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So your operating system is Windows Vista, you have one of the Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) packages and you’re browsing the Web.

You notice a message pop up above the task bar: Adobe Updater has updates to install. So you click on the message to see the updates, then click the install button.

But shortly after, Updater starts reporting installation problems. Trying to re-install the updates doesn’t work. Asking it to move on and install additional updates only causes more errors. Nothing gets patched and you just wind up irritated.

What went wrong? Several things, which are the faults of both Adobe and Microsoft. Fortunately, these problems are relatively easy to fix.

The first, and biggest, problem is the way Windows Vista handles installing programs, and it’s actually a good thing.

Most viruses and other malware gets installed because users don’t know it’s being installed. The installation is “silent”: You’re not aware of what’s happening.

Windows Vista prevents silent and accidental software installation by flashing up warnings any time programs try to install. And the way Vista makes that happen is by changing how computer user accounts work.

In Vista, even if your login is an administrator account, programs you execute, and the “helper” programs launched by the programs you are running, do not automatically run with administrator privileges.

That means that often, programs don’t have permission from Vista to change themselves or other programs, even if you launched the program and asked it to make the updates.

This is a Godsend for reducing malware infestation. But it makes trouble for automatic updaters, such as Adobe Updater, too.

Basically, the way you update software is the same way malware infests your PC. Vista doesn’t always know the difference.

Had Adobe and Microsoft worked more closely on this issue, I am sure it could have been worked out. But as it is, fixing the problem is not that hard:

1. Open Computer.
2. Open your C: drive.
3. Open the folder named Programs [in Vista 64-bit, look for Programs (x86)].
4. Open the Common folder.
5. Find the Adobe folder and open that.
6. Now look for the folder named Updater5 and open that.
7. Find the program named AdobeUpdaterInstallMgr.exe. Right-click on that and choose Properties.
8. Click the Compatibility tab.
9. Check ON the box that says “Run this program as an administrator”.
10. Click OK.

That will grant the updater the permissions it needs to update CS3.

One more note: Because Acrobat is part of the CS3 family, Adobe Updater will want to update both Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.

Most Web browsers access certain Acrobat libraries while you browse (so that you can see PDF files the same way you see Web pages). Thus, you generally can’t have your Web browser open if Updater is trying to patch CS3, even if you’re not browsing a PDF file at the moment or use Acrobat Reader as your default PDF reader.

Besides, it’s always a good idea to give updaters / installers the PC’s full attention by closing all open programs before doing an install. In the case of Adobe Updater, that’s doubly true.