Posted August 9th, 2008, in: Computer Problems and Fixes| Technology
When trying to install Adobe AIR on my Mac running 10.5.4, I was getting this annoying message:

Error: Adobe AIR Installer requires Adobe AIR to be installed. What?
This application requires Adobe AIR to function. Please download the latest version of the runtime from http://www.adobe.com/go/getair, then launch the application again.
Which is weird because why would Adobe AIR require Adobe AIR to install? Isn’t that like… impossible?
I found the solution!
- Open System Preferences.
- Click on International.
- Click on Edit List
- Check Or Uncheck a Language (In other words, change something)
- Hit OK to save the changes
- Adobe AIR will now install!
- For Adobe AIR Installation, open System Preferences and click International



OSX Adobe AIR Installer Works Now!
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25 Responses to “OSX Adobe AIR Installation Problem SOLVED”
Yeah! I don’t know how you figured this out, but I was getting the same warning box but in Japanese. You were right, just clicking off and on a check box in System Preferences/International did the trick.
Thanks!
G4 Powerbook w/Leopard 10.5.4
MacBookPro 10.5.4
Had same problem attempting to install Air as mentioned here and in the comments below the installer downloads pages on Adobe.com. I miss read Adobe’s support instructions to uninstall and then try again and deleted the uninstaller. I was really stuck.
I started a case with Adobe technical support and was given this web page in Adobe’s first response to my case. I came here, followed the instructions and all is well. Very important, I went to the download area of Adobe.com again and successfully installed an update. I suggest everyone check for that too.
Thank you so much for all your help. I hope others find this and are helped too. P.S. I suggested to the Adobe tech that they post this in their support area and give you proper credit.
Good Luck all!
I can’t thank you enough. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen but it did the trick.
Thank you! Thank you for solving this problem.
Just wanted to let you all know we believe this problem has been addressed in the next release. It seems to occur only on a very small number of Mac OS systems, which is why we didn’t catch it before this release.
For those who are wondering about the strange error message in this case: The message was designed to be used when an AIR-based application is started on a machine on which the AIR runtime can’t be loaded, usually because AIR has been uninstalled. The installer also loads the runtime, but since it loads a copy of the runtime embedded in the installer, that load *should* never fail. When it does, however, it goes down the same error handling path and displays this incongruous message.
regards,
Oliver Goldman | Adobe AIR Engineering
Oliver,
Great of you to address this thing here. Glad you guys at Adobe are listening to the blogosphere. Good PR policy.
Your documented solution worked perfectly. Its amazing what goes on in the world of software. Write once run everywhere is such a pipe dream.
Thanks for your post
I’m having ALOT of people report this issue when attempting to install my .air app. I’m glad to hear it’s fixed in the next release, it’s getting a bad rap, even though I’m totally passing the buck to Adobe in my email responses here, lol
It seems to be predominant in cases where the user has Logic installed, and waveburner.
Didn’t work on 10.4.11 on a G3 iBook Clamshell.
Fantastic!!! Thanks so much, andrew. I was unable to install AIR in only one of my user accounts on my iMac. I was getting an error message in Chinese (at least I think it was in Chinese). This fix did the trick.
Too bad Adobe blew me off multiple times when I filed a formal bug report through them. Very disappointing.
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Thanks! This fixed the air installation on my MacBook Air.
Hey guys, maybe this will fix your problem (the “bus error” thing):
http://devguru.pl/2009/01/18/adobe-air-mac-os-x-and-bus-error/
I am having the same problem but have no idea how to find the system preferences on my computer. Help for the dummy required!!
Thank You for solution! It works for me.
I’m in the same situation with AIR and 10.4.11, and I just unchecked a language. Nothing has changed. The AIR installer opens and sits. Nothing gets installed. And if I try to install it with an application (like Tweetdeck) I get an error message saying that the hard drive is unavailable and the program can’t write to it.
Any further advice?
I’m having a similar problem on my new Macbook Pro os 10.5.8, and get this message “Sorry an error has occurred. An error has occurred while installing Adobe Air. Installation may not be allowed by your administrator.”
I re-downloaded the dmg, tried to re install, and restart. Still getting this message. Any ideas?
I am trying to install tweetdeck with a macbook pro OSX 10.5.8 and at first it seem like it did install adobe air from the tweetdeck page but it would get stuck and the AIR application would open but nothing would happen. then i drag and drop all adobe air to the trash can and since then everytime i try to reinstalled either on the tweetdeck page it tells me to get from the adobe page and on the adobe page once the installer is downloaded and i open it, it frezees and nothing happen.
Holy Cow, it worked! Successfully installed Air on my IMac with Leopard 10.5.7. Seemed bizarre and unconventional, but unchecking a few international languages did the trick. Thank you for the great fix!
I was so hoping it would have fixed my issue but it didn’t. I admire you for figuring it out because thats why sharing tricks and hacks between macs is what makes us love them so. … So now, i would like to put this new question to you because I’m about to pull my folicles out….
I am the owner, admin and only user on my mac os x. no one else has ever touched it, not even a “guest” user. I have tried to install “adobe air” a million times and tried equal fixes, and always always get the same error message:
Adobe® AIR®
“sorry, an error has occured”
An error occured whilt trying to install “Adobe Air”. Installation may not be allowed by your administrator. Please contact your administrator.
I have no idea whats left to fix to make this install, and without, i can not download, install and use an application that i need site owner on the “multiply.com” network.
HELP!!! please anyone with any info, i need you!!!
thanx
-djcruMbs-
[close]
Have you done a permissions repair from your Install Disk yet? I would try that.
I have had the latest Adobe Master Collection since CS2. I have never been able to install Adobe AIR on my Intel iMac. I gave up trying long ago until I heard about an App that I really want today. I am shocked to find that the same installation problems persist, over a year after they first emerged for me.
If Adobe AIR consistently can’t install or run on an operating system; it is rubbish – face it!
Common Adobe, FIX IT !!
We have had some customers at YNAB who have had this error too, and following some of the comments on this page worked like a charm: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/403/kb403150.html
On Mac, in particular, deleting the following folders can allow the installer to work:
/Library/Frameworks/Adobe AIR.framework
/Applications/Utilities/Adobe AIR Application Installer
/Applications/Utilities/Adobe AIR Uninstaller
For Windows issues, people on that page report success using the Windows Installer cleanup tool. (See above link for more details)
Thanks for the helpful post!


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Hey, just wanted to let you know. I was having problems installing AIR on my G4 powermac running 10.4.11, and getting NO error message (“bus error” if you opened it up through terminal) and this seemed to also fix my problem.