How do I prevent Creative Cloud from taking over my CS6 perpetual license?

[Damon D Bell]

I have a perpetual license for CS6 Master Collection / Windows that I installed on my PC and laptop a couple of years ago.  12 months ago, I signed up for the creative cloud / all apps plan.  I canceled the creative cloud plan yesterday and my CS6 perpetual license stopped working.  After several chat sessions with Adobe techs, I was told to completely uninstall CS6 Master Collection and re-install with my serial number.  This worked to solve the activation issue.

The same thing also happened on my Macbook.  I only have a Photoshop CS6 perpetual license on the mac, not the Master Collection. I had installed creative cloud and then signed out of CC which caused CS6 to ask for sign in when I try to run it.  I have not yet got Photoshop CS6 working again on the Mac. I assuming that I'll need to uninstall and re-install it as well.

I never installed CS6 on any of the machines through the creative cloud setup.  CS6 was installed prior to CC on all 3 machines using the DVDs and serial numbers.

Even though I cancelled my CC/all apps plan, I was wanting to start a new CC plan for Photoshop only.  I am now hesitant to do this because I don't want it to take over my CS6 activations again.  Is there anyway to prevent this from happening?  Also, does anyone know why this happens? I am thinking that maybe when CS6 runs updates it automatically is switching the license from the perpetual license to the CC account if their is one installed.  In any case, I'd like to prevent this so that if I install Photoshop CC but then sign out, my CS6 would still work without needing to re-install.

[Rajashree Bhattacharya · Accepted solution]

You had to reinstall CS6 after cancelling the CC as both were from the same Adobe ID. You can always use & keep both CC & CS6 together.

Please refer to the blog:

Can I install both CS6 and CC apps on my computer? « Caveat Lector

Other references are :

• Creative Cloud Help | Install, update, or uninstall apps
• What is the difference CS6 & CC Versions?

Regards

Rajshree

[shootingDistance]

I have the same problem-- i have perpetual licenses for my adobe products, but about a month ago, creative cloud malware appeared on my computer; not knowing what it was for, but knowing that i DID NOT EVER WANT 'creative cloud', and feeling secure that it was not part of my product suite -- last upgraded earlier  in the spring,  i did nothing to engage it. It appeared to be a 'free subscription' of some kind, and i left it alone. All of a sudden i week ago, my Lightroom app is blocked from opening, by a software license 'agreement' interface that tries to force me to agree that this is creative cloud software. When i reject the agreement, it will not let me access my LR6. This is malware in the extreme, coming from ADOBE!

1. I DID uninstall CC, BUT Still am blocked from LR. I used the uninstall tool that someone on the forums gave me yesterday, and the creative cloud malware program disappeared from my Windows Programs list --BUT I am STILL GETTING BLOCKED from accessing my Lightroom, by the interface that tries to force me to agree that i want creative cloud in order to use my software.

2. Does anyone know if i also need to now uninstall my original LR program? It does not say "CC" on it, and it was the one that was working fine for months, until this week. i would like to know if i ALSO would need to uninstall my Lightroom AND IF that would mean I lose my catalog  or all of my presets, etc.?? I have thousands of photos from years of work in the catalog. That would be so rotten.

3. This does not appear to be affecting my Photoshop CS6 - i am still able to open and use that. (so far, at least)  It is the Lightroom6 that will not open because the 'creative cloud' thing has taken it over.

4. Note that I never sought or wanted the creative cloud app; i explicitly went to tech support several months ago when i wanted to upgrade to LR6 and asked how to get the desktop LR upgrade WITHOUT having to take creative cloud. They sent me to the link that they said was for the standalone application - because, of course, it was not so much 'buried' as it was absent form the Adobe site, since everything you click on there now takes you in a circular path into their CC products, no matter what you are seeking help for.

5. Just as a note: I am so disenchanted with Adobe's official tech support on this. The problem is now a week old, and they do not reply, and the instructions they sent have not done the job, and don't seem to want or care about being accountable. I am seeking help on these forums because the company doesn't offer it. I can't say enough how upsetting that is. And if they were really accessible, i would let them know, but they are not.

[gianfranco1990]

Adobe is the WORST with customer support. The absolute worst. It's a disgrace to the massive user base, which is slowly eroding as competitors like Sketch and InVision begin to grow. And I hope to God they give Adobe a run for their money!

[lamoid]

Adobe is an unethical company that lies and extorts its users. I will refuse to use any of their products once my CS6 programs will no longer run on up-to-date operating systems.

[aaaashy]

this is no answer to my problem since i never installed any CC products, tho i did buy the latest PURCHASED copy of Lightroom which i am now beginning to believe is maliciously working to bring CC to my computer

i am getting totally fed up with ADOBE and its negative approach to its customers

i should also add that my Premium CS6 package is not one i want to try and reinstall, because 1/ i am not sure where the discs are, 2/ the version on the discs has been superseded by a number of updates that i would have to go through all over again, and this is if adobe even bothers to offer them anymore, 3/ this is the fault of ADOBE, i would rather like to see them sort out their mess rather than asking me to waste probably a day or two in reinstalling the numerous apps and their updates, plugins from the 20+ apps that plugin to the CS6 package, etc etc etrc

SORT IT OUT ADOBE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steve24590]

Did you look at the posting I made above and check the ProgramData folder for the Adobe/OOBE folder? I don't/didn't have any CC products installed either and don't even have a CC account so that isn't required. The malware appears to be in the form of an Adobe updater that appears in the system tray. The Adobe notifications icon tells you have updates and does this malware install. Before rolling your eyes make a quick check, you may find your answer is already posted.

[aaaashy]

sorry, i had not read your posting thoroughly

thank you for your suggestion

i am a Mac user (running 10.9.5), so i do not know if changing the ffc file to ffc.old will have the same effect on my setup as it did on yours

i did find that file in Users/Shared/Adobe/OOBE ..... it is the sole file in that folder

is there any possibility of my screwing something up by this change?

(and it sounds as tho making the change does result in the removal of something, so i feel i should be overly cautious especially since i am running this on a different system to you)

[Steve24590]

Renaming a file shouldn't have any adverse affects but then I don't have any Mac systems. At a minimum I would call, as I did, and get someone at Adobe to take you through this process. But keep in mind that renaming a file shouldn't do any damage, it will generally through an error if it needs to execute something and can't. You can always rename the file back to its original name. According to this thread from 2015 https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1875906 , you should not have any problems.

Steve

[breakchild]

Steve- I hope you read this. I too, downloaded and used CC to open images from a newer camera than I have. I no longer need CC. I ended  my subscription, deleted it. I also ran the cleaner.  I then deleted CS6 (which is really unfortuante because I had my workspace set up perfectly). I reinstalled CS6. It opens, as well as Adobe bridge. BUT, it will not open my CR2 files from my Canon Mark 3. Apparently I need the plug-in of 7.1 at a minimum. I've spent over 2 hours with Adobe's chat, no one can help me. Everything circles back to re-downloading and subscribing to CC. Any idea on how to be able to open my images? Thanks!

[DianaClaireBurns]

I have a perpetual licensed CS6 Premium Web. I can no longer access anything except the Bridge where I can see files, but can't open them. When I try to launch any other CS6 applications, a popup window for the Creative Cloud takes over. When I decline to activate, it shuts down and I still can't launch my licensed version on my computer. Something has taken it over. I never Creative Cloud on my computer. I never will want to use Creative Cloud. Are you saying that I need to reinstall CS6 - really? I have been using it for years with many updates and customizations. To reinstall it would be a MAJOR setback. How did this happen? I've looked through all the forums but I can't find a solution that fixes the problem. Diana Burns

[Steve24590]

Look at my posts above about renaming the file and you should be good. I didn't have to reload any programs or change anything else. Quoted from my earlier post above:

"finally found a way to speak with Adobe directly. I was advised to go into my C drive, open ProgramData folder, open OOBE folder, and rename the file ffc to ffc.old.  That's ffc dot old. Seems the dot is missing between the ffc and old when posted. (C:\ProgramData\Adobe\OOBE) At this point Windows Control Panel, Remove Programs no longer advised me that I had an application that required Creative Cloud and uninstalled the Creative Cloud program. It took a good deal to find a telephone number that I could actually talk to someone and resolve this which isn't what I expected from Adobe. That number is [Moderator deleted private information. Please do not post private information like e-mails and phone numbers]. I find the tactic that Adobe used as bad as a virus or malware and is not what I would have expected from them. At least there is a way without a lot of time loss to correct the problem."

Steve

[DianaClaireBurns]

Thanks for responding so quickly! Unfortunately, your solution did not work for me because I couldn't find that file. On another site, I found this solution which did work. I looked at so many forums and sites that I can't recall where I got this solution, so I can't take credit for it, nor can I give credit to the person who posted this.

Close out all Applications

Navigate to: C:\Program Files X (86)\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe PCD\

Rename the “cache” directory to “cache-backup” (or anything else not “cache”)

Start Photoshop CS6

Click on “License This Software“

I signed in again with my same account

Photoshop and all my other CS6 applications worked!

[jonalisa]

I did this but it simply comes up with the CC Subscription asking me to renew. It does not give me a dialog to license.

[CroutonZ]

the pathway (C:\ProgramData\Adobe\OOBE)  in Windows is a HIDDEN system folder. you will need to select the VIEW tab in your file explorer then check the box for HIDDEN ITEMS

[Lonbuckley]

Had exactly the same problem. Took the advice of another poster and deleted CC PS and PS CS6. Reinstalled CS6 and all is well now. Like you, its a real bummer to have to re preference CS6 again.

Really surprised Adobe was forcing one to buy CC. I know of no big corporation that would stoop that low. Its very poor business practice for sure. I plan to pass my take on to local Adobe reps in my area and will certainly speak unfavorably of Adobe wherever possible.

I'm sure my disdain for Adobe will not bother them one bit.

[BrightShade]

Where can I send Adobe a bill for my time recovering access to my perpetual license for CS6?

Whether by incompetence or deliberate sabotage, Adobe breached the perpetual license agreement by preventing use of the perpetual license after ceasing use of a Creative Cloud subscription.

[bene63467949]

This isn't needed.

Open the CC program, select preferences from the gear, and choose the sign out button.

CS6 programs work once again.

[farahk42038123]

Thanks a lot!

I will try to see if it works for me or not.

But thanks for your comments.

Regards,

[bene63467949]

You're welcome. I hope it works for you like it did for me today.

I was trying to launch CS6, and CS5.5 perpetual license apps today on Win 7 64-bit computer. No matter how I tried to launch them, Creative Cloud would pop up and prevent it. So, as I have previously on one other machine, I launched the main parent Creative Cloud App, clicked on the gear, and then on preferences, then "Sign Out". After that, I closed creative cloud, went and clicked on the CS6 app again, and it opened instantly with no problems.

[farahk42038123]

Hi there,

I wonder, if I try to remove a photo from disk, will it remove the original photo from the folder on my computer or desktop or not? There are two options when deleting a photo from Lightroom, either it removes from catalog or from disk. Please explain it if possible.

Thanks a lot,

farah

[ProDesignTools]

Lightroom maintains an internal database of your photos and the non-destructive changes you've made to them within the application. Normally, it doesn't actually modify the photos themselves.

If you delete a photo from the LR catalog, then it will no longer appear within the LR app. It will remain on your computer's disk, however, unless you tell Lightroom to also delete it from the disk.

[farahk42038123]

That is absolutely correct.

Thanks.

[farahk42038123]

Hi, I watched Julieanne Kost's video on organizing my folders in Lr. But when I attempted to create a new folder by adding a new folder on left panel, I couldn't find any destination to choose for that new folder. It seems to be more complicated than what she is teaching. I mean I can't find some items that she easily shows in the video. Why is this happening? I am using Lr 5.

Thanks,

fk

[farahk42038123]

I cropped an old picture and exported to desktop in Lr, but the exported image doesn't reflect the cropping at all. It seems to have no cropping features. Why is this happening.

Thanks