photoshop crashed, saying my license had expired. I have a serial number. what do I do?

[D_Boardman]

I was in the middle of editing a big job and got a message that my Photoshop license had expired and that I can no longer use PS and to contact Adobe.

I have a serial number and legitimately bought the product years ago.  What should I do?

[Benjamin Root]

‌If you click the "license this software" button, you should be given a choice to enter your serial number. Also, make sure you have updated the software. In the case of CS6 (not sure which version you are on), there was one update that caused these issues, and it was later fixed.

Adobe - Photoshop : For Macintosh : Adobe Photoshop 13.0.6 update for CS6

Adobe - Photoshop : For Windows : Adobe Photoshop 13.0.1.3 update for CS6

[D_Boardman]

I have CS3.  Old.  But it is all I need for what I do, basic, basic photoshop.  I just uninstalled it but I can not re-install it because it is "encountering a problem".   I was told that someone else is now registered with a different e mail, using my serial number.  I know hackers exist, so somehow someone named Lauren now has my serial number, and I can no longer use my own software.  What do I do?

[Benjamin Root]

‌Hmmm, that's not good. Did you buy directly from Adobe and do you still have the receipt? If so, Adobe support should be able to help you. If not, well, you've got a problem. If the latter, you could try out the CS2 download Adobe put out after they took down the activation serveres for it, but no guarantees it'll work correctly on your OS if it happens to be newer, especially Mac. After that, you're left with going to a CC subscription, unless you want to jump through hoops for a copy of CS6, which is no longer supported/updated.

[D_Boardman]

I use basic, basic tools in photo airbrushing and my needs are:

cropping, clone tool, burn tool, dodging tool, resizing, converting from Raw, and most importantly, batch processing.

Now that I have NO photoshop because I was told to uninstall it and reinstall it again,  and it continues to haunt me that someone else now has my serial number and has changed my registration, what should I buy to accommodate the few tasks I use in Photoshop?  I am not interested in the renting thing...

[Benjamin Root]

‌Well, I'd suggest you try Photoshop Elements for 30 days to see if it will work for you. I'm not sure if it has batch processing, but it does have the other capabilities you mentioned, and it's about all you're going to get unless you go for a subscription. If you have questions about Elements they can be asked in Photoshop Elements‌

It is unfortunate that Adobe only offers a subscription model of Photoshop now. Although, it is not a bad deal, since it'd take over 8 years to pay for the old perpetual version of CS6 at the rate of $9.99 USD - plus you get free upgrades, as well as access to Lightroom, if you want it. In 8 years time, you'd likely have to upgrade, again, too.

I like to recommend the one-year prepaid version of the Photography Plan, since you're good for a year, and you can opt out of entering payment info for auto renewal. It's not for everyone, but I like to throw the info out there.

But for now, I'd like to see if Adobe can help you get CS3 running. Do you still have a receipt? If you don't Adobe can't really help you, and you're options are as I said above. If you do, however, I'm going to try to ask someone from Adobe to assist you.

Edited typos

[D_Boardman]

I just do not have time to go through all my receipts from 3 years ago to find this one.  My completed job is due this week.

This has been so frustrating.

I think I will try the Elements, but as you said, I have to find out if it includes batch processing, which is critical for me.

I will look into that first and then maybe do the CC rental.

[Benjamin Root]

‌I know what you mean there.

I'll do a little searching quick to see if Elements has any sort of batch processing for you.

You can also try Photoshop CC for 30 days, and it may be a little more familliar to you than Elements - which may be a good thing in a time crunch.

[Benjamin Root · Accepted solution]

‌Yes, it does look like Photoshop Eleements has a form of batch processing: Batch Processing in Photoshop Elements - Digital Photography School

It also looks like you can create Actions, too, although I'm not sure if they can be combined with the batch processing, or how elaborate they can be.

Here's Elements 14: Picture editor software & tools | Adobe Photoshop Elements 14

And if you want to try CC:

1. Download the CC app from here and install: Download Adobe Creative Cloud apps | Free Adobe Creative Cloud trial
2. Open the CC app and go to Apps and install Photoshop

Hopefully this all helps and gets you up and running again.....