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AEM Forms Designer 6.5 not opening after upgrade

Last update: Wed May 21 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

After an upgrade, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms Designer 6.5 fails to open with the error The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b) and can’t be uninstalled. To fix this, install the required Visual C++ Redistributables, register DLL files, clean up registry entries, repair runtimes, and reinstall AEM Forms Designer with the correct service packs.

Description description

Environment

  • Product: Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms Designer, v6.5
  • Operating System: Windows 10

Issue/Symptom

AEM Forms Designer 6.5 fails to launch after an upgrade and shows the error The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b). The system doesn’t allow uninstallation, and reinstalling or rebooting doesn’t fix the issue. The same problem occurs when applying a 64-bit patch to a 32-bit installation.

Resolution resolution

Follow these steps sequentially to resolve the issue:

  1. Install all required Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015–2022 for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

  2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run the following commands:

    regsvr32.exe "c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Experience Manager Forms Designer\FileSystemBrowser.dll"

    regsvr32.exe "c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Experience Manager Forms Designer\ImageFileBrowserIDL.dll"

    "c:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Experience Manager Forms Designer\FormDesigner.exe" /regserver

  3. Open Registry Editor and go to  Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products. Delete the key 447587581E0672840AA48EBDECD712E8. Then, delete the AEM Forms Designer folder from its installation directory.

  4. Repair or reinstall the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables in this order:

    1. Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 redistributable package x86
    2. Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 redistributable package x86
    3. Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 redistributable package x86
    4. Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 redistributable package x86

  5. Reinstall AEM Forms Designer using one of the following approaches:

    • Approach 1:

      1. Download and install the General Availability (GM) version 6.5.0 of AEM Forms Designer.

      2. Apply Service Pack patches sequentially:

        1. Install the Service Pack 14 (SP14) patch.
        2. Uninstall AEM Forms Designer 6.5.14 from Programs and Features in Windows.
        3. Install the Service Pack 19 (SP19) installer of AEM Forms Designer.
        4. Apply the Service Pack 22 (SP22) patch to the SP19 installation.

    • Approach 2:

      1. Download and install the Service Pack 15 (SP15) full installer of AEM Forms Designer.
      2. Uninstall the SP15 version of AEM Forms Designer.
      3. Install the 64-bit full installer of Service Pack 19 (SP19), and apply any additional patches as needed.

  6. Restart the computer and launch AEM Forms Designer to verify the installation.

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