Participant

Question

Adobe CS5 Photoshop extention Activation

Forum|Forum|8 months ago
July 22, 2025
3 replies
504 views

I am trying to reactivate my Adobe Photoshop on a new computer after de-activating from my old computer system. The de-activation was confirmed but when I try to Activate on my new computer system it is now telling me that the Serial number is active on 2 computers and that I have now reached my limit of trying to Activate. Any advice to correct this situation? Thank you!

Windows

F

floyd_9745

Participant

That message usually means Adobe’s activation servers still show your old computer as active, even though you deactivated it. The best fix is to contact Adobe Support directly and ask them to reset your activation count. They can remove old machine records from your serial number. You’ll need your product key and possibly your Adobe ID.

Since CS5 is a legacy product, you may need to use chat or phone support and request a “serial number activation reset.” Once they clear it, you’ll be able to activate Photoshop on your new system normally.

kglad

Community Expert

@floyd_9745

your information is outdated and incorrect. adobe support cannot help.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Don't waste your time chasing after a 15-year-old product built for Win XP, Vista, Win 7.

1. The likelihood that anyone still has access to old equipment & operating systems is slim to none.

2. There's no guarantee that CS5 will install, much less activate, on your new system.

3. CS5's been unsupported for more than a decade.

Get modern software to compliment your superfast new computer. After you see what current Photoshop can do, you'll kick for yourself for not doing this sooner.

Creative Cloud Photography Plan
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

Creative Cloud Bundles & Single App Plans for mobile, web & desktops
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

Enjoy your new computer!

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

brentj71776630

Participating Frequently

Photoshop CS5 has been working just fine for me for years, including on my latest Windows 10 desktop. Before upgrading that computer to Win 11 today, I deactivated Photoshop and it CONFIRMED that it was successfully deactivated. After completion of the Win 11 upgrade, I opened Photoshop, it asked for the serial number, I entered it, and it told me that the activation limit had already been reached. I bet that CS5 would work just fine with Win 11 on the very same computer it worked just fine on with Win 10 this morning. But Adobe has blocked me from finding out, with an incorrect claim that the activation limit had been reached. They no longer offer support to correct their error in this respect, but they somehow find it worth their time to still have a server active that tracks the number of times the software has been activated, but IGNORES whenever it is deactivated. I don't want a "guarantee" from Adobe, and I don't care if they no longer support CS5. I just don't want them to sc**w me out of the product I paid for. I suspect it is an intentional strategy on their part to force users to "see what current Photoshop can do." Nope, not this user, I'm not spending any more money on a company that behaves in this manner.

brentj71776630

Participating Frequently

The aged-out activation servers are tired and ill-performing after 15 years of continuous service. Nothing that old lasts forever.

Besides, CS5 was built for WinXP, not Win11. Even if you could activate it, there's no guarantee that CS5 would perform as expected on the latest operating systems. Too much has changed since 2010.

You've gotten many years of use from a product that had a shelf-life of 3-5 years. That's nothing to complain about.

MODERN OPTIONS:
==============
FREE Acrobat Reader
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdf-reader.html

FREE Online PDF Editor
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-editor.html\

Paid Acrobat (Standard, Pro or Studio)
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing/compare-versions.html

Photoshop Elements or Premiere Elements (3 year license, no subscription needed).
https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html

Creative Cloud Annual Photography plan.
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

FREE or Paid Adobe Express
https://helpx.adobe.com/express/using/express-overview.html

Creative Cloud Bundles & Single Apps for mobile, web & desktops
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

Hope that helps.

Adobe can maintain the server well enough to deny re-activation, but somehow Adobe doesn't have the resources or tech savvy to have its server keep track of my deactivation? I don't buy it. And even if it was built for XP, it worked fine on Win 10 and I'm betting would have worked fine on Win 11 but for Adobe blocking me from activating it. Like I said, I don't want a "guarantee" that it will work on Win 11. I just object to Adobe killing my license, apparently to force me to buy a subscription. And I have looked all over the box and find nothing about a "shelf life of 3-5 years." Where does that come from? I paid a substantial sum for this program, and I have no need or desire for a newer version. So my personal opinion differs from yours. I do think I have a right to complain about Adobe's actions.

kglad

Community Expert

retry activating on that old computer. then update your os and make sure your default browser is not opera and is also updated. then retry deactivating.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded