Adobe Acrobat XI Pro will not activate after reinstalling Windows/10

Report · May 19, 2017

My Windows/10 system got corrupted (constant BSODs, every 15-20 minutes) so I was forced to re-install--in a new partition on the same machine. Now my copy of Adobe Acrobat XI Pro will not let me re-validate upon program startup.

I get the message "Serial Number you provided is valid, but a qualifying product could not be found on the computer."

This AFTER it was already installed, and accepted the serial number for registering.

Adobe keeps telling me I don't have a valid installation or serial number, but I can buy a new one for $299; eerily similar to what I ran into when I upgraded from Windows/7 a year or so ago, paid $150 that time to get the install code (and serial number) I'm trying to use now.

Could anyone please help me on this? Thanks much

Report · May 20, 2017

your license is for an upgrade version.

when starting your installation you're prompted for your xi serial number. when the installer fails to find a qualifying product (ie, previous version) installed, you will be presented with a dropdown of possible qualifying products. select the one you own. you will then be asked to enter the qualifying products serial number.

enter the correct number at the correct time and installation will proceed.

Report · May 20, 2017

Thank you for the clarification, as well as for the prompt response. A

couple of hours on chat with support did not yield this explanation.

Unfortunately for me, the upgrade was for Acrobat 7 to XI, and version 7 is

not on the list of acceptable versions. Apparently, the earliest version

acceptable is version 8.

What I do not understand is why the "upgrade version" was okay a year ago,

but won't work now. Can someone explain that to me?

Again, thanks for your response. Looks like I'm still screwed....

Report · May 20, 2017

your serial number should be the same last year as this year. if the serial number is an upgrade serial number this year, it was last year, too.

in addition, acrobat 7 was never a valid upgrade path to acrobat xi. you can use acrobat 9 or 10 to upgrade to xi.

and i don't understand this, "A couple of hours on chat with support did not yield this explanation." what explanation?

Report · May 20, 2017

You clarify much more succinctly!

The "upgrade version" I'm trying to use did indeed upgrade me from version *7

to XI*. Version 7 is the only one I owned. I received the XI install file

and serial number from Adobe support via email back when I was upgrading

to Windows/10, and it worked just fine then. I paid $150 then (via Western

Union) and received the product subsequently.

What I do not understand is why this does not work now, when it worked then

on my *new *Windows/10 installation. I have been having BSODs constantly

from Windows/10 and so am forced to reinstall it--same computer, same

Windows/10 product key, just a different partition. I have tried every

"trick" I can find to *repair *Windows/10, but nothing works.

Thank you for you assistance; I hope you can continue to explain this to me.

Report · May 20, 2017

I would like to add that I was offered (by support, via chat) a replacement

of some kind, version 12, for $199. I am leaning toward accepting that.

However, this would apparently still be considered an upgrade from version

7, which supposedly is not allowed with my upgrade version 11, which I

acquired the same way.

How is this going to work, and will I not be facing the same problem again

if (or probably when) I have to reinstall Windows again?

Thanks again for your assistance.

On Sat, May 20, 2017 at 11:52 AM, Paul Williams <prwilliams38@gmail.com>

Report · May 20, 2017

you would be purchasing an xi upgrade.

when you start your dc installation you would be prompted for your dc serial number. the installer would then fail to detect a qualifying upgrade (eg, xi) on your computer and would prompt you with a dropdown of qualifying previous versions (which would include xi). you would select your xi version and you would then be prompted for your xi serial number. after entering your xi serial number (even though the xi number is an upgrade number), your dc installation would proceed. ie, your xi upgrade serial number would be accepted would requiring another (previous to xi) serial number.

but before you do that you should check your adobe account, IF you've been purchasing (or registering) your acrobat versions from (with) adobe. you must have owned a version betwen 7 and xi, Adobe ID

Report · May 20, 2017

No, I did not own another version since version 7. When I upgraded from

Windows/7 to Windows/10, I discovered that my Adobe Acrobat would no longer

run, on Windows/10. I had been using it for many years through Windows/XP

and Windows/7.

I contacted Adobe support and had a lengthy email exchange, culminating in

my agreement to purchase that XI upgrade for $150, and that has served me

well ever since...until now as I am having to re-install Windows/10.

You can see why I am frustrated and actually upset with this situation. I

DID NOT bootleg Adobe Acrobat at any time! Your statement "you must have

owned a version betwen 7 and xi" is sadly not true.

Where does that leave me? Obviously, I can never use my Acrobat 7 serial

number, and also cannot use my Acrobat XI serial number--both of which I

came by honestly.

Report · May 20, 2017

you can check with adobe staff to confirm, acrobat 7 was never a valid upgrade path to acrobat xi.

using a browser that allows popups and cookies, contact adobe support during pst business hours by clicking here and, when available, click 'still need help', https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

Report · May 20, 2017

See my previous statements: are you saying I'm lying about this upgrade

process? it worked perfectly for more than a year!!! I don't mean to cast

aspersions, but this is more than a little confusing to me.

Report · May 20, 2017

Addendum: I located the record of when I purchased that Adobe Acrobat XI

version. I sent a Western Union payment, as instructed, on February 4,

2016. As I have previously said, over a year ago. I had upgraded to

Windows/10 the previous December...because something else no longer worked

on Windows/7.

If it will help, the program file I was sent was

AcrobatPro_11_Web_WWMUI.exe and the serial number I was given along with

it was [serial number removed - kglad]. As I recall, it did not require me

to enter my Acrobat 7 Pro serial number to activate. Did someone pull a

fast one on me??

On Sat, May 20, 2017 at 2:28 PM, Paul Williams <prwilliams38@gmail.com>

Report · May 20, 2017

don't publicly post your serial number. that can result in it being revoked.

again, contact adobe to see whether acrobat 7 was a valid upgrade path to acrobat xi. afaik, it never was. but i could be wrong.

i'm not an adobe employee so you should check with an official adobe rep.

Report · May 20, 2017

My bad. sorry. I think I mentioned earlier that I spent a couple of hours

"chatting" with Adobe employees, with no joy. They also insist that it

can't be done. It appears that that serial number will never be useful

again, anyway.

Thanks much for taking so much time conversing with me. I appreciate it.

Report · May 20, 2017

you're welcome.

but if they indicated that acrobat 7 was a valid upgrade path (ie, you can select acrobat 7 from the qualifying version dropdown) and it's your acrobat 7 serial number that's the problem, that can probably be fixed.

is that what you learned from adobe support?

Report · May 20, 2017

No, they were telling me mostly the same thing you did, that I *could not

have upgraded from 7 to 11*; but I did, I promise you.

I was on Windows 7 and Acrobat 7 until December, 2015, when I discovered

that the tax program I had just upgraded for 2015 would only run on Windows

10.

Being in something of a crunch at year-end, I upgraded to Windows/10 so I

could run my tax program. Then I found out Acrobat 7 would not run on

Windows/10.

So I contacted Adobe support, and through an extensive email

back-and-forth, I ultimately paid $150 (plus $11 Western Union fee) to get

the install file and serial number I have now. That was February, 2016,

and it worked until now. I have every reason to believe that I have been

duped.

I can purchase the proffered Acrobat 12 for $199. My problem is that I

have NO REASON to suspect that I will not be in the same boat as I am now,

if and when I have to re-install Windows for any reason.

Report · May 20, 2017

are you using the same installation file sent last year, not one downloaded recently?

Report · May 20, 2017

Yes, the same one I used last year. It's dated 4/17/2016 (I moved it to

a USB flash drive back then).

Report · May 20, 2017

are you sure you were in contact with adobe and not someone else? that sounds very suspicious that you needed to use western union.

i've never heard anyone say that before when purchasing from adobe.com. what address was used to wire that money?

and did adobe support explicitly validate your acrobat xi serial number (when communicating via chat, not the emails from last year)?

Report · May 20, 2017

It's also odd that you had an email exchange back a few years ago. We've never been told an email address for Adobe support, only chat and phone. Of course they might have continued a discussion that way, or it might vary by country. Still, please check the email address. Was it something@adobe.com (exactly Adobe.com, not just similar?)

Report · May 21, 2017

I'm afraid I cannot establish any such details--I cannot locate the emails

in question. It's all pretty suspicious, of course, but the emails did

have the Adobe logo on them, I remember that. And it started out as a chat

with Adobe support. If this was all bogus, then how did they get it to

install correctly over my Acrobat 7? I never had any problem with using

for the past year, and at the time I was pretty desperate to recover the

capability, so I went for it. Now, I think I am pretty much done with

Adobe...except that I still have Photoshop Elements to deal with....

On Sat, May 20, 2017 at 7:06 PM, Test Screen Name <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

Report · May 21, 2017

again, did adobe support explicitly validate your acrobat xi serial number (when communicating via chat, not the emails from last year?

and serial numbers that used to work and now fail is not unusual. there are dozens (if not hundreds) of posts especially in the past few months because adobe recently tightened its checks on illegal software.

Report · May 21, 2017

Interesting, all of this. To my knowledge and belief, this was not pirate

software.

It sounds just like the offer I just got from Adobe support, via chat, to

by an upgrade to Acrobat 12 for $199, doesn't it. And I can show you the

chat transcript on this one. I am sorely tempted to take advantage of the

offer, except that I do not trust that this won't also go bad next time I

have to reinstall Windows.

I have just ripped out all of Adobe Acrobat XI, since I can't use it,

anyway. I will destroy my CD with Acrobat 7. And I am feverishly

assessing alternatives to Adobe Acrobat. I will not permit myself to be

dependent on that software ever again.