CS3 Reactivation

[defaultf4r8z2k8mgex]

My iMac screen went blakc, I tried to put my hard drive in a different iMac but it did not work (wasn't eaxcyly the same), so when I put it back into black scrren computer then hooked up to the other iMac - I was able to use for 5 days then it said Re-Activate program. Needless to say - Adobe will/can not provide a new activation code (BTW - the computer with CS3 will not connect to the internet) - Anybody have any ideas, my new computer will not arrive until beginning of August...in meantime I have jobs to do and I don't want to put New Program on current computer running High Sierra because the new one is Big Sur and not sure it will work or that I will be able to move it to new computer. PSS: Quark provided reactivation code for Quark 8.5 so I can continue to work until new computer arrives..Thank you Quark!

[LinSims]

It is no longer possible to activate CS1, CS2, CS3, or CS4. The activation servers have been retired. The activations servers for CS5, CS5.5, and CS6 are on life support and are not expected to be available for much longer, although Adobe has not provided a timeline for this.

It is also not possible to install CS5, CS5.5, or CS6 on any Mac system with an OS of Catalina or later. Macs no longer support 32-bit applications.

I'm afraid that, like it or not, if you need one of the Adobe apps, you're going to have to get a subscription. If you need 3 or more of them, then the All Apps plan is the cheapest option. There are a couple of apps with the word Elements in the name that are available as permanent licenses, but in general, it's all subscription.

Good luck.

[ProDesignTools]

Good post and advice!

Haven't heard anything about the activation servers for CS5, CS5.5, and CS6, so not sure we can make any determinations about them one way or the other... Wouldn't want to create an expectation out there that Adobe has them on the chopping block, or should.

[LinSims]

From what I've read, Adobe has made it pretty clear that those servers do not have an unlimited lifespan and they will all, eventually, be shut down. We just don't know when. Heck, I only just found out a few days ago that the CS4 servers had been shut down in April!

[ProDesignTools]

Yes, but from what I've heard, that does not affect the reinstallation of Creative Suite 4. So fortunately, clean installs of CS4 on a new computer should still work.

(However, the same is not true for CS3 or CS2, which cannot be reactivated under any circumstance.)

[John T Smith]

I don't know where you heard that, but this says that CS4 is now a dead product

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html?promoid=19SCDRQK

[LinSims]

If you can't activate it, what's the point of installing it? <confused>

[ProDesignTools]

John, LinSims – 

That information above regarding CS4 is per what Adobe's @Jeffrey_A_Wright had posted elsewhere.

[LinSims]

Interesting. I hadn't seen that. Thank you for the link.

[Retune]

That link seems to be unavailable ('Access Denied'). Searching for it, I see a claim from another ACP that 'The server to reset CS4 activations has been shut down, but CS4 may be installed and activated'. Does this mean that if you have a live installation and want to move it, you can deactivate and reactivate on the new machine as normal, but if your machine is dead and you've reached your activation limit, you are out of luck? Or was Jeff's claim a mistake and is the helpx link above ('You can no longer reinstall Creative Suite 2, 3 or 4 even if you have the original installation disks') the final word? If so, then (unlike CS2 and CS3) there's no sign of Adobe providing an alternative CS4 installer that does not require activation, which is very disappointing.

[ashleyHelpPlease]

im assuming CS 5.5 died this week sometime cause I can no longer use the software, would have been nice of them to remove the need to activate the software but I guess they gotta squeeze money out of us somehow. I dont wanna use cloud cause I use this stuff like twice a year and I thought buying software meant I had it forever.

[ProDesignTools · Accepted solution]

Hi Ashley,

There is no known issue with CS5.5 activation, so there must be another explanation particular to your circumstance.

Do you have a valid purchased serial number and is your system reliably connected to the Internet?