I have been running Adobe CS3 Master Suite on Win Vista since purchasing last November with no issues. Recently I received this msg. when trying to open Photoshop..."AMT Subsystem Failure
The licensing subsystem has failed catastrophically. You must reinstall or call customer support." Neither Photoshop nor Soundbooth (the only two programs out of the full suite I had installed) would open.
I had, at one point, made some tweaks in the computer services, run a disk clean, and registry clean/fix to speed things up.
I have researched the issue and tried numerous "fixes" including a Microsoft utility designed to hunt down and fix corrupted registry files, the Adobe Clean tool, and a system restore to an earlier state, all with no joy. I even went so far as to upgrade my OS to Win7 thinking this would replace the missing/corrupted file (I was going to upgrade anyway). CS3 will not uninstall from Control Panel so had to surgically remove elements in the programs file. I left LR alone as it works fine.
CS3 will still neither uninstall nor install.
I'm at a loss...anyone know of this issue and have suggestions?

Unfortunately Adobe has been infected by the same virus as Microsoft. Scientific name: Virus Greedii. It causes extreme appetite for money and loss of loyalty to past users.

As your different maneuvers, including Safe Mode, have failed, perhaps you could try the link below if you have not already:

http://www.megaleecher.net/Flexnet_Licensing_Service

It has worked for some people

Addendum:
I know you looked into Flexnet. Did you take these additional steps?:

Right-click on Flexnet Licensing.
Scroll to Properties
On the window that appears: Under General>>>"Startup Type" click on Manual.

I have been running Adobe CS3 Master Suite on Win Vista since purchasing last November with no issues. Recently I received this msg. when trying to open Photoshop..."AMT Subsystem Failure
The licensing subsystem has failed catastrophically. You must reinstall or call customer support." Neither Photoshop nor Soundbooth (the only two programs out of the full suite I had installed) would open.
I had, at one point, made some tweaks in the computer services, run a disk clean, and registry clean/fix to speed things up.
I have researched the issue and tried numerous "fixes" including a Microsoft utility designed to hunt down and fix corrupted registry files, the Adobe Clean tool, and a system restore to an earlier state, all with no joy. I even went so far as to upgrade my OS to Win7 thinking this would replace the missing/corrupted file (I was going to upgrade anyway). CS3 will not uninstall from Control Panel so had to surgically remove elements in the programs file. I left LR alone as it works fine.
CS3 will still neither uninstall nor install.
I'm at a loss...anyone know of this issue and have suggestions?

I have been running Adobe CS3 Master Suite on Win Vista since purchasing last November with no issues. Recently I received this msg. when trying to open Photoshop..."AMT Subsystem Failure
The licensing subsystem has failed catastrophically. You must reinstall or call customer support." Neither Photoshop nor Soundbooth (the only two programs out of the full suite I had installed) would open.
I had, at one point, made some tweaks in the computer services, run a disk clean, and registry clean/fix to speed things up.
I have researched the issue and tried numerous "fixes" including a Microsoft utility designed to hunt down and fix corrupted registry files, the Adobe Clean tool, and a system restore to an earlier state, all with no joy. I even went so far as to upgrade my OS to Win7 thinking this would replace the missing/corrupted file (I was going to upgrade anyway). CS3 will not uninstall from Control Panel so had to surgically remove elements in the programs file. I left LR alone as it works fine.
CS3 will still neither uninstall nor install.
I'm at a loss...anyone know of this issue and have suggestions?

This is why you should never use a registry clean and fix program. Once the registry is screwed up, you are screwed.

I suggest you find the original software and completely wipe your hard drive and start over installing everything fresh.

Bud first remember to go to as many programs as you have and deactivate so that the software company doesn't think you still have their product on that computer. Also, backup all your personal files onto an external drive or cloud. Don't forget all your pictures, saved emails, contacts, music, Word, Excel and other docs etc.

Most computers have a feature that will restore your computer like new. Look for this after you have backed up all your files and deactivated as many programs as you can. When your computer is restored, start installing only the programs you know you use all the time and forget the programs that you almost never use.

I have been running Adobe CS3 Master Suite on Win Vista since purchasing last November with no issues. Recently I received this msg. when trying to open Photoshop..."AMT Subsystem Failure
The licensing subsystem has failed catastrophically. You must reinstall or call customer support." Neither Photoshop nor Soundbooth (the only two programs out of the full suite I had installed) would open.
I had, at one point, made some tweaks in the computer services, run a disk clean, and registry clean/fix to speed things up.
I have researched the issue and tried numerous "fixes" including a Microsoft utility designed to hunt down and fix corrupted registry files, the Adobe Clean tool, and a system restore to an earlier state, all with no joy. I even went so far as to upgrade my OS to Win7 thinking this would replace the missing/corrupted file (I was going to upgrade anyway). CS3 will not uninstall from Control Panel so had to surgically remove elements in the programs file. I left LR alone as it works fine.
CS3 will still neither uninstall nor install.
I'm at a loss...anyone know of this issue and have suggestions?