PS CS5 activation customer service help?

[na4m]

Whats the best Adobe customer service contact route that can help resolve a Photoshop CS5 serial number activation issue?   I've looked around and find nothing obvious for CS activation issues.

[kglad]

your messages might make more sense if you use your native language.  we can use the translation tool to read  those messages.

[Abambo]

I do not loose my old system drives as some peek in for settings is being usefull so I plugged it on some old hardware used as file server to make running some rig I had like +/-8 years ago but it shown me same message that software is deactivated

By @KMoonwalker

The activated machine is recognized as being a combination of CPU, graphics card, motherboard and hard disk. Parts can be changed during the computer lifetime, but radical changes will invalidate the licence. It is not public how much of a change the activation survives.

[KMoonwalker]

I did changed many times GPU/mobo/cpu ever since I purchased this suite, even putting old drive with windows installed to new rig and frankly I remember only one time at 2011 I seen the message about too many installations.

Other than that I never had problems before... and never seen it deactivated itself like this.

[kglad]

every significant hardware change will require a re-activation.

[kglad]

uninstalling and cleaning did (and does) not deactivate a license.

[KMoonwalker]

I know - I made deactivation prior on my notebook

[Abambo]

Perpetual licence after all means for customer  that he can use that software as he pleases for as many time as he wants (...)

By @KMoonwalker

The user can use the software as he pleases (in the limits of the licensing term), and the software continues to work fine, as long as there are no major changes on your system. 

You are the victim of software piracy. First, software did run, no key whatsever needed. Then you needed to enter a key. Then you needed to enter a key and there was an online activation.

With CS2, Adobe tried a version that needed no activation, after the activation servers needed to go. People basically treated that version as public domain software. Then, with CS3 they offered a download link for licensed customers only, the software spread like public domain software. 

So now, they won't offer this anymore. 

And now, Adobe agents can't do activation resets anymore. But apparently the servers are still running, so activation is apparently still possible, as long as you do not exceed your activation count. The licence is still perpetual, but if you can't reset the activation or if the activation reset fails, your license stays blocked. 

The only secure solution to this is, not to change the computer. Or to go to the subscription. 

That's it. Nobody can help here, neither the poor support agents nor we users.

[KMoonwalker]

"And now, Adobe agents can't do activation resets anymore. But apparently the servers are still running, so activation is apparently still possible, as long as you do not exceed your activation count. The licence is still perpetual, but if you can't reset the activation or if the activation reset fails, your license stays blocked. " 

yeah cause we can not manage seats in our Adobe ID settings as most of similar solutions allows - and this is the question for managers if they checked carefully with lawyers if not providing a way to activate purchased software for legal user having both original software disks and invice from normal legal shop is not a breach of contract in some way 😉

I am aware we can not do anything here except making their attention to matter perhaps as We do have good idea about why this "lack of possibility" was introduced... 😉

[kglad]

i'm not sure what caused the recent change in adobe support's inability to reset activation counts, but we were told cs2,cs3 and cs4 activation servers were taken out if service.because of aging hardware.

[KMoonwalker]

if I remember correctly those used Flex system - it is very ancient yep - but there are various solutions to this but I do not think that lot of folks will complain about suites that were working only on XP with all 32 bit platform limitations attached in 2024 that CS5 does not have (it is 64bits and it was working fine on my old rig with win 11 after some small tinkering)

[KMoonwalker]

Macrovision owned flex till 2008 I think so they used that system as their own in Adobe after acquairing Macrovision 

Then they sold that part of business and stopped using it in never products

[kglad]

flex?

by macrovision do you mean macromedia?

[KMoonwalker]

yeah I am almost certain they did used flex

but you are correct I confused those two - it is 3:34 am here hehe

[kglad]

flex was used for what?

[KMoonwalker]

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/error-licensing-product-expired-cs4.html

at bottom part - FlexNet Service - it is one of typical solutions in industry...

[kglad]

i'm mot sure how flexnet is related to your problem.

[KMoonwalker]

"i'm not sure what caused the recent change in adobe support's inability to reset activation counts, but we were told cs2,cs3 and cs4 activation servers were taken out if service.because of aging hardware."

this was FYI - it was very very old version from current one 😉

[kglad]

ok

[Abambo]

flex?

By @kglad

Flex was a licensing software, probably state of the art at that time. I had several CPU locked software being licensed and controlled by Flex, even before the online hype. 

You generated a code on your machine, you faxed that code to your software vendor, and they faxed back a licence file, that you needed to type in. You where happy, when you did get all the characters right. 😉