Switching between my machines is an absolute dog's dinner!

Report · May 30, 2023

Is there a "correct" was to activate & deactivate the machines I'm using on my account. Because at the moment, there seem to be about 20 steps when there surely should be one!!

Firstly, when I go into the CC app on the desired machine, it doesn't know my username & password! Why not? That is messed up! I have to go to the Adobe web site, log in there, navigate to my account settings & deactivate the machine & then repeat the entire process on the other machine, except Creative Cloud asks me to log in again every time but DOESN'T REMEMBER MY USER NAME & PASSWORD. So I have to go off to Safari, log into the passwords section & then copy & paste the password from there.

What a complete mess!!

Surely all I should have to do is to go up to the menu bar, click on the CC icon & go down to a menu item that says "deactive on this machine" then go to the other machine & go to a menu item that says "acitivate on this machine".

Why is it so ridiculously complicated. Or is it? Am I missing a key part ofthe system here?

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Also it wouldn't let me post without choosing a topic. None of the 4 topics are at all relevant to my post, but I couldn't see how to add one.

Report · May 30, 2023

if your credentials are not maintained something on your computer (eg, av, antimalware, cleaner etc) is removing or corrupting them.

the typical workflow when trying to use an adobe cc app on a 3rd computer: a prompt to sign out from one of the other two signed-in computers appears > you select the computer you want to sign out and you're signed into that third computer. ie, one click after trying to open that app, and no typing is required.

Report · May 30, 2023

Thta's precisely what I've had in the past & it's not happening now. I wonder how I might troubleshoot the issue? Any ideas?

Report · May 30, 2023

you can start by checking the creation date of your stored credentials.

) Browse to the following location based on your operating system.

A) Mac OS: /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE

NOTE: \Users\<user name>\Library\ is hidden by default. To unhide see below*

B) Windows: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Adobe\OOBE

NOTE: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData is hidden by default. To unhide see below*

*see bottom of https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/unknown-server-error-launching-cc.html for info on unhidding

Report · May 30, 2023

Okay, I'm there. The library folder was not hidden. There are 32 items in the OOBE folder. Which one will be the credentials one I'm after?

Report · May 31, 2023

the folders entire contents contain cached user login and program info. it should be recreated whenever there's a problem.

copy and paste screenshots (don't attach) and show the creation dates.

you can then quit the cc desktop app (hamburger menu>file>exit)

delete the oobe folder's contents (i like to zip everything, then delete all but zip).

then restart your cc desktop app and see what gets recreated and the dates. (copy and paste a screenshot).

then wait until the problem recurs and check that oobe folder to see if stuff has been recreated. (copy and paste screenshot)

Report · Jun 07, 2023

So, I followed the instructions & everything got replaced with new files with that day's date on. No need for screenshots, I don't think.

Did anything change?

Well, actually it may heve been something I was doing wrong in the first place.

What was happening is this..

I would launch Photoshop on the second machine. (Note: we have two log-ins & I leave my wife's machine logged in all the time & switch between my two laptops) I would see the log in screen appear. It wouldn't remember my user name & password. I would then go & log in on the web site (because the web site does know my used name & password) & go through the process I described in the first post.

Having completed the process outlined above, I went to log in &, instead of going off to the web site, I logged into CC. It still didn't know my user name & password, but, having logged in, I did get the familiar switching screen.

So that part seems to have been remedied.

But why does CC Not know my user name & password???? (I still have to go to my safari passwrods & copy & paste the password from there?)

Report · Jun 07, 2023

what do you mean we have two log-ins?

you and your wife have two different accounts/adobe ids?

Report · Jun 07, 2023

No, sorry, I'm probably just using the wrong termonology.

We have one account. Two machines are allowed to be logged in at the same time. I leave hers logged in & switch between my two laptops for the second machine.

Report · Jun 07, 2023

(you're not supposed to shared your account with anyone else.)

ok, so you remove your login credentials from the other two computer.

you start the the login process on one of the other two (2nd computer) and use the adobe website to login. does that computer then create your login credentials?

if (before doing anything on the third computer), can you restart that 2nd computer and are you still signed in?

Report · Jun 07, 2023

How do I remove my log in credentials from the other two machines? Do you mean delete it from passwords in Safari?

Report · Jun 08, 2023

I imagine that it doesn't remember your account and password for login next time, is that you chose to sign out. In Adobe's world you'd only sign out if it was to let someone else sign in. This protects your account from abuse. Imagine a shared workstation in a design lab; people must be made to login as themselves, rather than just click the last known account.

Report · Jun 08, 2023

I don't choose to sign out. It signs me out. Let's say I'm signed in & using Photoshop on the first machine. I go to the second machine, launch Photoshop, it prompts me to switch to the second machine & asks me for a user name & password (that it doesn't remember, even though it's in my Safari passwords & the web site remembers it). I type those in & I get the switching panel, where I choose which machine to switch from. It then greys out CC on the first machine & I go ahead & use Photoshop on the second machine.

When I want to use Photoshop on the first machine & get the same process & it greys out CC on the second machine.

Report · Jun 08, 2023

no, you remove your credentials the way i explained previously.

the oobe folder's entire contents contain cached user login and program info. it should be recreated whenever there's a problem.

quit the cc desktop app (hamburger menu>file>exit)

delete the oobe folder's contents* (i like to zip everything, then delete all but zip).

then restart your cc desktop app and see what gets recreated and the dates. (copy and paste a screenshot).

*

Browse to the following location based on your operating system.

A) Mac OS: /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE

NOTE: \Users\<user name>\Library\ is hidden by default. To unhide see below*

B) Windows: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Adobe\OOBE

NOTE: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData is hidden by default. To unhide see below**

**see bottom of https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/unknown-server-error-launching-cc.html for info on unhidding