Google + eBay + YouTube = AWE$OME $AVING$

A few weeks ago, my Kenmore washing machine started giving us problems.  It would wash and rinse like normal, but at the end of the cycle the clothes were soaking wet. I got by a few days by reaching in and spinning the basket by hand just to get it started. But soon enough, there was nothing I could do to get that washer to spin.  What was I to do?

Enter Google

Some quick keyword searching “kenmore washer won’t spin” lead me to this brilliant post: Sears Kenmore Washing Machine Repair. Phenomenal. Someone had the same problem as me and all they wanted to do was share it with the world.  Fine by me, he posted step-by-step instructions (with pictures) on how to replace a motor coupling. The most common reason for my ailment. But of course that wasn’t my problem, the motor coupler was fine.

Sergey’s Law

Search long enough and smart enough on Google and you WILL find what you need. Google has all the answers… they don’t call it Sergey’s Law for nothing.

So through Google I found out that probably I had to replace the clutch on the washer. A few more clicks and I had a replacement piece for under $20 on eBay and a video installation guide from YouTube.  It can’t get much easier than that.

Disclaimer

I am not a home appliance, small-motor or machine repairman. But after some time on the internet I certainly feel like it. I imagine I saved myself anywhere from $150-$500 repairing this myself. My point is that if you know what to search for, if you know that other people have had the same problem or situation and if you know there is a reasonable answer, you will find it through online search and the powers of the internet.

And when I have something worthwhile to report, you can be sure I’ll be sharing it online because… I LOVE THE INTERNET.

You Cannot Use this Product at this Time.

This has got to be the absolutely WORST thing anyone using Adobe Creative Suite products can see on their machine when they attempt to start up one of their programs. And more often than not, it happens to you at the WORST time. This has happened to me on two occasions with Adobe CS3 Master Collection. The first time it was partially fixed with a reinstall. I say partially because I still couldn’t use any of the video editing programs in the Master Collection (I previously upgraded from Design Premium) but since I didn’t need them at the time it was acceptable. The second  time around, however, a reinstall was not successful and neither were many other simple fixes suggested by both Adobe and other online resources. The FlexNet Services restart option did nothing for more as it was already running. The Adobe License Recovery program also failed at getting me back up and running.

Don’t worry, you CAN fix this!

So I finally found the solution over on RaisedByTurtles.org by Tom Lambert. In his Fix CS3 post Uninstall a Service in Vista, Repair Adobe CS3 and Clean Up the Registry both he and a Commenter Named JL provide detailed instructions as well as where to get the things you’ll need.

It’s not that hard, but it is time consuming. Also, it will wipe EVERYTHING Adobe off of your machine so only use this as a last ditch effort. But I’m guessing if your in a situation like me and you have no choice you’ll try anything. The one suggestion I do have is save anything you don’t want to recreate like color swatches, actions, settings, etc. It will save you some time once you have successfully reinstalled your Creative Suite software.

Here’s what I did to get Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection working after I received the Licensing for this product has stopped working error message.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Uninstall using the CS3  disc. Reboot.
2.Manually remove any and every folder you can find labeled ‘Adobe’.  Look in Users, Documents and Settings, Program Files, Roaming Profiles, etc. Reboot.
3. Download and Run the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. Reboot.
4. Download and Run the Adobe CS3Clean Script – Level 1. Repeat.
5. Run the Adobe CS3Clean Script – Level 2. Repeat.
6. Run the Adobe CS3Clean Script – Level 3. Repeat.
7. Run the Adobe CS3Clean Script – Level 4. Repeat.
8. Reboot.
9. Run CCleaner. (If you don’t have it you get it at File Hippo.com). Reboot.
10. Install Adobe Creative Suite using discs.

Presto!

So there are a few things on JL’s list that I skipped and still had success. I think if you strip your machine of all things Adobe and start fresh there are only so many things left to clean up after the first few times through the cleanup script.  But this definitely worked and it also worked for a friend of mine who had the same problem with CS3 Design Premium on a Vista laptop. She actually had a slightly different problem where she couldn’t even install the programs from the disc. She just kept trying to install and all it would give her was Acrobat. She also spent MULTIPLE HOURS on the phone with Adobe support and it was absolutely useless. Very poor customer service from Adobe on this issue. Thanks, Krista for helping me out with this and taking one for the team with Adobe! I just can’t help feeling there should be some kind of class action lawsuit after so many documented cases of lost productivity have been documented across the web.

Good Luck!