Disc to digital

What version?

If you purchased it and registered it on your Adobe account, you may be able to download it.

Keep in mind, however, that older versions will not run on the latest version of Mac operating system.

If, as suggested, you bought PS Elements 2020, Retail, and you got DVD discs on the sleeve of the Windows version there is a website, a link, to download the Digital version for just this type of problem.

Or you could do as suggested by others and get a external CD/DVD drive that connects by a USB port. Good to have either way. Cost somewhere around 20 dollars US.

Or if you are trying to install an Older version of PS Elements (even one year older) from a DVD disc you might need a external CD /DVD drive as I don't know of any digtial downloads for older versions.

BUT (and this is a BIG BUT) if your Mac has OS X 10.5.x Catalina installed you will not be able to install any older versions of PS Elements. Either the installer or the whole program is 32 bit and you can't run 32 bit program on the newest Apple OS X version, Catalina. So in that case you would need to buy a new version of PSE, the 2020 version.

Although there are many easy ways to read your CD, it's probably older than Photoshop Elements 2020. A new Mac needs all new apps, so don't waste your time with old disks.

Hi

To move DVD or CD data onto my own macbook and mac mini  (I don't have a built in disk drive on either) I use a low cost DVD external drive, it's small and it works great. I've not used it a whole lot but its super useful when needed. Maybe you have some old photos on discs you'd like occasional access to, or even a few music CDs to import to iTunes. Not everything is available on services such as Spotify or Apple Music. 

An external USB DVD/CD disc reader is a good investment, maybe $30-40. Amazon is useful for stuff like this as its an easy return if it doesn’t work right. 

If you can't get hold of a USB-C external optical (DVD and CD) drive and have a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) only Macbook (those are smaller sockets than regular USB) you'll also need a USB to USB-C adaptor to use regular USB devices, another good investment for compatibility. I regularly use my adaptors for my time machine backup USB external hard disk, colour measurement devices etc. 

I hope this helps

if so, please "like" my reply and if you're OK now, please mark it as "correct", so that others who have similar issues can see the solution

thanks

neil barstow, colourmanagement.net

[please do not use the reply button on a message in the thread, only use the one at the top of the page, to maintain chronological order]

If you purchased the latest version on disc (2020) then you'll be good to go once you get a separate disc drive to plug into your computer. Apple still makes a separate Superdrive, though it's rather pricey for such old tech. I would do a quick search on Amazon for "USB-C optical drive" as there are several listed as Mac-compatible (and that is the right plug). 

If you purchased an older version of Elements then let us know, as it may not work on Apple's latest OS that shipped with your laptop. 

WM