I ran into the same problem on just a single machine and I think I have a solution. At first I tried removing the updater application, but kept getting that error message upon starting any of the programs within Creative Suite CS2 then I also took help from guys of web design company <
http://www.webdesigningcompany.net> still nothing works. Then I put the updater application back in it’s folder, deleted the other files in that folder (Data, Install, and AdobeUpdaterPrefs.dat) and tried starting it up. It actually came up with a window that I had never seen before. I had all of the usuall options for determining when, if, and how to check for updates. Therew was a checkbox to enable/disable the automatic updates! Huraay! Now I can continue being the happy control freak that I am ;o)