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donnas27069639
donnas27069639
Participant
May 17, 2018
Answered

My CS6 serial number from eBay is not accepted

  • May 17, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1045 views

I bought Adobe Creative Suite 6 on eBay and have been using it for years with no problems. I recently bought a new iMac and used Migration Assistant to move everything onto my new iMac. Everything stills work on the old iMac, but the only thing that works on my new iMac is Illustrator. Photoshop and InDesign both ask for a serial number, and like so many others, I get the message saying that the serial number has been revoked.

1) Why would Illustrator work, but nothing else?

2) What do I do? I started a chat with Adobe almost an hour ago, and I'm getting the message "Thanks for your patience.  Representatives are currently helping other customers and we will be with you shortly."

Really? I guess it's all relative, but an hour is not "shortly" to me!!

Somebody please help me. I am trying to avoid Cloud at all costs!!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Jeffrey_A_Wright

    Branching to a new discussion.

    Donnas27069639, I am showing that you currently have an active membership in Illustrator CC.  This is why Illustrator is launching successfully.

    You do have two Creative Suite software titles registered under your account.  The Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium is not valid as it was not designed to be sold except through educational channels.  You mentioned you purchased Creative Suite 6 from eBay?  Were you still attending an educational institution at that time?  Regardless you are welcome to use the process listed in Invalid or revoked serial numbers to report the details of the individual or organization who sold you Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium.

    The Master Collection CS5 for Mac serial number is still valid.  It is an education license so the retail installation files available at Download Adobe Creative Suite 5 products will result in the serial number being invalid.  In addition, you also mentioned that you migrated your applications to the new iMac. This can cause additional complications for installing Creative Suite 5 successfully.

    To recover from the migration and install Creative Suite 5 please complete the following steps, Donnas27069639:

    1. Run all available uninstallers in Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers
    2. Download and run the CC Cleaner Tool from Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems

    Once you complete both steps you will then be in a good position to reinstall Creative Suite 5 on the new iMac.  You will need to locate your original installation files.  If the current iMac does not have an optical drive then you will need to use a computer that does to transfer the files to a USB drive.

    Finally, Donnas27069639, if your new iMac is running macOS 10.12 or later then you will need to use the workaround listed in Installing Creative Suite on macOS 10.12 (Sierra) .  Make sure to follow the extra steps listed under Creative Suite 5 installations.

    2 replies

    Jeffrey_A_Wright
    Jeffrey_A_WrightCorrect answer
    Legend
    May 17, 2018

    Branching to a new discussion.

    Donnas27069639, I am showing that you currently have an active membership in Illustrator CC.  This is why Illustrator is launching successfully.

    You do have two Creative Suite software titles registered under your account.  The Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium is not valid as it was not designed to be sold except through educational channels.  You mentioned you purchased Creative Suite 6 from eBay?  Were you still attending an educational institution at that time?  Regardless you are welcome to use the process listed in Invalid or revoked serial numbers to report the details of the individual or organization who sold you Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium.

    The Master Collection CS5 for Mac serial number is still valid.  It is an education license so the retail installation files available at Download Adobe Creative Suite 5 products will result in the serial number being invalid.  In addition, you also mentioned that you migrated your applications to the new iMac. This can cause additional complications for installing Creative Suite 5 successfully.

    To recover from the migration and install Creative Suite 5 please complete the following steps, Donnas27069639:

    1. Run all available uninstallers in Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers
    2. Download and run the CC Cleaner Tool from Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems

    Once you complete both steps you will then be in a good position to reinstall Creative Suite 5 on the new iMac.  You will need to locate your original installation files.  If the current iMac does not have an optical drive then you will need to use a computer that does to transfer the files to a USB drive.

    Finally, Donnas27069639, if your new iMac is running macOS 10.12 or later then you will need to use the workaround listed in Installing Creative Suite on macOS 10.12 (Sierra) .  Make sure to follow the extra steps listed under Creative Suite 5 installations.

    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    John T SmithCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 17, 2018

    Tell everyone you know who owns a Mac, including Apple employees... Mac Migration and Time Machine DO NOT WORK properly with Adobe program activations due to hidden registration files that are not included when Migration or Time Machine make their copies

    Invalid Serial Number https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2359923

    -Problems with software validation https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2273259

    -Warning that software is not genuine http://www.adobe.com/genuine.html

    -http://prodesigntools.com/dont-buy-adobe-software-on-ebay-craigslist-or-amazon-marketplace.html

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