Donating Old Software Disks

Report · Nov 06, 2020

Hi, our office is moving and we need to purge a TON of old software install disks we've kept around for some reason. We currently have 5 valid licenses for CS6, which we still use on occassion, along with our CC subscriptions.

But we have old CS1-CS4 disks, and even a ton of Photoshop 7.0/Illustrator 10.0/InDesign 2.0 disks. All disks have serial numbers written on them. We have about 4-5 copies of each.

I know that these don't have any value for modern users/computers/etc. But I wonder about nonprofits, schools, or even 3rd-world countries that may have old Mac computers that can't run new software?!?

Seems a shame to have to destroy or somehow recycle all these if someone somewhere could get a little use of them.

- Options? Legalities?

Thanks!

Report · Nov 08, 2020

This is a nice thought. CS1/CS2/CS3 can no longer be activated, these are useless to anyone. Older and new apps can be sold or given away, but be sure to complete a transfer of license in the form Adobe needs. Otherwise, you have kept the rights to run it, and the person you gave/sold the disks to is using it unlicensed... Bear in mind too that if the older disks/licenses were used for upgrading, then you must not share them.

Report · Nov 09, 2020

The last time I moved, I tried to donate old software to my local library and they said, "thanks but no thanks." For security reasons, they won't take it. Toss your old disks in the recycle bin.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Nov 10, 2020

Thannks for the responses. We'll go ahead and destroy the CS1-CS4 disks.

Interestingly, when I checked eBay real quick, there were a few copies of Photoshop 7.0 listed for $200-300! A bit shockig, but maybe there's a need for people stuck on old computers that can't run newer versions?!? They all mention havig serial number, but none mention any sort of transfer of license.

On our older PS7.0, Illy10.0, Acrobat 6/7, InDesign 2.0 software, we only see a couple of the 30+ install disks registered in our Adobe account. So we're not sure if we ever registered any of the rest of them, or if any of them were upgrades (we moved from them to the full Creative Suite).

I can't imagine we'd want to fill out 30+ transfer of license forms for all those, espeically if we were donating the whole box to someone who woud distribute them to random folks...

Report · Nov 10, 2020

There is an awful lot of pirated, malware infected software floating around. Without some assurance that it's legitimate (such as an official transfer of ownership), it's not worth the risks to most people.

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Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Nov 12, 2020

If your photo shop is still available? I have never used one of them ever!?

Report · Nov 17, 2020

As Nancy indicated, eBay is not known for legitimate software and it's best to stay away...

CS4 can still be activated, but not CS3, CS2, etc. Not sure about the really old stuff you mention, but arguably a modern copy of PS Elements could probably do a better job (and run on a current o/s) than an ancient copy of Photoshop.

For the other tools, file incompatibilities with newer releases could limit their utility. It's an interesting question though and nice thought!

Report · Nov 17, 2020

Excluding the security issues for one moment, modern Mac devices can't handle older software.

Creative Suite installers won't work on macOS Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave without terminal workarounds. See the help article below.
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/install-creative-suite-mac-os-sierra.html

Creative Suite & earlier will NEVER work on Catalina or Big Sur.

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/fix-macos-64-bit-compatibility-errors.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/macos-big-sur.html

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Recyle old software disks into holiday ornaments and gifts.

https://www.pinterest.com/colleenkellymcg/recycling-ideas-for-the-million-discs-lying-around/

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator