Contribute start up time

[Sirius7]

How long should I expect to wait for this to start up? All my other CS4 web
premium apps load very quickly on my iMac 2.8GHz with 4GB RAM & over 400GB of
free HDD space.

I contacted Adobe tech about this & was referred to a KB article
(http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb405712&sliceId=2).
I have been through everything except formatting my drive as all my other apps
are working without issue & it seems a huge chore for one app that is not
playing properly!

When I load Contribute, I get the spinning beach ball for around 3-4 minutes &
if I go to the app in the dock, right-clicking shows I can force quit.
Application not responding is greyed out. Then, the status changes so I can
quit, but the program is moving grindingly slowly...

Any help, suggestions or comments appreciated.

[RiderAlberta]

I'm having the same problem here, a spinning beach ball that stops for about 2
seconds, then comes back, and keeps cycling this way.

Something's changed because it wasn't doing this before. I've tried
uninstalling, reinstalling, deleting prefs etc. Nothing works.

[Sirius7]

That's exactly what mine does - stops spinning, pause time during which I can't
click anything, then the beach ball comes back!

I have contacted Adobe about this but would appreciate it if you could let
them know too.

[Bob Christenesen]

I'm running into the same issue on a new install v5.0. An endless spinning ball
on what was supposed to be the first startup. I can't command, can't get to the
Tour or Tutorial, can't Command anything. Can't even Quit without using either
Activity Manager or the Dock shortcut. All I get is a frozen Startup screen.

I've used the Adobe Support Advisor, repaired permissions, run Cocktail,
rebooted, removed and reinstalled. All this on a MacBook Pro, running 10.5.5.

Nothing. Nada.

Now I remember why I stopped using v3.

Any suggestions, either on a fix or a replacement application?

[Bob Christenesen]

Aha!

When I installed Ct4, v5, it replaced an earlier trial version of Ct3. On the
initial startup of v5, it went looking for a connection to a website that no
longer exists. Endless search, spinning ball, frozen startup window.

Finally, after 4 hours and all the steps reported earlier, I turned off my
WiFi to disconnect from the Internet. With that, Contribute started as it
should, noting the disconnected status but allowing me full use of the program
(at least to the limits imposed by being disconnected.) So, I set "My
Connections" to ignore the dead site, reset Airport to On, successfully
connected to a good site, quit Ct4 and then restarted Ct4.

Success.

[Sirius7]

I downloaded the CS4 trial for Windows on my VMWare Fusion installation under
WinXP.

This runs perfectly...

I'll try disconnecting wifi later & let you know. I too had a previous CS3
trial I had on OSX, maybe Adobe have some way of checking & clearing this off
our systems along with the CS4 installation if that was the issue.

Thanks Bob.

[Sirius7]

Well, disconnecting my wifi lets Contribute open instantly. All the menus are
immediately available & working although I obviously can't set up a new
connection.

Restarting wifi put Contribute back in unusable mode again...

[Bob Christenesen]

Sirius -- That's progress. In my case it wasn't the connection that was the
underlying cause. It was the attempt to connect to a bad (no longer existent)
site.

Suggestion, restart Ct with your Internet connection disconnected. Once you
have Contribute actually up and running, go into "Home Pages" in the upper menu
bar. Select the Adobe demonstration site; in my case it is "tutorial website.'
select that. Shut Contribute down.

Restart Ct, still without an Internet connection. When it opens, see that it
does in fact open to the tutorial site.

If it does, open your Internet connection and, if you have one, attempt to
connect to a working site. It should work. More importantly, it should continue
to work and to startup AS LONG AS it is looking at a good site, one that it can
find.

The symptoms that you and I have had so much trouble with are the result of
Contribute endlessly looking for a site that it cannot find or use. Once that
issue is taken care of, it should startup normally.

Of course, it'd be nice if it let you know...

[Sirius7]

Hi Bob

Thanks for the help - when I am disconnected, I am unable to set up a new
connection as it can't test the ftp.

My Home pages button is greyed out & in the View menu > Home pages I have no
home pages.

I can't find the tutorial site you mention listed, although using spotlight I
can see a tutorialWelcome.htm file in my Ct folder. However, I can't use the Ct
Browse... button to access this, only the file > open option & then I can't set
it up as a site!

I have several website addresses I can use if only I could get it to start up
properly!

[Bob Christenesen]

When disconnected, can you click on "Contribute Tutorial" in the Help Menu at
the very top of your Desktop?

Doing so should get you into the tutorial in the sideview panel.

If you get that far, click on the first item up "connect to a website"

Then, in the second to last paragraph is a hot link "click this link" to the
tutorial website.

If you get that far, where it opens a new page "Welcome to the Contribute
Tutorial"

That should allow you to set that site as your Home Page.

Then, resume in my earlier post.

[Sirius7]

Thanks Bob,

I've gone through all the steps you mentioned & after seeing Ct working with
the tutorial site, noted that it was added to my Home Page button.

I closed Ct, opened it to check again & sure enough was able to click the
tutorial website listed on the splash page to open it.

I closed Ct & reconnected my wifi...

Taa Daah!

Exactly the same - spinning beach ball. I don't know what the issue is, but
after several restarts, force quits & system restarts I am finally able to
create a connection to one of my own websites. The sluggish performance is
still a real issue & it must be due to something being stored in my system
files somewhere.

My trial installation on winxp is still running properly!

[sitedesign]

tried checking "Don't show this again" and make the home screen go away.

[ThinkInk]

I don't know if it has anything to do with the solution to your specific start
up problem, but here are my scenario's in which it shows up or not:

Case 1:
1. computer is connected to an ethernet switch
2. ethernet switch is connected to modem/router
3. modem/router has NO connection to outside line
Result: spinning ball, no possibility to choose online or offline mode in
Contribute, only solution is to
close the program down, there is no start-up possible.

Case 2:
1. computer is connected to an ethernet switch
2. ethernet switch is NOT connected to modem/router or the modem/router is off
Result: spinning ball, no possibility to choose online or offline mode in
Contribute, only solution is to
close the program down, there is no start-up possible.

Case 3:
1. computer is directly connected to modem/router
3. modem/router has NO connection to outside line
Result: no spinning ball, and there is a possibility to choose online or
offline mode in Contribute,
start-up is possible.

Case 4:
1. computer is connected to an ethernet switch
2. ethernet switch is connected to modem/router
3. modem/router has a connection to outside line
Result: no spinning ball, possibility to choose online or offline mode in
Contribute, start-up possible.

Case 5:
1. computer is NOT connected to an ethernet switch
1. computer is NOT connected to a modem/router
Result: no spinning ball, possibility to choose online or offline mode in
Contribute, start-up possible.

Conclusion: This spinning ball problem has something to do with the way
Contribute connects to Adobe
online and gets problematic when it cannot connect, and the interpretation of
when a connection is there
or not. When the progam notices a connection to a LAN it does not give the
option to work offline, but at
the same time it can't connect to Adobe, cause there is no connection to the
internet. This seems to be
the cause off the programs problem to start up at all.

[Sirius7]

ThinkInk

Thank you for taking the time to post such a comprehensive breakdown of the
potential issues. Your conclusion is absolutely correct in that it has
something to do with the Adobe service - I have no fault with my Internet
connection nor my network, being able to access files to & from my iMac to my
Powerbook.

I did discover however, that when the Adobe updater kicked in, the 5 latest
updates to my CS4 software were downloaded but installation failed on ALL of
them.

I had gone from CS3 Design Premium to CS4 Web Premium, having downloaded &
used previous trials & betas of Contribute CS3 & Fireworks CS4. Something,
somewhere in this changing of software had caused a problem that no amount of
uninstalling & reinstalling could fix. All my attempts at trashing & rebuilding
prefs solved nothing, so in a last ditch attempt to resolve this, I decided to
erase & reinstall Leopard. I know this was an extreme measure, but the failure
of the Adobe updates concerned me & with the system backed up by Time Machine I
felt it would be the best thing all round. (I'm a self-employed designer & need
a reliable system to earn a living!)

Well, after a whole day of rebuilding everything - I did not use Time Machine
to restore my system as I didn't want to have my cloned & faulty system
restored, just the files, I'm back. Guess what...

Everything works including Contribute CS4!

Thank you everyone for your help & advice. I'm still waiting for Adobe to
respond & believe the issues were caused solely by the installers not doing a
proper clean up, so Adobe - please take note.

[m gupta]

Hi All,
There was a recent release of Safari on 26th Nov 2008 [Version 3.2.1] and
Contribute seems to have the issue with the same i.e. taking a longer time to
come up when the user launches it. We are investigating the issue, meanwhile
following is the workaround and we will post more info as and when we find more
details.

Workaround:
? Launch Contribute without any Network i.e. no LAN connection and Wireless
disabled
? Click on the "Don't show again" check box at the Contribute start page.
? Enable the network and re-start Contribute, it will come up showing the
index page of the connection instead of your start page.
? In case you want to go the start page anytime please click "Contribute start
page" icon on the top right hand side.

Thanks,
Manoj
[Contribute Team]

[Bob Christenesen]

m gupta

The same symptoms and solution apply to Firefox 3.0.4 so it's a wider issue than just Safari.

[Sirius7]

Bob...

Contribute is an oxymoron. I get it now!

Actually, since my clean install, I have Firefox 3.0.4 & Safari 3.1.2 running
under OSX 10.5.5 & Ct works. I installed my browsers BEFORE Ct was added.

I only put it on my system so I could provide support to my clients when
making changes to their own sites. The program has turned out to be a very
costly installation for me in downtime.
Still nothing from Adobe...

[Sirius7]

This evening I installed the Safari 3.2.1 update...

Contribute has reverted to being the digital equivalent of a sloth.

[Bob Christenesen]

Sirius 7

Sloth, slug.

Pour some salt on it and go have a margarita...
I just hear back from Adobe Support today after sending them an urgent message
on this on Sunday. They were of the opinion that the issue is probably a
conflict with something else, or a OS system error.

They directed me to a from 24-item checklist to resolve system errors.

So, three days into an urgent problem, misdirection. Almost as though they
didn't read my issue description.

Jeez. I think I'll save a little salt for the rim of the glass and then toast
Adobe. As in, toast... like bread.

[tafflink]

Just bought Contribute CS4 for Mac--what a disaster. Endless beach ball. The
app is using 85-95% of my processor and ultimately goes "Not Responding." 3
calls to Adobe were a waste of time. Initially, they blamed my machine, then
told me to "Run in Rosetta," now say I need to wait 1-2 days for follow-up from
a senior technician.
What a mistake.

[Bob Christenesen]

tafflink -- I suggest you save yourself a whole bunch of time, aggravation and energy. Read the comments in this string, then get a refund.

[RiderAlberta]

I've applied for my refund (twice now, since they totally lost the paperwork on the first).

I'll check back here. If they fix it, I'll take another careful second look.

[Sirius7]

I used Time Machine machine to restore my system pre-Safari & Ct is working
again at full speed. This is even with Ps, Dw, Fl, Fw, Ai, Id & Ae open on my
system.

I know that there was a security patch that showed up amongst the software
updates too but I DID install that without the problems in Ct reproducing.

If anyone else is running Time Machine & installed Safari 3.2.1, restoring
might be an option you want to explore.

[Bob Christenesen]

Sirius 7 -- Thanks for the suggestion, but that isn't my cause. I haven't upgraded Safari 3.2.1 yet.

[Dominic Michael]

Hi Bob,
What is your current version of the safari running in your machine?

Thanks.

[Dominic Michael]

Hi Bob,
This problem is there from safari version 3.2.X. So please follow the workaround mentioned in this thread above.

Thanks.

[Sirius7]

Bob - what do you mean you have it on the machine but not turned on? If Safari
version shows as 3.2.1 when you go to Finder > Get Info with Safari selected,
then you have this version installed, whether you use it or not.

Adobe have not fixed Ct to work properly with this version of Safari installed
on the system. This is the issue.

[Bob Christenesen]

Dominic -- Please be more specific. What is the problem between Safari 3.2.x
and CT? Does it occur when the Safari is v 3.2 and not used? Finally, which
workaround, above? There are now several.

Finally, my CT is now running just fine. In the meantime, though, I've
discovered Fetch, a much more friendly solution.

Sirius 7 -- I think you're right about it being an Adobe issue.

[sitedesign]

Whether Safari is launched or not it doesn't matter as Contribute embedded
browser uses Safari.

Contribute CS4 and CS3 both have problems with the recent release of Safari
3.2.x, may be some security update has broken it.

It works fine with Safari 3.1.x

[tafflink]

Here is the latest from Adboe Support, received yesterday-----

There was an updated report from Engineering. There was a recent release

I?ll be waiting for your reply.

Best regards,

Sid
Senior Technical Support Engineer
Adobe Systems, Inc.

[mIIwaukee]

Well... this didn't help me much. Still slow. And to think I actually recommended contribute to clients, now they're not so happy with me and it's hard to support them.

[Sirius7]

Adobe support finally got back to me, but guess what - NO mention of the issues with Safari!

They suggested I format my HD.

[mIIwaukee]

In SafarI I turned off java, javascript and plug-ins, upped database storage to
50mb and now things are fast. Then I made sure Safari was my default browser
(which I don't like to use)

Not sure if I did anything or it was just magic, but it kinda worked!

[MacMuis]

Hello,

I did all the things that Sid sugested and in the mean time got a massive
update on all my Adobe products (around 700MB because of Master Collection).
The only thing that makes Contribute workable is the new plugin for Firefox. I
can edit all the site that I adminiter through Firefox now. What a relieve.
However, Contribute itself STILL doesn't work as it should, and it annoys me
enourmously! Especially because one of my clients is way up in tears because
she cannot manages her own website. The Firefox work around does not help her
because she's still working in Contribute 4 (which seems to be a different
version to Contribute CS4)
On one of my other computers I still have Contribute 3, no problems there. I
now wish I never bought the upgrade. Thanks Adobe!:mad;
Ingrid

[tafflink]

I am shocked that Adobe, a big-time software company, has developed a fix for
this problem after all this time. It's as if they're in denial, telling people
to check their hard drives, etc. I have lost all respect for them.

[m gupta]

Hi All,
For the workaround please refer the tech note at http://www.adobe.com/go/kb408112

[tafflink]

This workaround does not work for me--same problems: beachball + "Connection to this web site disabled due to error."

Is this working for everybody else??

[McCane.John]

I just uninstalled Flash player and Contribute works fine without using any work around.

[tafflink]

John,
Please explain.
Thanks.

[mystars]

Didn't help. Contribute 3. How can I uninstall Safari update if that's causing the problem?

Imagery

[MacMuis]

[q][i]Originally posted by: [b][b]m gupta[/b][/b][/i]

For the workaround please refer the tech note at

http://www.adobe.com/go/kb408112[/q]

Nope, sorry, didn't work for me either. It seems that Contribute is especislly
sloooow when you try to cennect to a website which starts with a Flash movie. I
can only connect AFTER the Flash movie is finished completely and it plays at a
pace of 1 frame per second... I have no patience for this anymore, sorry.

Ingrid

[tafflink]

What's going on here? Supposedly the engineers were hard at work to fix the
problem. That was 6 weeks ago!

Hello Adobe: How about taking care of your customers who purchased software
that doesn't work right?

[Sirius7]

My guess is that they are waiting for the next Safari release... It's still at
3.2.1.

This is odd actually & shows how things change - Adobe used to TARGET Apple
Mac users as their prime customers. Now we have a situation that is adversely
affecting only Apple Mac users apparently & Adobe support has been very slow in
coming forward.