to know that i am not the only fish in the cs4 pond.
I followed all the instructions i could possibly get and this is what i get back from CS4
Licensing for this product has stopped working.
This product has has encountered a problem which requires that you restart your computer before it can be launched.
If you continue to see this message after restarting your computer, please contact either your IT administrator or Adobe technical support for help, and mention the error code shown at the bottom of this screen.
Error: 6
http://www.adobe.com/support/
OK
H E L P please
holy shit!!!! this really worked instantly. Thanks so much !
I deleted the /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher and it worked just fine after that.
All,
For those of you who cannot get this to work, it is likely a disk permissions problem. I keep getting the 150:30 error because something on my computer is modifying the privileges of my /Users/Shared folder. The way to check is to run the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utility folder. Open the Disk Utility application and click on “Verify Disk Permissions”. If you notice an error with the /Users/Shared folder, click the “Repair Disk Permissions” button just beneath the verify button. That will establish the proper permissions for /Users/Shared. Then run the License Repair tool mentioned in this site. I usually do not need to delete the folders mentioned above, but you might need to. After following these instructions, it should work. Please note: IF THE PREVIOUS INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS SITE DO NOT WORK, IT IS ALMOST CERTAINLY A DISK PERMISSION PROBLEM THAT MUST BE FIXED – THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS SITE DO NOT FIX DISK PERMISSION ISSUES.
My problem is that I have to do this virtually every day on my MacBook Pro. If someone can help me figure out how to keep my disk permissions from changing, I will be a happy camper. I also have a legal copy of CS4 on my Mac Pro (same OS version) and have never experienced this problem. There is obviously a conflict with another application.
Thanks!
Greg—Thanks so much!! Nothing worked until I ran the disk utility as you so clearly explained. I also deleted the cache and Flexnet stuff and then entered my serial number. Thanks sooo much!!!!
Downloaded the trial version of Dreamweaver CS4 and got this error, removing the Flex folder worked instantly, thanks!
the latest update about deleting the flex folder did it for me thank you so much
This also has been happening to me with CS4 Fireworks. But each time I fix it and get it working again, within a couple days, it happens again. Very frustrating. The first time I fixed it, I ran the license repair tool, but since then, I simply delete the flex folder. I was trying to think of anything I have done recently to start getting these errors. I did recently add a Buffalo Linkstation network attached storage and installed their NAS Navigator software, and I recently installed PostgreSQL, but that is about it. Not sure if either of these might be causing the issue. I also use “Spaces” regularly, which Fireworks does not play nice with. Also, just to complain a little, this version of Fireworks is an example of horrible software. Adobe really messed it up.
By the way, Erik, what are the other 33 reasons? :-)
Deleting the Flexnet Publisher folder worked for me.
worked for me as well … ouff thank you so so much! thomas
Deleting the FLEXnet Publisher folder solved this for me as well. Thanks!
Deleting FLEXnet Publisher folder + cache.db worked for me! thx folks!
WORKS! :D YAY thanks!
BRILLIANT! WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!!! GRAZIE MILLE!!!!! :-D
I’ve had the error 150:30 for weeks now. I was trying to download the PS4 trial and it kept happening, so I bought the PS4 bundle thinking that would work. I was still getting the error message, so I deleted the two files mentioned above and downloaded the license recovery, but now PS4 opens, but it only shows the outline of the screen and the folder location screen in in the middle of it. If I click on ANYTHING else the photoshop border goes away but the folder screen stays. I can’t even get a screen shot of it because as soon as I click on grab, the PS screen goes away… Help if anyone can please!! I’m so frustrated with this!!! I’m running a mac with snow leopard. thanks!!
Thanks very much for posting this information. How long has CS4 been out? How long has Snow Leopard been out? And Adobe is still distributing an installer like this?! What an arrogant/incompetent company.
you people are awesome!!!!!
Rob B you’re a genius! I kiss you on both cheeks
Ditto!
Thank you so much, this solved my issue of the error 150:30!
I got this error on my Vista machine with ALL Adobe apps. PITA! Nothing worked…in fact, Adobe’s “fixes” took out Microsoft Office and then that no longer would work either. These are legal paid for with my hard earned money apps, and this is NUTS. After having issues with betas before, the machine in question had never had a beta installed on it to keep it “clean”. Didn’t matter, and nothing I did fixed it. I ended up upgrading to Windows 7. That fixed it. Six months later the same error message on my Mac for Photoshop Elements 8, but this time, only Elements. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Acrobat etc all opened fine. I found this site, and I deleted the Flex Publisher folder and it is working again…THANK YOU! I nearly pulled my hair our trying to fix it on the windows machine and probably all I needed to do was this! Well, now I know!
Mersi Shat mersi joxovurd jan :))))
Thank you so much :))))))
Thannk you so muccchhh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deleting the Flexnet-Folder worked fine with me. Thanks a lot!
I’m on Mac Pro Snow Leopard. DW and FW started showing this 150:30 error out of the blue. I tried the License Recovery tool – it wouldn’t run at first but after a restart it would run. I deleted the FLEX folder and DW/FW ran okay for a few hours, then the error came back. I ran the License Recovery again but did not remove the FLEX folder and the programs ran again. I had tried deleting both the FLEX and the cache db but that didn’t work. I’m afraid this is going to continue happening. I had run the Disk Repair Permissions just a few days ago before this error appeared because DW was getting slow. This is really frustrating – especially if I have to keep running the Recovery tool. I’ll try running the disk repair again and see what happens tomorrow when I start working again.
For the record: Just deleting /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher worked for me.
I’m on an early 2009 MacBook, OSX 10.6.3 and the problem started when I restored from a Time Machine backup.
Thanks for the info!
Hi there, I had the same problem after recovering files from Time Machine Backup.
I got solved the issue regarding Error 150:30, but, I don’t know if it’s a result of several steps that I’ve done… :-/
At the end, I deleted the FLEXnet Publisher folder and it works. But I repeat: actually don’t know if it was a result of several steps because I tried to delete before and didn’t works, I did:
1- I did the 4-5 steps recommended by Adobe. 2- I deleted all Adobe Cs4 from my Mac and re installed again. 3- I add permissions. 4- I created another Administrator user, I ran CS4 and it didn’t works. 5- I deleted 3 or 4 log files. 6- Finally I deleted the FLEXnet Publisher folder and it works!
Btw, I’m running a new Macbook Pro with OS 10.6.3, lovely! :)