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Wojciech+PSAI
Wojciech+PSAI
Participant
July 27, 2026
Answered

Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6 Activation limit reached - old computer crashed. Cannot access chat.

Hello, my old computer experienced a hardware failure and I cannot deactivate Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6. I need to install it on my new machine, but I am getting an activation limit error. Since I do not have an active Creative Cloud subscription, the automated chat bot blocks me from reaching a human agent. Could an Adobe Employee please look into this and help me reset my activation count?

    kglad
    kgladCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 27, 2026

    no one inside adobe can help you.  they can no longer reset activation counts.

     

    the only way to recover an activation is to use a computer that has an activation.  because that’s impossible for you, it’s impossible to recover an activation.

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    6 replies

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 28, 2026
    1. Legacy CS6 is an unsupported product from 2012. That’s why Adobe agents can’t help you.
    2. CS6 was designed to work on WinXP & Win7, not modern Win11 machines with super-fast chips and advanced file management systems.   
    3. Consider these replacement options for your new devices:

    Hope that helps.

     

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    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    kglad
    Community Expert
    kgladCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 27, 2026

    no one inside adobe can help you.  they can no longer reset activation counts.

     

    the only way to recover an activation is to use a computer that has an activation.  because that’s impossible for you, it’s impossible to recover an activation.

    Translate
      Wojciech+PSAI
      Wojciech+PSAIAuthor
      Participant
      July 27, 2026

      Thank you for your reply.

      I'll try to restart my broken computer. I've been working on it with AI for 33 hours now. So far, I know the crash was caused by simultaneous updates to Windows 11 and the graphics card driver. After restarting, the computer doesn't display the login screen. I don't use Adobe programs often enough to purchase a subscription.

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      John T Smith
      Community Expert
      John T SmithCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 27, 2026

      I have never done this (search http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ to find out how) but you MAY be able to start in ‘safe mode’ to bypass the corrupt updates

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