Are you trying to launch the Adobe Audition software but encounter an error 16 on your Windows PC? Does the application immediately crash after the error pop up on your screen? Don’t panic: this guide will explain the reasons for the issue and provide you with easy troubleshooting steps to fix it.

Audition is a part of Adobe Creative cloud that focuses on creating, editing, mixing, and restoring audio content. This widely-used audio comprehensive tool provides multitrack, waveform, and spectral display to deliver a fine-tuned mix with excellent sound.

However, specific issues with Audition are causing a lot of frustration to its users, and configuration error 16 is one of them. Let’s find out what that error means and then resolve it on your PC with quick fixes.

What is an Adobe configuration error?

What is an Adobe configuration error?

A configuration error in Adobe means that an invalid output received by the application triggers a message that hints at what to do next.

The configuration error can occur with any Adobe Creative Cloud applications such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, Indesign, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, or the topic in discussion, Adobe Audition. The error causes the application to crash when you launch the application.

In Audition’s case, users report that right after launching the application on the PC, an error 16 pops up that advises them to uninstall and reinstall the software.

Why do I see a configuration error on Audition?

Why do I see a configuration error on Audition?

Before we proceed with the fixes, let’s find out what causes the error 16 on Adobe Audition. The reasons can be:

  • The permission to the Audition’s application folder is set incorrectly.
  • You have downloaded a corrupted or incompatible Audition version on your PC.
  • The application files are missing in Windows Registry.
  • The SLStore folder is missing.

How do you fix Error 16?

How do you fix Error 16?

If you can’t launch the Adobe Audition software and get configuration error 16, try the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.

Run Audition with admin privileges

  • Right-click on the Audition application to go to its properties on your PC.
  • Next, click on the Compatibility tab. Here, select the “Run this program as an administrator” check box.
  • Now apply the changes and open the application to verify that the error is fixed.
If running Audition with admin privileges did not work, proceed to the next steps.

Create a new SLStore

Sometimes, the unavailability of a SLStore can cause the Audition error 16. This folder is usually present in the PC drive in which Audition is installed. However, if the Directory is missing, try the following steps to fix the issue.

  • First, let Windows show the hidden files and then go to C:\ProgramData.
  • Next, locate the Adobe folder and open it to see if the SLStore folder is present.
  • If you can’t see the folder, make a new one and name it “SLStore.”
  • Now try to launch the application and see if the error persists.

Restore permissions

If Adobe SLStore and PCD folders do not have the necessary permissions, you can encounter configuration error 16 on your PC. To resolve the issue:

  • First, let Windows show you the hidden files on Windows Explorer.
  • Next, go to C: –> ProgramData –> Adobe and right-click on the SLStore folder to access its properties.
  • Under the Security tab, click on the Edit button, and choose “Full Control” for Administrators and System, “Everything except Full Control and Special” for Power Users, and “Read and Special” for Users.
  • Now go to C: –> Program Files (Program Files x86 for 64-bit system) –> Common Files –> Adobe, and right-click on the Adobe PCD folder to access its properties.
  • Under the Security tab, click on Edit and grant Administrators and System “Full Control” permission.

Afterwards, change the ownership in the following way to fix the error 16.

  • Go back to the SLStore folder Security tab, navigate to the Owner section, and click “Change” right next to it.
  • Choose the current username and click the “Check names” button.
  • Check both the “Replace Owner on Sub Containers and Objects” and the “Replace all Child Object Permission Entries” boxes and save the changes.
  • Do the same steps under the PCD folder’s Security tab.
  • Finally, launch the Audition application and verify that you don’t see the error anymore.

Add missing DLL file

You may receive error 16 in Audition if a DLL file is missing in the installation directory. The adbeape.dll file often goes missing for some reason and causes the error. However, you can quickly fix the issue by copying and pasting the missing file into the folder where Audition is installed.

You need to access a PC with Audition already installed and running to do this. Next, save the adbeape.dll file on your USB and paste it into the Audition folder on your PC. Next, run the application with administrative privileges and verify the fix.

Reinstall Audition application

If none of the above troubleshooting steps fixes the error 16, it’s time to reinstall the Adobe Audition applications on your PC. To do this:

  • Uninstall the application from the “Programs and Features” feature in Windows Control Panel.
  • Next, delete the Adobe folders in C: > Program Files in 32-bit and C: > Program Files (x86) in the 64-bit Windows system.
  • Next, delete the Adobe folder in C: > Program > Data.

Once you delete all these folders, your PC is free of Audition remnants. Finally, perform a fresh install of the Audition application, and the error 16 would not show its ugly head again.

Try alternative methods

There are a few other alternative methods that you can try to fix the Audition error 16 on your PC. These methods can be:

  • Update your PC’s graphics card.
  • Install the latest Windows update on your PC.
  • Use a Cache Cleaner to remove the temporary PC file or do it manually by deleting the entries in the “Temp” folder.
  • Run Adobe Application Manager to fix the issue.

Conclusion

We hope that the troubleshooting steps in this guide helped you fix the Adobe Audition error 16 on your PC. We recommend that you start by doing the most straightforward fixes and then try the complex ones. Mostly, the error resolves if you can get rid of the corrupted files by performing a clean reinstall of the Audition application.