Adobe CS5: Activation lost after device return. Really no way to restore it?

I own a legitimately purchased, perpetual license for Adobe Creative Suite 5.

When I tried to use CS5 on my new computer, I suddenly found that I had reached the activation limit.

The reason is probably that some time ago I purchased another computer and activated CS5 on it. However, for technical reasons, I had to reset the computer and return it to the retailer. Unfortunately, I apparently forgot to deactivate CS5 before returning it.

I therefore have no way of accessing that computer anymore or manually deactivating the CS5 installation. The problem is that one of my activations is effectively stuck on a device that is no longer in my possession.

I initially contacted Adobe Support about this. After a chat and subsequent email correspondence, I was told that support for perpetual licenses such as CS5 has been discontinued and that activations can no longer be reset or deactivated remotely.

I then explained my situation in detail again and explicitly asked for the case to be escalated to the appropriate department. I subsequently received the following response:

“We have carefully reviewed your case together with our backend team. Unfortunately, we must inform you that we cannot remove the activation for the device that is no longer in your possession. If it were possible, we would have been very happy to resolve the issue for you.”

However, things were different in the past. Some time ago, I had a hard drive fail, and Adobe Support very kindly reset my activation limit so that I could continue using my license.

I fully understand that Adobe CS5 is no longer officially supported. I am also not asking for technical support for the old software.

My question to the community, and especially to Adobe employees, is therefore:

Is there really no longer any way to reset a lost activation for a perpetual CS5 license?

I am explicitly not trying to bypass the activation limit or obtain an additional license. I simply want to replace an activation that is associated with a device that no longer exists or is no longer in my possession.

Does it really make a difference whether a computer is no longer accessible because it failed, or because it was returned to the retailer?

I would really appreciate hearing from other CS5 users who have experienced a similar situation, as well as any clarification from Adobe regarding whether there is truly no solution for cases like this anymore.