I suspect your are using XP Pro and in order to install and use the program you MUST be logged in as the System Administrator especially to install Illustrator. Next in order to use Illustrator properly you must either be logged in as the System Administrator OR have the administrator assign you full Administrative rights to programs. Do you have anything by Norton on your system? Be sure to either remove it or disable it, if you do, prior to installing Illustrator, and although some can work with Norton active, it's best for many to deactivate it at least while working Illustrator.
Bob
C:\Documents & Settings\yourusername\Application Data\Adobe Illustrator 10\AIPrefs.
In order to see the file, in Explorer, click Tools, Folder Options, View, and Check SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.
The AIPrefs file is NOT stored inside Illustrator folder.
Illustrator is a vector imaging program. Why are you looking at "pictures" in it? And if you wish to Place a raster image into your Illustrator layout, if you enlarge the image, you certainly WILL see pixelation if the image is less than optimum resolution.
Vector images as created by the tools of Illustrator will NOT pixelate as they aren't pixels to begin with. Only raster (PhotoShop type) iamges can pixelate. And since they are scaled to print size when placed into your Illustrator layout, it's easy to pixelate them especially if less than good printing resolution, which is 150ppi to 300ppi.
Bob
If your desktop and other items somehow are warped, I'd say you have a monitor or operating system problem and that would require repair prior to using Illustrator. Have you checked your monitor settings to see if you need to reset it, or perhaps even get a new monitor? Check your monitor manual.
Bob
Under c:\documents and settings\~Username\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe
Illustrator 10 you should have :
1) A Plugins folder which will be empty
2) Ai Color Settings
3) AiPrefs
4)Plug-in Cache ARTX
Under your c:\ program files\adobe\ai10\ folder you should have:
1) Legal Folder
2) Plug-ins folder containing around 199 files in 10 Folders (Depends upon
which plugins you chose to install)
This folder should NOT be read only.
3) Presets Folder with 11 subfolders. The Brushes, Patterns and S4Web
folders have additional sub-folders.
4) Support Files folder with 4 sub-folders, each sub-foldr having other
sub-folders.
5) Utilities folder 4 sub-folders
--
Len
Posted from the UK
>>what do i do if i just don't have the aiprefs folder and plug-in cache
artx? <
Those are FILES not FOLDERS and will be set to System and Hidden, so unless
you set your Windows Explorer settings to show system and hidden files you
will not see them.
>>even if i change the attributes click apply and click ok, the next time i
right click on the plug-in folder it says it is read only again. <<
That sounds more like a problem with your o/s installation than Illustrator.
However, just referring back to your original post, it does sound as though
you are running an illegal copy of Illustrator...
After removing all the items as you did, did you also use Explorer to remove any and all files/folders left that the uninstall didn't remove from Illustrator? Then reinstall, especially in Safe Mode or from TASK LIST, END TASK everything but Explorer and Systray to be sure you are doing a clean install?
You can always call Adobe Tech support at 1-800-649-3875 (if you still have a free service available) or 1-900-555-2200 (which costs you).
Bob
Read page 8 of your manual. When you register your Illustrator you automatically get free support for the first 90 days, then it becomes a Pay per call support (the 900 number).
If you have many fonts over the recommended max of 150 fonts, you need to reduce that number, or better yet, purchase an after market font manager (Adobe ATM Deluxe 4.1 or Bitstream's Font Navigator or Font Reserve). But until then if you eliminate fonts, be sure NOT to remove any that are required by Windows. List below for Win98 .. other operating system fonts available in MS knowledge base:
Required fonts:
WINDOWS 98 FONTS
These are the fonts installed by the U.S. version of Windows 98. Other language versions and other Code Page choices will obviously produce different sets of installed fonts. The font files themselves reside in C:\WINDOWS\FONTS. Both font names and file names are given below. (Do not delete files from here. Only use font mgr in Control Panel for TrueType font uninstall.)
-------------------
TrueType Fonts (scalable outline fonts)
Arial arial .ttf
Arial Bold arialbd .ttf
Arial Bold Italic arialbi .ttf
Arial Italic ariali .ttf
Courier New cour .ttf
Courier New Bold courbd .ttf
Courier New Bold Italic courbi .ttf
Courier New Italic couri .ttf
Symbol symbol .ttf
Times New Roman times .ttf
Times New Roman Bold timesbd .ttf
Times New Roman Bold Italic timesbi .ttf
Times New Roman Italic timesi .ttf
Wingdings wingding.ttf
These are the 14 core Windows TrueType fonts
--------------------
Plotter Font (scalable vector font)
Modern modern .fon
This sans serif font is included for compatibility with plotters
------------------
System Screen Fonts (raster bitmaps)
"Small Fonts" (96x96 dpi)
Courier 10,12,15 coure .fon
MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24
sserife .fon
MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24
serife .fon
Small Fonts smalle .fon
Symbol 8,10,12,14,18,24 symbole .fon
"Large Fonts" (120x120 dpi)
Courier 10,12,15 courf .fon
MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24
sseriff .fon
MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 seriff .fon
Small Fonts smallf .fon
Symbol 8,10,12,14,18,24 symbolf .fon
The "e" in the first set of filenames is the letter code for "VGA resolution" (640x480); the "f" in the second set of filenames is the letter code for "8514/a resolution" (1024x768 -- the resolution of IBM's Model 8514/a monitor, an early hi-res monitor). Whether the "e" filenames or the "f" filenames appear in C:\WINDOWS\FONTS depends on whether "Small Fonts" or "Large Fonts" is chosen in Control
Panel-->Display-->Settings-->Font Size. (Whichever set one chooses, the other set's file names will become hidden.) Either way (i.e., whether one chooses "Large Fonts" or "Small Fonts" in Display Settings), the font names in Control Panel-->Fonts will appear the same. (The default is "Small Fonts.")
-------------------
HIDDEN System Screen Fonts (raster bitmaps)
VGA resolution (640x480)("A" icon fonts)
Fixedsys vgafix .fon
Terminal vgaoem .fon
System vgasys .fon
8514/a resolution (1024x768)
Fixedsys 8514fix .fon
Terminal 8514oem .fon
System 8514sys .fon
For DOS application compatibility:
Terminal dosapp .fon
-------------------
HIDDEN TrueType Font
Marlett marlett .ttf
This font MUST be present for Windows 98 to run. It contains the symbols used on windows (e.g., the upward and downward pointing triangles on the scrollbar; the X, box, and underline for closing, maximizing, or minimizing a window, etc.) -- and I'm not sure what all else.
--------------------
TrueType "Web Fonts"
Arial Black ariblk .ttf
Comic Sans MS comic .ttf
Comic Sans MS Bold comicbd .ttf
Impact impact .ttf
Verdana verdaba .ttf
Verdana Bold verdanab.ttf
Verdana Bold Italic verdanaz.ttf
Verdana Italic verdanai.ttf
For users of original release Win98, these fonts will be installed only when and if MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer) is installed.
---------------------
Minitel TrueType Fonts (scalable outline fonts)
Arial Alternative Regular arialalt.ttf
Arial Alternative Symbol arialals.ttf
These fonts are available on the Win98 CD-ROM (in the \Other\Minitel folder) as more readable alternatives for use by HyperTerminal. They must be installed manually (i.e., copied from the CD-ROM to the C:\WINDOWS\FONTS folder).
----------------------
WINDOWS 98 PLUS! FONTS
The following fonts are installed by Windows 98 Plus! When these four options (and all their sub-options) are selected for installation: System Agent, Desktop Themes, Dial-Up Networking Server, Visual Enhancements. For this experiment, I did not select the following Win98 Plus! options: DriveSpace3, Internet Jumpstart Kit, 3-D Pinball. Which fonts are installed depends, in part, on which Desktop Themes
are selected (in this case, I selected them all).
Abadi MT Condensed Light ABALC .TTF
Book Antiqua BKANT .TTF
Calisto MT CALIST .TTF
Century Gothic GOTHIC .TTF
Century Gothic Bold GOTHICB .TTF
Century Gothic Bold Italic GOTHICBI.TTF
Century Gothic Italic GOTHICI .TTF
Copperplate Gothic Bold COPRGTB .TTF
Copperplate Gothic Light COPRGTL .TTF
Lucida Console LUCON .TTF
Lucida Handwriting Italic LHANDW .TTF
Lucida Sans Italic LSANSI .TTF
Lucida Sans Unicode LSANSUNI.TTF
News Gothic MT NWGTHC .TTF
News Gothic MT Bold NWGTHCB .TTF
News Gothic MT Italic NWGTHCI .TTF
OCR A Extended OCRAEXT .TTF
Bob
Assuming you purchased the FULL version and not an upgrade (the only legal
way in your circumstances), just un-install the version on your machine from
C/Panel Add/Remove Programs, delete the whole of the Illustrator folder
tree, and then install from your newly purchased CD.
See your other Post on this. See if cleaning your Registry helps, prior to installing your purchased version and cleaning all remnants of it from your system.
Bob
Using Win2K are you logged in as the system administrator?
Bob
I originally came here for some help on Monday when mine stopped working (and had the same problem as yours... illustrator.exe). I thought that I tried everything (thanks Bob, but nothing worked) until I took a shot at it for myself and did this: Uninstall Illustrator and then search for all adobefnt files (they're .lst files and a .db file) and delete them! They are shared, but when you restart and install Illustrator again, it creates new files. No messing with regedit, and I have a million fonts installed (actually about 532) Problem solved! (well, for me at least)
Hope this helps!
Samantha