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richp3913135
Inspiring
November 21, 2017
Answered

New CS3 installation activated - yet Acrobat 8 still requesting a password. Help!

  • November 21, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1853 views

I have downloaded and activated the replacement Creative Suite 3 Design Premium to get around the "retired" activation servers problem.

I had to trash the cache.db file to be able to enter the new password, but now InDesign and Photoshop are working just fine.

But when I try to launch Acrobat Professional 8, I am requested to enter a serial number to activate it. The newly supplied number (which activated the other elements) is not recognised.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer richp3913135

    Thanks for the update Rich.  Please update the discussion if you encounter further difficulties. The discussion may need to be moved to the Installing, Updating, & Subscribing forum at Installing, Updating, & Subscribing to Acrobat if Acrobat continues to fail to obtain it's license from the CS3 installation.

    You did remove all Adobe software prior to reinstalling CS3 Rich?  If not then please do so and then complete the steps listed in Resolve "temporary activation expired" error for CS3 and Acrobat 8 prior to reinstalling Creative Suite 3 and Acrobat 8.


    So, Resolve "temporary activation expired" error for CS3 and Acrobat 8​ wasn't much help because I'd already done everything it suggested when installing the new CS3.

    So I have found another way:

    1 - Using the uninstaller (found in Applications/Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional/Acrobat Uninstaller), I uninstalled Acrobat.

    2 - Then, using the new Creative Suite Setup installer, I unchecked everything except Acrobat and installed that.

    3 - Once that was done successfully, I launched InDesign, then Photoshop (neither of which needed a serial number).

    4 - Then I launched Acrobat and it initialised without a serial number and is working just fine.

    This can be forever known as The Rich Solution.

    Thank you for your help. I'll post again if it all falls over again in the morning!

    Rich

    2 replies

    Jeffrey_A_Wright
    Community Manager
    Jeffrey_A_WrightCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    November 22, 2017

    Rich you need to open one of the other Creative Suite 3 applications to license Acrobat 8.  The licensing for Acrobat is handled by the Creative Suite 3 applications the first time they launch.  If you open Photoshop CS3, for example, you will then be able to open Acrobat without a request for a serial number.

    If you encounter additional difficulties Rich then please review Resolve "temporary activation expired" error for CS3 and Acrobat 8 which discusses several of the errors individuals often encounter after installing Creative Suite 3.

    John we went back and forth on the inclusion of the serial numbers with the different Creative Suite versions.  CS2 we had a separate Acrobat serial number.  We then tried having Acrobat licensed by the CS software in CS3.  This often lead to the confusion which Rich is facing.  If I recall we moved back to providing a separate serial number with CS4 and Acrobat 9.  CS5 and later the licensing occurred during the installation process and didn't require a Creative Suite app to be launched to provide Acrobat with it's licensing.

    John feel free to reference Find your serial number if there is ever any doubts on if an individual has a separate Acrobat serial number or not.  The serial numbers for Acrobat register as a separate product even when included with a Suite.  If they do not have an Acrobat serial number then it is very likely the Acrobat licensing was provided by either the Creative Suite installers or when first launching the CS applications.

    R
    richp3913135Author
    Inspiring
    November 22, 2017

    Thanks, Jeff - that was what I expected to happen, too . . . but, as I said at the top, I have already launched and used InDesign and Photoshop, entering the new serial number to do so, and yet Acrobat Pro 8 still refuses to play ball.

    So the CS3 applications haven't handled the licensing for Acrobat in the way you describe.

    I'll have a look through Resolve "temporary activation expired" error for CS3 and Acrobat 8 and see if there is anything there that can solve this.

    Oh, and John: Yes, Acrobat 8 is on the same DVD as the rest of the CS3 apps (or programs, as we called them back then!)

    As ever, thank you all for your help.

    John Waller
    Community Expert
    John WallerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 22, 2017

    One final question, following on from Jeff's suggestion above, I presume that there is no separate serial number for Acrobat 8 shown in your Adobe account online? If not, I have no further suggestions. Sorry.

    John Waller
    Community Expert
    John WallerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 21, 2017

    Did you separately apply for a new Acrobat 8 serial number?

    I suspect the Acrobat 8 serial number was independent of the CS3 serial number.

    R
    richp3913135Author
    Inspiring
    November 22, 2017

    Hi there - Acrobat was one of the elements in the "suite", which has just the one serial number for all of the apps within it.

    Is it possible to separately apply for a new Acrobat 8 serial number alone?

    Thank you.

    John Waller
    Community Expert
    John WallerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 22, 2017

    I always understood that Acrobat came with its own separate serial number in every Creative Suite.

    From memory, I had a CS3 serial number and a separate Acrobat 8 serial. Same for CS4 and Acrobat 9,etc. That's about the only reason I can think of for the issue you're facing.

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