Cs5 master collection deactivate+uninstall, reinstall errors on update

Question

I have cs5 master collection.
I had to reinstall windows form scratch.. windows is on c:. I had to reformat that drive. adobe cs5 stores some of its files on C: and some of its files in the appointed install directory, on a data drive which was f:
i deactivated+uninstalled adobe cs5.
formatted c: and installed windows. of course, some adobe files are still left over on f:
reinstalled adobe cs5 to same location on f:
started dreamweaver, help, update (to update cs5)
I get update errors on half or more of the products. another update gives th esame problem, it's stuck.
how do I fix? this isn't the first time I have had trouble with AAM.
also, adobe community help refuses to pin to the taskbar or start menu. I don't know why, it's an exe. also, cs5 doesn't make an icon for it. I tried creating a shortcut for the exe and dragging it to the taskbar, but this doesn't work either. I got it on there once, but I have no idea how.
9/26/2014:
I uninstalled and deactivated cs5 and acrobat 9, did all necessary reboots, and uninstalled all adobe products.
missed a step, so wrote this windows .cmd batch file to remove adobe leftovers after uninstall and deactivate.
contents of adobe-cs5-removal-tool.cmd
@rem Author: Jim Michaels
@rem Created: 9/27/2014
@rem Version: 1.0
@rem Abstract: removes cs5 and commonly-used adobe products from windows
@rem if I could get the uninstaller location, I would do the uninstall automatically.
rem handle help switches
if /i @%1@ equ @@       goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--help@ goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-help@  goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/help@  goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--h@    goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-h@     goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/h@     goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--?@    goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-?@     goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/?@     goto help
rem handle dir switches
if /i @%1@ equ @--acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @-acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @/acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @--cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @-cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @/cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
rem processing
@echo a good uninstallation order is:
@echo adobe acrobat 9 Pro
@echo adobe creative suite 5 master collection
@echo adobe community help
@echo adobe media player
@echo adobe reader
@echo adobe air
@echo adobe flash player 15 Activex
@echo adobe flash player 15 plugin
@ECHO backup your leftover plugins in %appdata%\Adobe, %appdata%\..\locallow\Adobe, %localappdata%\Adobe, %PROGRAMDATA%\Adobe first.
@ECHO DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL ALL ADOBE PRODUCTS ARE UNINSTALLED AND DEACTIVATED FIRST! DO REBOOT AFTER EACH UNINSTALL.
@ECHO CTRL-C TO QUIT NOW
@pause
@ECHO ARE YOU SURE?
@ECHO CTRL-C TO QUIT NOW OR PRESS A KEY TO REMOVE ADOBE CS5
@pause
@echo
rem create .reg file
echo Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo.>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe]>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo.>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe]>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
rem remove directories
rd /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%CommonProgramFiles%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%APPDATA%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%APPDATA%\..\LocalLow\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%ProgramData%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "C:\Users\All Users\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%temp%\adobe"
rd /s /q "%tmp%\adobe"
if @%adobeRoot%@ neq @@ rd /s /q %adobeRoot%
if @%cs5Root%@   neq @@ rd /s /q %cs5Root%
start "adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
@echo waiting until you are finished with entering the registry stuff (a deletion of adobe keys)
@echo then press a key.
@pause
del "adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
goto end
:help
@echo adobe-cs5-removal-tool - remove adobe cs5 and any adobe products (after uninstall and deactivate of all adobe products)
@echo usage: adobe-cs5-removal-tool [options]
@echo options:
@echo   [-[-]h[elp]^|/h[elp]^|-[-]?^|/?] this help
@echo   [-[-]^acrobat-root-dir|/acrobat-root-dir doubleQuotedDirPath] specifies extra Acrobat dir path to delete, usually with Adobe on the end. double quotes "" are expected around the dir path.
@echo   [-[-]^cs5-root-dir|/cs5-root-dir doubleQuotedDirPath] specifies extra CS5 dir path to delete, usually with Adobe on the end. double quotes "" are expected around the dir path.
@echo if I could get the uninstaller location, I would do the uninstall automatically.
@echo a good uninstallation order is:
@echo adobe acrobat 9 Pro
@echo adobe creative suite 5 master collection
@echo adobe community help
@echo adobe media player
@echo adobe reader
@echo adobe air
@echo adobe flash player 15 Activex
@echo adobe flash player 15 plugin
goto end
:end
I need to try this, going to take another hour or two. I hope this causes enough of an uninstall that adobe will update. I missed a step last time.

Answer 1

I noticed the backup section is missing the file. I could really use that. I noticed an uninstall+deactivate leaves the plugins behind, and that the dirs can be copied to a safe place if you know where they are. thanks for the tip.
16.16 Apple. If the Software is downloaded from the Apple iTunes Application Sto
re (ôAppö), then Customer acknowledges and agrees to the following additional te
rms: (a) Apple has no liability for the App and its content; (b) CustomerÆs use
of the App is limited to a non-transferable license to use the App on any iPhone
Ö, iPadÖ or iPod TouchÖ that Customer owns or controls as allowed by the Applica
tion Store Terms of Service; (c) Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish a
ny maintenance and support services for the App; (d) to the extent permitted by
applicable law, Apple has no warranty obligation to the App and Adobe will be re
sponsible for any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attri
butable to any failure to conform to any warranty set forth in this agreement; (
e) Apple is not liable for any claims relating to the App or CustomerÆs possessi
on and/or use of the App, including, but not limited to: product liability c
laims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any applicable legal requ
irement; and (iii) consumer protection claims; (f) Apple is not liable for any t
hird-party claims that the App infringes a third partyÆs intellectual property r
ights; and (g) Apple and its subsidiaries are third party beneficiaries of this
agreement with respect to any such App, and that Apple will have the right to en
force the Agreement against Customer as a third party beneficiary.
Gen_WWCombined-en_US-20121017_1230
Please enter (y) for Yes or (n) for No. ... >>
so... what's "Gen_WWCombined-en_US-20121017_1230" mean? is this webkit or something? do I want to remove this?
ah - I got it, you just say y, that's just the product code.
after a run the new revision of my removal tool, it didn't see cs5.
does the CC removal tool require any uninstallation? I would like to know, if it doesn't, that would make the uninstallation process a whole lot simpler. it should also remove adobe reader, adobe air, adobe community help if it doesn't already, adobe media player - I would assume it does this (but those aren't in the list).
I would like to see an antry where it removes everything but the adobe ID (is that a bad thing? what exactly does that do? does it remove my adobe account?) .
until then, this latest revision of my tool may or may not be of use.
@rem Author: Jim Michaels
@rem Created: 9/27/2014
@rem Version: 1.1
@rem Abstract: removes cs5 and commonly-used adobe products from windows
@rem if I could get the uninstaller location, I would do the uninstall automatically.
@rem handle help switches
if @%SESSIONNAME%@ neq @@ goto admerr
if /i @%1@ equ @@         goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--help@   goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-help@    goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/help@    goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--h@      goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-h@       goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/h@       goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @--?@      goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @-?@       goto help
if /i @%1@ equ @/?@       goto help
rem handle dir switches
if /i @%1@ equ @--acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @-acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @/acrobat-root-dir@ (
    set acrobatRoot=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @--cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @-cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
if /i @%1@ equ @/cs5-root-dir@ (
    set cs5Root=%2
    shift
    shift
rem processing
@echo A good uninstallation order (because of dependencies) is:
@echo Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro
@echo Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection
@echo Adobe Community Help
@echo Adobe Media player
@echo Adobe Reader
@echo Adobe Air
@echo Adobe Flash Player Activex
@echo Adobe Flash Player plugin
@ECHO backup your leftover plugins in %appdata%\Adobe, %appdata%\..\locallow\Adobe, %localappdata%\Adobe, %PROGRAMDATA%\Adobe first.
@ECHO DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL ALL ADOBE PRODUCTS ARE UNINSTALLED AND DEACTIVATED FIRST! DO REBOOT AFTER EACH UNINSTALL.
@ECHO CTRL-C TO QUIT NOW
@pause
@ECHO ARE YOU SURE?
@ECHO CTRL-C TO QUIT NOW OR PRESS A KEY TO REMOVE ADOBE CS5
@pause
@echo
rem create .reg file
echo Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo.>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe]>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo.>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
echo [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe]>>"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
rem remove directories
rd /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%CommonProgramFiles%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%APPDATA%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%APPDATA%\..\LocalLow\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%ProgramData%\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%windrive%\Users\All Users\Adobe"
rd /s /q "%temp%\adobe"
rd /s /q "%tmp%\adobe"
if @%adobeRoot%@ neq @@ rd /s /q %adobeRoot%
if @%cs5Root%@   neq @@ rd /s /q %cs5Root%
"adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
@echo waiting until you are finished with entering the registry stuff (a deletion of adobe keys)
@echo then press a key.
@pause
del "adobe-cs5-reg-remove.reg"
goto end
:help
@echo adobe-cs5-removal-tool - remove adobe cs5 and any adobe products (after uninstall and deactivate of all adobe products)
@echo usage: adobe-cs5-removal-tool [options]
@echo options:
@echo   [-[-]h[elp]^|/h[elp]^|-[-]?^|/?] this help
@echo   [-[-]^acrobat-root-dir^|/acrobat-root-dir doubleQuotedDirPath] specifies extra Acrobat dir path to delete, usually with Adobe on the end. double quotes "" are expected around the dir path.
@echo   [-[-]^cs5-root-dir^|/cs5-root-dir doubleQuotedDirPath] specifies extra CS5 dir path to delete, usually with Adobe on the end. double quotes "" are expected around the dir path.
@echo if I could get the uninstaller locations, I would do the uninstall automatically.
@echo A good uninstallation order is:
@echo Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro    (depends upon Air)
@echo Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection    (installs and depends upon Air)
@echo Adobe Community Help    (Depends upon Air)
@echo Adobe Media Player    (depends upon Air)
@echo Adobe Reader    (I think depends upon Air)
@echo Adobe Air
@echo Adobe Flash Player Activex
@echo Adobe Flash Player Plugin
goto end
:admerr
@echo you need to right click and run your cmd shell or this script as Administrator first before running this script, or create a shortcut to this script with Administrator rights (advanced).
@echo nothing done, exiting
pause
goto end
:end