After Effects was unable to install additional file formats and effects

Question

... Please reinstall from the original installer with a serial number."
The title and first line of this post are the error I receive when I open After Effects CS3. All of the CC effects are missing, as well as content for Encore, which is also part of Master Collection (the suite I have), so it must be an Master Collection error. Does anyone know where I can get the addtional content and the installer?

Answer 1

The cached files would be in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Installers in one of the directories with the funny cryptic numbers as their name. Since the archives are protected by the install key, you will have no way to extract the files manually, though. I tend to think that it is indeed the MC trial that is giving you troubles. Did you run the CS4 Clean Script when you uninstalled it? If not, that might explain it, even more so when the trial timed out. Certain features will then be locked forever after, unfortunately. Only uninstalling, running the clean script and then reinstalling with the serial will give you the full features then. Also download the manual update packages for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore and Adobe Media Encoder from the Download section. Installing those may also fix that problem since it should make the apps install additional MPEG support. As another option, you might try to create a new user account with administrator rights and launch AE. Sometimes this also works, since it creates a new user branch in your registry and just ignores existing info for some stuff which may make the post-install install kick in and finish its work.
Mylenium