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Question

How do I transfer CS5 license key to a new computer when old one is fried?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 20, 2021
2 replies
6546 views

My SSD gave out last night, taking it with several programs, including a student license to Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop CS5. I've been in the middle of a long ongoing project and badly need access to Photoshop for consistency in that project, so losing this is a really big deal.

I still have the original installation disk and serial number, and the product is tied to my adobe account, but the original drive it was installed on won't recognize at all, so I cannot deactivate through the application itself. When I reinstall on the new hard drive, it gives me the option to sign into my Adobe account, but for whatever reason when I type in my password it tells me it must be "between 6 and 12 characters in length," which it is. If I intentionally put in a wrong password I get the standard "password incorrect" message so... I don't know what that's about, but I assume it's maybe not connecting as it should due to lacking support?

In any case, my question is this: How can I transfer my license to this new Windows install/SSD when the original is inoperable?

This topic has been closed for replies.

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

I'll mention (though it sounds as if you have it sorted) why there was so muich confusion. You said "My SSD gave out last night, taking it with several programs [including CS5]". I read this as meaning it's an extra disk where you installed programs, and you still had your system disk; so did other people I think. Hence all the careful advice about cleaning all the remains of CS5 from your SYSTEM before trying to install it on a new (NOT SYSTEM) disk. Since it was a single disk with both programs AND system, all the cleanup advice doesn't apply. Hope it all works out for you...

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Which operating system?

Creative Suite cannot run on modern Mac computers -- Big Sur or Catalina.

On older Macs , Sierra, High Sierra and Mojave, you need a terminal workaround to install.

Was your CS5 an upgrade from a previous version? If yes, you need the qualifying product's serial number, too.

Check your Adobe account.

https://account.adobe.com/products

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

J

jordan1587Author

Participating Frequently

Windows 10. I've been using CS5 all the way up until just yesterday so I know compatible, even if it may not have been offically tested on the OS or had support codified on it.

It was not an upgrade, just a straight install from a Teacher and Student edition of the CS5 creative design suite which was purchased on disc. The disc and serial info is still available to me.

John T Smith

Community Expert

I know this is probably a stock answer, but to the first point, I cannot clean it off the hard drive since the hard drive is defective and cannot be detected anymore.

So if I request an activation count reset, I should be able to just use the serial to reactivate it on a new drive? Are CS5 authentication servers still activate to be able to accept and redeem the serial number upon a count reset?

1 - yes

When you can't deactivate a serial number
BE SURE TO ONLY ASK FOR ACTIVATION SUPPORT TO ADJUST YOUR ACTIVATION COUNT
You may need to PERSIST or TRY AGAIN to find a support agent with more experience
Click here https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/support.html

Be sure to remain signed in with your Adobe ID before accessing the link above
-make sure that your browser does NOT block ads, scripts, or pop-ups
-you must also allow 'cookies' in your web browser for this to work

-click the chat icon at the bottom right of the page to open a chat session
-the chat icon looks like '3 dots inside a circle' at the lower right
-type AGENT into the chat window to connect directly to a person rather than the AI
Do be aware that Adobe's staffing is impacted by the virus, so wait times are long
.
Also: beware of answering anyone who sends you a private message
-click for more information about scammers https://tinyurl.com/10791730

2 - yes

Two ideas that MAY work to install and/or run old programs in Windows 10
-RIGHT click the program icon or EXE and select a compatibility mode in the pop up option window
-and/or select Run as Administrator to assign FULL Windows permissions
-also https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/create-local-administrator-account-windows.html

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