I finally finished an HDV project in PPro CS3 (I have the full suite).
It was about 50% complete with a rendering when I left to do some errands. To my surprise when I returned it was 75% complete and frozen with a message: Adobe Premiere encountered an error and needs to close. When I restarted I got the message "You can not use this product at this time. You need to uninstall and reinstall it (see attached image). I tried Encore, same message. What kind of BS is this? Has anyone else encountered this? This will take HOURS to uninstall the complete suite and reinstall it all, entering ALL of the registration numbers, having it go on line to Adobeto register again, look for updates, install them, etc. I have the full retail upgrade version purchased from "The Video Guys." Will it reinstall without the old PPro 1.5 suite on the computer, or do I have to reinstal that first for the Upgrade to work?
I am really disappointed in CS3. I haven't used it very much. I had fewer issues with the old PPro. I also use Sony Vegas, and I must say it is much more stable and does not crash nearly as often as Adobe.

I've never encountered your problem specifically, but I HAVE had to completely uninstall Adobe CS3 (The ENTIRE suite) and reinstall it in the past. Here's a few tips if you have to go that route (these are for XP....I don't know if you have to go through this with Vista..):

Before you uninstall CS3, go to microsoft's website and download the "Windowns Uninstall Cleanup Utility" for your OS....Adobe will not completely uninstall without it.

Before reinstalling CS3, got to adobe's website and download Adobe Disk Cleanup (or something similar....I can't quite remember the name). This is recommended by Adobe.

Good luck!

I've never encountered your problem specifically, but I HAVE had to completely uninstall Adobe CS3 (The ENTIRE suite) and reinstall it in the past. Here's a few tips if you have to go that route (these are for XP....I don't know if you have to go through this with Vista..):

Before you uninstall CS3, go to microsoft's website and download the "Windowns Uninstall Cleanup Utility" for your OS....Adobe will not completely uninstall without it.

Before reinstalling CS3, got to adobe's website and download Adobe Disk Cleanup (or something similar....I can't quite remember the name). This is recommended by Adobe.

Good luck!

Thanks for the Info James.
I think it's amazing that with all the almost daily MS updates for XP that they don't include this as one of them. I will definitely download it - Thanks

After I had the problem and wrote in this thread, I had dinner and thought for a while. I just had a Windows (XP Pro) update in the morning. Just for grins - and hopefully to save a lot of time uninstalling and reinstalling, I tried using Windows System Restore. Restoring my computer to the previous day seems to have solved the problem and CS3 is working again. All I lost was the upgrade I had installed for Sonicfire 5, which is an easy re-install.

I've lost it now, but somewhere on this forum when I was researching my problem, I came across directions for making the Adobe license file a read only file. I don't know if this is popular, would work, or possibly create future problems. My programing skills and understanding of the Windows regisry are rather limited, I'm afraid, but it certainly would be worth looking into. Thanks again for the help.
Have a Great Day - Paul

Glad to help!

Also, another odd tip for CS3....Several weeks ago, in the middle of a large project, I was trying to add a video transition to my timeline when Premiere completely locked up and displayed the dreaded "Unknown error...blah blah blah". I closed and restarted PP, no luck. I restarted the computer and reopened PP...no luck. I began searching on the internet for similar problems and solutions...nothing specific, really. So I went through the lengthly process of uninstalling and reinstalling the entire CS3. NO LUCK. Everytime I would open the project and try to add a transition, "unknown error" and complete lock-up.
Going back to my internet search, I finally stumbled upon another unfortunate user and his solution list.....after trying several (check and defrag drives, etc.) I found the one that worked. I went into the Adobe folders, and renamed the preference folders, forcing PP to create new ones. Problem solved...but who would have ever guessed???