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Pumkween
Pumkween
Participant
January 3, 2016
Answered

Trying to Reinstall Adobe CS3 on a New Machine, Need Help

  • January 3, 2016
  • 1 reply
  • 466 views

Hello, everyone.

The school I attended provided its students with Mac notebooks/laptops which came with Adobe CS3 Master Collection installed on it. I have contacted support about trying to deactivate CS3 from my slow, aging laptop and reactivate and reinstall it on my much better home desktop, and it turns out the serial number is linked to a volume license, which, from snooping around the Internet, I learned meant that it doesn't require activation/deactivation. Assuming that meant I could simply uninstall it/reinstall it, that's exactly what I did, but I haven't had any luck registering the serial code on my desktop.

I can't find out anywhere whether or not volume licenses bind products to the one machine once installed, and how I can actually move my copy of CS3 to a different PC if this is the case. I have been unable to stay in contact with Live Chat Support long enough to pop this question before being cycled through different departments, with each chat basically resulting in a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from these "professionals."

All I want to know is if it's possible to move CS3 between computers and how I would go about it. Please and thank you.

Some probably helpful information:

* The laptop is a Mac, my desktop is running Windows 10

* I've heard that volume licenses are cross-platform

* Links to CS3 programs are apparently aren't available anymore, but I have all the trial versions of the products installed on my desktop currently

* When I enter the serial number into the product activation window and click "Next," I get a red cross saying that the number is invalid

* Trying to activate the serial number on my Adobe ID account results in a message saying "this product is already registered," obviously by my school's IT department

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Ned Murphy

Volume Licensing
----------------

http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/volume-licensing-site.html

Volume Licensing Activation Issue: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1526938

1 reply

Ned Murphy
Ned MurphyCorrect answer
Legend
January 3, 2016

Volume Licensing
----------------

http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/volume-licensing-site.html

Volume Licensing Activation Issue: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1526938

Pumkween
PumkweenAuthor
Participant
January 3, 2016

So apparently I need to install the files from the LWS? It won't let me log in for some reason, it says I'm not recognised as an authorised user.

Del Z
Del Z
Participating Frequently
January 5, 2016

Hi Pumkween,

I'm sorry you have had such a frustrating time.

As you may know if you read the forum discussion Ned linked, volume licenses for Creative Suite 3 do not include activation technology, meaning the software doesn't require a serial number to work. If you are receiving a message that the serial number is invalid it's likely because you transferred your installation to a different computer. I'm guessing you tried to reinstall by downloading CS3 from Adobe (if this is not the case, please correct me), but that won't work because volume licenses require a special version of the CS3 installation files. This special version is sometimes available under the end-user's account (that's you). However, if you log in using your Adobe ID‌ and you don't see a download link under your Plans & Products, the special version is probably only available to the license administrator. In other words, access to the files you need is limited to whomever oversees the volume license (Deploy-ID): most likely someone in the IT department at your school.

The complexities of volume licensing also explain why you cannot log onto the LWS. If your Adobe ID is not associated with the purchase or administration of a volume license, you will not be recognized. I can't say for sure without knowing the terms of this particular license, but volume licenses are typically cross platform, so your suite can theoretically be switched between computers (recognizing, of course, that CS3 is very old and may not run properly on newer operating systems). However, you will need access to the correct volume licensing installation files. Your best bet is contacting IT at your university to see if they can provide these.

I hope this helps lead to a possible solution. If you have more questions, or if we can be of additional help, please post a reply to this thread.

Best,

Del

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