Error 16 + No Serial Numbers + Not registered with Adobe - HOWEVER programs still on Apple Mac.

[Garry Maclean]

Hi there,

I’m just wondering if anyone can assist or can offer advice as to where to look.

Apologies in advance if this is a long read.

I’ve been working on my hobby website, on and off since 2014, using Dreamweaver & Photoshop CS6, which I’m aware are old school nowadays.

My problems began last December, 2022, after I had upgraded from High Sierra to Mojave, the upgrade was to enable some other app which required a higher OS than High Sierra. I had previously googled as to whether CS6 was compatible with Mojave and the first answer I found unfortunately said it was - I have since discovered they are not compatible.

The problem I encountered was that although I could still access and use Dreamweaver I could no longer upload the updated page files to my server.

I then purchased a 2 TB SSD to back up everything as I had read that one option was to “downgrade” to High Sierra.

Many issues followed as I soon encountered problems such as being told that there was already a newer OS installed. I eventually went back to Mavericks (Internet Recovery Re-Boot) which my Mac shipped with. Over the next extremely stressful few days - including my mac showing what looked like a white “No Entry Sign” - I have somehow managed to stumble my way to having High Sierra as my OS and The Machine back ups to before Mavericks, when I was running Mojave.

I’ve used Time Machine to restore the Adobe CS6 products but I now have come up against Error 16.

CONFIGURATION ERROR

Please uninstall and reinstall the product.

If this problem still occurs, please contact Adobe technical support for help, and mention the error code shown at the bottom of this screen.

Error: 16

http://www.adobe.com/support/

The problem now escalates somewhat as whilst I purchased the proper packaged printed disks with serial numbers and licence etc., from memory for something in the £800 to £1,000 mark from a retailer I cannot now recall, I also failed to register with Adobe, yep I know, big  .  .  Doh!

I still have the boxes and disks.

Having googled extensively I now appreciate I am in something of a pickle to put it mildly.

I am encountering Error 16 which states I should uninstall/re-install but without the Serial Numbers this I cannot do.

There appears to be a few different apps available that claim to be able to locate the serial numbers from within the mac.

This is a genuine and honest enquiry regarding having legitimately purchased the items so they were input to my Mac at some point, most likely circa 2014.

Does anyone know if these supposed “key finders” actually work ?

https://mac-product-key-finder.com/

They seem to cost about $29 which from where I am would be something of a bargain.

Any assistance and/or suggestions gratefully received.

Many thanks.

Kind regards, Garry.

[kglad]

the installer is not recognizing that you're offline.  i don't know why that's so, but given that it is, you're back to trying to get the installer to recognize that you are online.

the procedure for activating offline is a lot less problematic than trying to convince the installer you are online and able to connect to adobe's secure servers.

i'm not sure which way you want to go:

1. work on trying to get the installer to recognize that you are offline.  (and i have no help for that.)

2. work on getting the installer to recognize that you are online.  and there's lots of help for the common pitfalls. (but you've gone through them previously.)

for 1, you're on your own trying to insure your computer has no connection and trying to convince the installer

for 2: go online: 

confirm that you can connect to the secure adobe servers by reading, http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html

do you see both logos after clicking "link"?

if you can and still see a connection error try these steps, https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/unable-to-reach-adobe-servers.html

if those fail, make sure you also tried the steps at, https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/common-network-connectivity-issues.html

if those all fail, white list the adobe network endpoints, https://helpx.adobe.com/enterprise/kb/network-endpoints.html

[Garry Maclean]

Chers kglad,

I'll try and work my way through these.

Many thanks again.

[Garry Maclean]

I've just gone OFFLINE and started the installer.

Selected install.

Input Serial Number.

A window opened showing my serial number - still inside their boxes - accompanied by a yellow tinted window box containing the message -

"We are unable to validate this serial number for Adobe Dreamweaver CS6. Please contact Customer Support.

[kglad]

I've just gone OFFLINE and started the installer.

Selected install.

Input Serial Number.

A window opened showing my serial number - still inside their boxes - accompanied by a yellow tinted window box containing the message -

"We are unable to validate this serial number for Adobe Dreamweaver CS6. Please contact Customer Support.

By @Garry Maclean

that indicates you no longer have a clean install.

[Garry Maclean]

By "no longer have a clean install" do you mean I should reboot and once again revert to original OS Mavericks then go OFFLINE and repeat the above installation process?

Or do you mean I "no longer have a clean install" of  .  .  .  Dreamweaver ?

Sorry for lack of knowledge regarding this.

[kglad]

i don't know that answer.

ideally, you would wipe your hard drive, install your os and then disconnect from the internet (wired and wireless) and then start your cs6 install and attempy an offline activation.

[Garry Maclean]

Many thanks,

I'll try that again.

Last night I signed in to my Adobe Account looking for answers on their help pages and could see that I unsurprisingly had nothing in my "Your Products" as I had never registered Photoshop or Dreamweaver.

I came across an opportunity to "register" my products and - nothing ventured - gave it a go.

To my surprise, given that I purchased them circa 2014 , my serial numbers were immediately accepted.

Both P.S. & D.W. are now listed under my "Your Products", along with their Serial Numbers.

Both were recognised as being "Platform - Mac" with the registration date Jan 13, 2013.

Other info:-

Photoshop / Version 13.0

Dreamweaver / Version 12.0

Below the words Photoshop and Dreamweaver in their respective listings I now have a round edged rectangular box with the option to "Download".

Is this a step in the right direction - perhaps leading to an alternative approach - or should I still go back, wipe my hard drive and attempt both on and offline installation ?

[Garry Maclean]

Just noticed that in my Adobe Account under "Plans and payment" - "Activated devices" it states that  .  .  .

"YOU HAVE NO ACTIVATED DEVICES"

[Garry Maclean]

I've become aware other users have had similar issues - with serial numbers being found to be counterfeit leading to the licences being revoked.

Just for clarity.

As already stated I purchased the products in 2014 and they have been installed and in use only on this iMac since then up until December 2022 - a few weeks ago.

I retrieved the serial numbers from my iMac using the Mac Product Key Finder app.

I have both Dreamweaver and Photoshop CS6 installation disks, with their respective original boxes with Code stickers on both -

Photoshop Box begins - DVS/A, PHSP, 13.0, MAC, GEN, etc., etc.

Dreamweaver Box begins - DVS/A, DRWV, 12.0, MAC, GEN, etc., etc.

[Garry Maclean]

Given that my original question has morphed quite dramatically from the original.

Would it be appropriate to perhaps open a new question with a new lead heading along the lines of.

"Photoshop & Dreamweaver CS6 products failing to install despite them being registered with Adobe and using original installation disks with serial numbers."

Or should I continue with this thread ?

[kglad]

@Garry Maclean 

were the belarc recovered serial numbers the same as the serial numbers you had been using?

it's not clear starting a new thread would help anything.  other "experts" are less likely to jump in with extraneous info because this is a lengthy thread (though they obviously still read only some of your posts and think they're helping by posting info that's already been discussed and no longer relevant).

anyway, with most recent info are you able to download the installation files from the adobe website?  if so, restore your computer again (so we start with a clean computer without partial adobe installs).

disconnect your computer from the internet

restart the cs6 install of one of the two apps

if (hopefully) you're offered offline activation:

copy the request code and try the suggested offline activation link, but expect it to lead to nothing useful.  if that occurs, use https://aoes-stage.licensingstack.com/aoes/aoes/v1/imsauthstatus

sign in.  expect that to fail unless you use an alternate (eg, google) sign in method.

enter your request code and serial number

copy the response code

paste the response code into your cs6 installation

the installation should complete.

do the same for your 2nd cs6 app.

[Garry Maclean]

Once I've erased HD, cleaned and restored iMac, whilst I can use the installation disks whilst offline I will not be able to access my Adobe Account (online) so will not be able to use the "Download" option from within my Adobe account.

Will using the disks offline be just the same ?

[Garry Maclean]

I initially had lost the serial numbers however using the Mac Product Ket Finder app the serial numbers were recovered, along with several long forgotten serial numbers for past iPhones etc.

I did not try the Belarc option, should I have ?

[Abambo]

I initially had lost the serial numbers however using the Mac Product Ket Finder app the serial numbers were recovered, along with several long forgotten serial numbers for past iPhones etc.

I did not try the Belarc option, should I have ?

By @Garry Maclean

Great! If you are happy, why using something different?

[kglad]

ignore my reference to belarc.  that's my error.  belarc refers to the finder used on windows computers and keyfinder is the correct app to recover mac serial numbers.

[Garry Maclean]

Okay, I'm going to do a HD erase, re-format, clean install etc., and thereafter follow advice.

Many thanks to all !

[kglad]

keep us updated (but i'm still interested, are the serial numbers going to be different this time?)

[Abambo]

Will using the disks offline be just the same ?

By @Garry Maclean

The serialized version of any CS6 product works without internet connection. You do not even need to connect sporadically as you need with Creative Cloud.

[kglad]

once the installer recognizes your offline and supplies the "request code", leave the installation pending and go back online.  that's all we need from the installer while offline.  from then on, you can connect and stay connected.

if you're sure the discs were the ones used on the previous installation with the recovered passwords, you can reuse those discs.  but what will have changed from your previous offline attempts?  ie, there's no reason to use the same installation file and same password and same offline activation and expect a different result.  

so again, did the keyfinder recovered passwords match what you used previously?

[Garry Maclean · Accepted solution]

Just regarding that last part kglad, as to whether the keyfinder recovered passwords matched what I had used previously. I hadn't used any passwords since the original installations in 2014. I've no idea whether they match the ones from back then but am presuming that the ones found on my iMac by keyfinder are correct. Adobe have accepted them at the serial number input box stage and have even  returned information regarding them being for Mac, Version numbers 12.0 and 13.0 etc., etc.

[kglad]

how could you keep seeing "invalid serial number" messages when you were not entering a serial number? 

[Abambo]

Serial numbers have a specific structure. If Adobe's registration process accepted them, then they are correct. However, you will need the correct installers for this serial numbers.

• Meaning any CS suite installer does not work with a serial for an individual product.
• Different suite installers are not compatible one with the other. Even if you have a Master Collection and you use the installer from any lower suite, it does not work. If you install only the products contained in your suite with a Master Collection installer, it does not work. I was quite annoyed at the time as we had a Production suite, a Premium Production suite and a Master Collection, and I needed to keep all on our server, ready for a reinstallation in case of.
• Different regions are incompatible. A US installer does not work with a European key.
• etc.

So, it is good to have the original disks, with the original keys.

The last time, I need to reinstall, however, I had difficulties with the patches that did not get downloaded any more. I didn't invest time in that, as it was not relevant for what I needed.

[kglad]

(@abambo, your last several messages have been repeating info already shared with the op.)

[Garry Maclean]

"Serial numbers have a specific structure. If Adobe's registration process accepted them, then they are correct. However, you will need the correct installers for this serial numbers." Good to know serial numbers are correct at least !

[Garry Maclean]

Still struggling here with some things I do not understand.

I've rebooted and did a clean install of Mavericks, the only browser available at this point is Safari which does not function as it is pretty ancient, it will certainly not pass the "TLS" test nentioned earlier so I upgraded to Google Chrome.

This "combo" of Mavericks and Google Chrome does not seem a happy one either as it will not let me access you folks at the Adobe Community Forum. When I reach the sign in page - which autofills with my email address - before I can enter a password it reverts back to the sign in page, could be a Mavericks issue so I'm going to update the OS to see if that gets round this issue.

The other odd discovery is that when I entered the "aoes-stagelicensingstack" option I was met by an Adobe page autofilled with my name and email address requesting my password. This page password request was for my "PERSONAL ACCOUNT" and did not acceopt the password I use for Account.Adobe (the one which shows my registered products).

I was not aware I had a "PERSONAL" account.

I changed the password for this personal account and this gave me access to the OFFLINE ACTIVATION page.

However the Request Code(s) box is empty and filling in the serial number does not change this.

In recent days I have already come across the lasck of a "Request Code" when I reach the Offline Activation page, any idea why that box is empty ?

My question here is given that my registered products are visible in my Account.Adobe should I not have accessed that account rather than my "Adobe personal account" when trying offline activation?

What is this personal account and would I be better of somehow deleting it ?

Just tried to access the Adobe Communiuty Forum by quickly going in via my Google account.

It let me but now shows a window similar to this -

Abobe

"We've found an existing Adobe account."

myemailaddress.com

Personal Account

"There's an existing Adobe account associated with this email. We can connect Google account to this Adobe account"

Then either:-

"Return to sign in"

or

"Connect with Google"

Not sure where to go with that one so did not proceed.

I'll continue to try and go through the various options already suggested.