How can I properly and COMPLETELY uninstall Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 from my Mac?

Question

Level 1

4 points

How can I properly and COMPLETELY uninstall Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 from my Mac?

OK, so yeah, I *SHOULD* have known better...

A few months back, against my better judgement and without doing the proper due diligence, I tried installing Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 onto the primary drive of my MacBook Pro (running MacOS 10.6.8).

The tell-tail signs:

PROBLEM #1

While there IS readily available "Tech Specs" documentation for the current Adobe Digital Editions v4.0.1 installer for MacOS (which clearly states "Mac OS X v10.8 or later" is REQUIRED), there is absolutely NO indication or similar documentation for supported system software for PREVIOUS versions of Adobe Digital Editions.

Reference URL:

http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions/downloads.html

PROBLEM #2a

Adobe Digital Editions v3.0 for MacOS comes as an installer (which REQUIRES admin authentication to provide root-level access to your computer).

PROBLEM #2b

Adobe "Digital Editions 3.0 Installer" is FULLY launchable under MacOS 10.6.8 (and the installed application will require MacOS 10.7 or later).

PROBLEM #2c

There is NO associated ("ReadMe" type) support document included on the "ADE_3.0_Installer.dmg" disc image and ZERO integrated documentation within in the installer.

PROBLEM #2d

There is NO Adobe "Digital Editions 3.0" UNinstaller either installed as part of the "Standard" installation package OR currently downloadable from Adobe.com.

PROBLEM #3

Adobe's ONLY MacOS solution to "Uninstall previous versions [prior to the current v4.0] of Adobe Digital Editions for Mac OS" are the following instructions:

It's necessary to have administrator privileges to complete these steps.

1. From your user directory, locate /Applications

2. Drag the digitaleditions1x5 folder to the Trash, and empty the Trash.

Reference URL:

http://helpx.adobe.com/digital-editions/kb/cant-install-digital-editions.html

PROBLEM #4

Adobe's "What are my contact options?" page indicates BOTH "Chat (within 90 days of registration)" and "Forums" as available "Basic Support" options for Adobe "Digital Editions" software for "Download, install, setup" help, however, "Forums" is the ONLY available choice under "Contact options" for on Adobe's "Contact Customer Care" page (for "Download, install, setup" help with Digital Editions).

Reference URL:

http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?step=ADE_downloading-installing-setting-up_s tillNeedHelp

PROBLEM #5

The ONLY available "Basic Support" option for "How-to's & troubleshooting" help is the Adobe Forums...and this is an example of the type nonsense response (then followed by NON-response) that one might receive there:

https://forums.adobe.com/message/6570142

[NOTE: After MUCH searching I did, however, manage to find a potentially interesting "Let us know how we’re doing" link (under the "Our support promise" link found on the "What are my contact options? page). I am going to send them a brief message along with a link to THIS post and hope for the best.]

Reference URL:

http://helpx.adobe.com/contact/what-contact-options.html

PROBLEM #6

While I did NOT realize this prior to my attempting to install Adobe Digital Editions, apparently it would require me to "activate" my computer with an Adobe ID.

[NOTE: This information IS included in the readily accessible FAQ (and I am sure it's also found in the installer integrated software "License"), however, this is a MAJOR "feature" of this software and could be presented MUCH more prominently as an installer integrated "ReadMe" screen.]

Reference URL:

http://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/faq.html

...and, as an added bonus, there is a SIGNIFICANT "spyware" issue with this software discussed in further depth here:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/10/06/adobe-spying-users-collecting-data-eboo k-libraries/

As an experienced and life-long Mac user, I really SHOULD have known better and I did have second thoughts almost immediately, but by then it was TOO LATE!!!

So, now I have this TOTAL crap, super duper DRM software that required root-level permission to install (AND I couldn't even run this installed v3.0 copy under my preferred MacOS 10.6.8 if I wanted to...but, of course, I now have ABSOLUTELY NO desire to ever use this software again), and I just want to COMPLETELY remove all traces of it from my computer!

A pretty thorough Google search yielded several so-called "solutions" that were as bad or EVEN worse than the very limited "official" resources found directly from Adobe!

Any actual, real working solutions would be VERY greatly appreciated!

Thank you SO MUCH for your time and consideration in reading!!!

Sincerely,

aadams77

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 31, 2014 2:49 AM

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Answer 1

aadams77 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 31, 2014 3:11 AM in response to aadams77

One quick addition...I just submitted the following message to Adobe (via their hidden little "Let us know how we’re doing" link):

So, I am having a few problems with a copy of Adobe Digital Edition v3.0 (for Mac) that I tried installing onto my computer a few months back (...and I am getting no where fast with your existing "support" model).

For considerably more detail, please see my post here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6641815

...and, of course, I will post back here if/when I hear anything back from Adobe.

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Answer 2

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,284 points

Oct 31, 2014 6:29 AM in response to aadams77

According to Adobe's site, you simply go to the Applications folder and put the Adobe Digital Editions item in the trash.

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Answer 3

aadams77 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 31, 2014 1:34 PM in response to Kurt Lang

@Kurt:

Indeed, that is what they say (as I noted in my "PROBLEM #3", above)...but the evidence is very clearly to the contrary. Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 is distributed as an installer that REQUIRES administrator level permission (as noted in "PROBLEM #2a") and I have personally verified at least 2 or 3 installed items other than the Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 application, itself. The fully installed version of the application (after first-run) uses an "activation" system (as noted in "PROBLEM #6") that simply could not operate within the confines of the MacOS Application folder.

I was shortsighted in letting this poorly conceived software and delivery mechanism ANYWHERE near my computer...but now I just want to make it go away, COMPLETELY.

THANK YOU very much for your kind reply and any further assistance or insight that you (or any others) might be able to provide!

Sincerely,

aadams77

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Answer 4

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,284 points

Oct 31, 2014 2:58 PM in response to aadams77

Hmm, it shouldn't be that much of a problem. I searched my entire drive for "digital editions", and this is the whole thing:

/Applications/Adobe Digital Editions 3.0.app

/Users/user/Library/Caches/com.adobe.adobedigitaleditions.app

/Users/user/Documents/Digital Editions

/Users/user/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.adobedigitaleditions.app.plist

/private/var/db/receipts/com.adobe.adobedigitaleditions.app.bom

/private/var/db/receipts/com.adobe.adobedigitaleditions.app.plist

/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.DigitalEditions.plist

The application itself, three small files scattered in your user account, to unimportant installation receipt files, and another preference file in the root Library folder. Removing those should remove everything related to version 3, which is what I have installed.

Where I substituted "user" above (for the three entries of /Users/user/...), replace that with whatever the actual name of your user account is.

Edit: I double checked the installer using a small app that sorts out every file in an installer, and where each item would normally be installed. The main app is literally the only item in the installer. The receipts are created by the OS per the installer's data, and the other minor preference files are created when the app is first run. There is nothing else.

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