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O
Opticon12000
Participant
October 3, 2009
Answered

Legal to install Adobe Design Suite on my friends PC?

  • October 3, 2009
  • 6 replies
  • 8519 views

Just wanted to ask if it was legal to install Adobe Design Suite on my friends PC? I have the student edition of Adobe Design Suite CS4 and im not sure how many times i am allowed to install it for myself let alone for another person. She is also a valid student and holds a student card. Obviously i didn't pay a lot of money for it to run out of licence uses so i don't want to go over my own amount if i do a reboot for instance. The Microsoft office student edition only has 3 licence uses as an example.

Any replies are already well thanked.

James

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer

    You should be able to *deactivate* the product BEFORE you reformat your hard drive.  After the reformat, reinstall of the OS etc, you should be able to reinstall the Suite and *reactivate* it.

    My understanding is that for CS3, there are a maximum number of activate/deactivate cycles (which, for the record I feel is ENTIRELY INAPPROPRIATE, given that we have paid for the software).

    Also, if there is a significant change in the hardware configuration, you might not be able to reactivate without a call to Adobe support (which, from the complaints lately, is not a very fast option).

    6 replies

    A
    Anonymous
    October 4, 2009

    The 20 activate/deactivate cycle is just plain wrong. What in the world are the shirts thinking?

    ( I am not a Adobe employee but I have slept at a Holiday Inn Express)

    A
    Anonymous
    October 4, 2009

    dec9 wrote:

    The 20 activate/deactivate cycle is just plain wrong. What in the world are the shirts thinking?

    ( I am not a Adobe employee but I have slept at a Holiday Inn Express)

    The thing that scares me the most about it is that BEFORE I knew this was the case, I don't know how many hard drive reformats I have done.  As a result, I don't know how many cycles I have remaining.

    They don't want folks to pirate their software, and I fully agree with that, but then they hamper the paying clients like this?  I am sure there must be activation cracks out there ... and there will likely be folks who will feel the need to go that road, rather than try to deal with the support staff and feel like they have to beg for an activation for the software they paid hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for. 

    A
    Anonymous
    October 4, 2009

    Oh, I agree with you. I am in the same boat with not knowing how many I have remaining. Updating motherboards, hard drives, videocards and such I just never kept count.

    I did not install CS4 back on my main machine. I replaced a motherboard that was dying and found out it took my hard drive with it. I was lucky to get the board to post and deactivated CS4. Otherwise I would be calling in.

    So here sits my main rig. I am waiting on windows 7 to arrive at my door step this month. I did not want to deactivate and reactivate CS4. My backup machine works fine with PS CS4 thank goodness. I can understand why we have to deactivate and reactivate and that is just part of life. But like you said we paid for the software and there should not be a cycle limit.

    O
    Opticon12000Author
    Participant
    October 4, 2009

    Okay then, so the question now is. If i format my own harddrive and install it again if i want to do a fresh install, will it deny me of doing so. Or is it only when i install it and try to use it on two machines. Will it mind if i reinstall it on my PC again after a format?

    James

    A
    Anonymous
    Correct answer
    October 4, 2009

    You should be able to *deactivate* the product BEFORE you reformat your hard drive.  After the reformat, reinstall of the OS etc, you should be able to reinstall the Suite and *reactivate* it.

    My understanding is that for CS3, there are a maximum number of activate/deactivate cycles (which, for the record I feel is ENTIRELY INAPPROPRIATE, given that we have paid for the software).

    Also, if there is a significant change in the hardware configuration, you might not be able to reactivate without a call to Adobe support (which, from the complaints lately, is not a very fast option).

    O
    Opticon12000Author
    Participant
    October 4, 2009

    okay thanks. at the end of the day like you said. we did pay for it. i forgot about that deactivate option up there, wondered where that would come in handy. At least there is a help desk, but as any help desk goes its always a last resort to talk to (or try to talk to) someone to get things working.

    A
    Anonymous
    October 3, 2009

    Opticon12000 wrote:

    Just wanted to ask if it was legal to install Adobe Design Suite on my friends PC?

    It seems that nobody has given you a clear answer.

    the answer is NO!

    also had you read the EULA you would know that students only have one activation. I would imagine that you would be using that. Adobe software is not Microsoft software.

    O
    Opticon12000Author
    Participant
    October 3, 2009

    sorry guys. i didnt know which section it would go under as its a package question not a program specific related one.

    il repost it somewhere better thanks

    Kath-H
    Kath-H
    Inspiring
    October 3, 2009

    It's not really Creative Suite specific either. Given there's no 'general' forum, I think here is as good as anywhere. I think it's disallowed - the point of being able to install any application on two computers, eg desktop/laptop, is that the person who owns the licence may be using the application on two machines at different times. It's not meant as a way of sharing with someone else.

    Phillip M Jones
    Phillip M Jones
    Inspiring
    October 3, 2009

    According to the EULA for most Paid Applications including Adobe's You only allowed to install on a Desktop, a Laptop Computer YOU Own. And usually (atleast MS) you allowed to put a copy on a Backup but is not to be used.

    Now if your selling the  package to your PC buddy, including all the documentation, and send appropriate documentation to Adobe. And remove all traces from your machine(s) possibly.

    Then if your helping your PC buddies install their own Copy go ahead, that's okay

    (Please note information is given by an Experienced User of Acrobat. I am not an employee of Adobe.)

    A
    Anonymous
    October 3, 2009

    You could try here:

    Creative Suite forums.

    Captiv8r
    Captiv8r
    Legend
    October 3, 2009

    Hi James

    I'm not an Adobe attorney and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night so I can't fake being one but I'd have to say that it's probably NOT legal to do this. My guess is that your friend would need to acquire their own copy of the software.

    As an aside, you asked this question in a forum intended to discuss forum issues. You might be better suited to asking this question in a different venue.

    Cheers... Rick

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