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Ashley22481611dbo8
Inspiring
January 3, 2022
Answered

Can’t activate Creative Suite 6

  • January 3, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 7733 views
  • Hi. My computer bombed so I got a replacement and put the old hard drive in, but it won't let me use the software without an activation code which I can't get any more. Can anyone help, please?
    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Ashley22481611dbo8

    @Ashley22481611dbo8  and @OtterWithKids,

    Read this about connection errors.

    https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html

     


    Update - after replacing the graphics card I was able to install High Sierra with latest security updates. I reinstalled CS6 from my disks and this time was able to connect with customer support who worked some sort of magic and the apps are working! Yay!

    3 replies

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    Don1King1
    Participant
    December 7, 2024

    Here's a guaranteed way to activate CS6. You'll have no problems at all.

    (The trick is you have to generate TWO codes to do this. Most folks don't know this.)

     

    The very confusing and convoluted Adobe "instructions" to do this are a real mess. It's no wonder lots of people are having problems activating/re-activating CS6. You can't activate online any longer because Adobe stopped supporting this a long time ago. But you can activate offline if you know how. Of course Adobe makes it hard on purpose to do all this because they don't want people to use CS6 because they want all of us to "rent" photoshop etc. for the rest of our lives. Well I refused to do that.

     

    So here's what I did:

    I bought a second small 500GB external hard drive (you can also do this by partitioning your main hard drive if you don't want a second drive) and I installed an older version of the Mac OS on it. One where CS6 runs smoothly with no problems like in the old days. In my case, that was OS 10.9 Mavericks that I installed. My main larger internal computer runs one of the lastest Mac OS.

     

    So now I have the best of both worlds. Most of the time I'm on the main internal drive, reaping the benefits of all the new Mac features. And when I need to use Photoshop, or Illustrator etc., I just switch to the other hard drive that I named simply "Hard-Drive-Photoshop."

     

    But here's the problem. Even doing that, it's still hard to figure out "how to activate" CS6 once it's installed. You want to get it out of the "trail" mode. I read about all the frustration all over the internet on this. So I created a short 5 minute video expalning step-by-step how to activate CS6. I have a background of teaching at the university level. So it's second nature to me explaining stuff like this.

     

    Anyone interested, here's the video, which I posted on my You/tube account.

    https://youtu.be/4lZfnIVT3p0

     

    Regards,

    Don King

    Art Director

     

     

    kglad
    Community Expert
    kgladCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 7, 2024

    there's nothing hard about offline activation:

     

     

    disconnect the computer from the internet

    Launch the product.

    At the Serial Number Validation screen, click Having Trouble Connecting To The Internet.

    Click Offline Activation and click Generate a Response Code.

    Write down the Request Code.

    Switch to an online computer and navigate to www.adobe.com/go/getactivated.

    Click Offline Activation.

    Sign in with your Adobe ID.

    Enter your Request code and click Generate.

    Write down the Response code.

    Switch back to the offline computer.

    Enter the Response Code and click Activate.

    D
    Don1King1
    Participant
    December 7, 2024

    Yup. Your procedure is exactly how I showed in my video.
    With 2 different codes that have to be generated and copied.
    And quite frankly, the wording and visual titles on the different windows don’t help.
    Response code, request code, which is which, where do you put them, etc.
    Confusing to say the least.
    So I felt a picture would be worth a thousand words.
    Therefore my video!
    And so I have to disagree with your comment that “there’s nothing hard about offline activation.
    Evidently there are a lot of people that would disagree.
    Yes it’s not hard for you, it’s not hard for me, but still it is hard to some people.
    A lot of them evidently from what I read.

    So it's nice to have both text explaining the activation and a video doing the same.
    Regards.

    A
    Ashley22481611dbo8Author
    Inspiring
    January 3, 2022

    Thank you for replying. I'm trying to do offline activation as irs an old Mac and I can't get it to connect to internet. I keep putting in the computer generated code and serial number and it keeps telling me one of them is incorrect. I thought if I moved the hard drive into the new one it would work 🙁

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 3, 2022

    @Ashley22481611dbo8,

    No.  You must install from the original installation disks or downloads you received at purchase on a compatible operating system such as Mac Mojave.  And your computer and browser must have TLS 1.2 connections enabled. Otherwise you can't connect to Adobe's servers.

    https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/eol-tls-support.html

     

    When prompted, enter your valid serial number.  Activation should commence.

    Failing that, we need the exact error message or code you're seeing.

     

    Keep in mind that legacy CS6 is discontinued & unsupported.  Use at your own risk.

     

    =============
    Beware of fake Adobe reps who may contact you privately offering to sell you software or take control of your computer. It's a scam, run away! Real Adobe employees will never reach out via Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail or Skype.
    =============
    3 Easy Ways to Identify Genuine Adobe Staff
    https://tinyurl.com/10791730

     

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    A
    Ashley22481611dbo8Author
    Inspiring
    January 4, 2022

    Thank you for your reply. I have a pristine set of disks that I purchased brand new from Adobe and used once, and carefully stored away. Forgive my lack of tech skills, are you saying that I cannot use them without internet connection on the computer? I don't know what TLS 1.2 is.

    LinSims
    Community Expert
    LinSimsCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 3, 2022

    Let me move this the the Accounts, Payments, & Plans forum, which is the appropriate one for your question. The Using the Community forum is for questions about how to use the community.

     

    As far as I know (and I've been on vacation for a couple weeks), the activation servers for CS6 are still alive. Make sure you have TL1.2 enabled on your machine, some of the Adobe servers won't allow connections without it now.

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