ADOBE CS4 Ilustrator/InDesign and Windows 11

[billc45328689]

Illustrator and InDesign CS4 cause the computer to freeze randomly.    Why would that be?

Maybe these older versions of Adobe are not set up for windows 11?  Is there anyway to fix this or am I resolved to buy new versions of  Adobe products.   Did Adobe do this on purpose to force us to buy new software and increase their income?

[Test Screen Name]

Adobe stopped supporting CS4 in 2013. So they did not change anything after that date (in fact, the final update was earlier). At this time Windows 8 had just been release. 

Now you hope this old, unchanged software will continue to work in the newer Windows 10 and now even Windows 11. But Microsoft change the systems, while Adobe do not change the app.

So for some people it fails. For others it keeps going. 

Yes, Adobe want you to now subscribe, this is their plan for getting income. But they didn't break CS4 to do it. (NB you can no longer install CS2, CS3, maybe CS4 because Adobe DID turn off the activation servers).

[mrs_pixel]

I'm running Adobe Master Collection on Windows 10.

[Nancy OShea]

Creative Suite is discontinued & unsupported.  It has never been tested on Win11.

CS2, CS3, CS4 activation servers are dead.  CS5 & CS6 are on life support.

If you want to use a modern OS like Win11, better budget for modern software that's compatible with it.  Otherwise, don't upgrade your OS.

MODERN OPTIONS:
Photoshop Elements or Premier Elements (approx USD $100, no subscription needed).
https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html

Creative Cloud Photography Plan (approx $10/month for 12 months). Includes the following:

• Photoshop CC and Photoshop on iPad
• Camera Raw
• Lightroom on desktop, mobile and the web
• Lightroom Classic
• Portfolio website + hosting
• Adobe Express (free starter plan)
• Bridge
• 20 GB cloud storage (upgradable to 1 TB).

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

Premium Adobe Express ($10/month).

• Creative Cloud Express app (web and mobile)
• Premiere Rush (desktop and mobile)
• Photoshop Express (mobile)
• Spark Video (mobile)
• Spark Page (mobile)
• Adobe Portfolio + hosting
• 100 GB of cloud storage
• All premium templates and design assets including the entire collection of over 160 million royalty-free Adobe Stock photo collection.

https://helpx.adobe.com/express/using/express-overview.html

Creative Cloud All Apps (51 + apps & services) and Single Apps Plans
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

Hope that helps.

[mrs_pixel]

I'm running Adobe Master Collection CS4 on Windows 10. Does Adobe CS4 work on Windows 11?

[LinSims]

You can try the suggestions in @John T Smith's post, but Adobe has not updated CS4 in a bit over a decade. It is not supported on anything past Windows 7 or 8. Running it on an OS later than Windows 8 is a crapshoot. On some systems it apparently does, on others it doesn't. 

[kglad]

@mrs_pixel, don't try installing cs4 on a win 11 computer.  you won't be able to activate it.

if you want to try to upgrade your win 10 os to win 11 on a computer which contains an activated cs4, that might be ok, but it will not help cs4 to run better and will not solve any cs4 problems.

[LinSims]

Didn't someone say recently that if you were installing it on a brand-new, it's never had CS4 installed on it before, computer, that it was still possible to activate it? Or has that little workaround also disappeared now?

[John T Smith]

I do not know if that 'oddity' still works, but here is where it is described

https://community.adobe.com/t5/the-lounge-discussions/wishful-thinking/m-p/12629144
--See John Waller reply dated 1-1-22 There's a kink in the space-time continuum with CS4 activation.

[kglad]

i can't speak to wallet's experience, but if it were true that one could activate cs4 on a computer with no previous cs4 installation, everyone with a compatible computer would be able to activate whether they'd had a previous install, or not. 

[worcestertunes.com]

I installed Adobe CS4 on Windows 11 and it caused two problems.  First, the little folder icon on the taskbar would not open File Explorer.  You could still right-click on the folder and click on "File Explorer" to get at your folders and files.   Second for me Microsoft Store would download apps but not install them.   I got a hunch that it might be Bridge messing with File Explorer.  Searching did not result in any way for me to remove Bridge. I decided I would just go into Program Files (x86) and move the entire Bridge folder and its contents to a USB drive in case I needed to restore it.   That solved my problem so far no glitches.

[AxelMatt]

In addition to the reply of @Test Screen Name:

Don't try to deinstall and reinstall your CS4 apps. The activation servers for CS2 - CS4 were cutoff several years ago. Youn can install your CS4 products, but you can't activate it. So they run in a trial mode for max. 30 days.

[John T Smith]

Two ideas that MAY work to install and/or run old programs in Windows 10 (and MAYBE Windows 11 ?)
-RIGHT click the program icon or EXE and select a compatibility mode in the pop up option window
-and/or select Run as Administrator to assign FULL Windows permissions
-also https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/create-local-administrator-account-windows.html