Serial number not valid for this product

[staffan_9430]

I own  Adobe Indesign CS4 since 2011, and have been running it frequently on the very same PC since then. Today, I cannot open my InDesign, and I get a prompt to enter serial number. I do enter the serial number 24 digits found on the back of my installation disk, but I am told that the serial number is not valid, BUT IT IS! The last time I ran InDesign was sometimes last month.

Note I am not installing the program just trying to open it. It is already installed and activated.

What's the problem, and what can I do?
Windows 10 auto-updated recently, if that has something to do with my problem.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Staffan, I am sorry, but I don't see any registered software under the account you used to post on this public discussion forum. Please see https://adobe.ly/3F34yTj for several common reasons for a serial number being revoked.

You can confirm if you are encountering a software or licensing problem by verifying the software is registered on https://adobe.ly/43hHXwm. Please see https://adobe.ly/41tdQ3M for additional information on how to locate and register your InDesign CS4 serial number. ^JW

[staffan_3846]

Jeffrey,

I am sorry but in the sudden confusion I created a new Adobe account when I received the error message, using an alternative e-mail. But my original account ID is Staffan_3846.

I logged in using that account, and indeed my InDesign CS4 is registered with registration date Sept. 23, 2012. And as I said, I have been running it regularly for various projects and never before being prompted to enter the serial number. And when I do enter a 100% correct serial number, I am told that it is not correct (!).
It's not a matter of a new installation on another machine, nor a matter of activation, this behavior is new as from today after 12+ years of operation on the same PC.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Ok, thanks for the update, Staffan, this is a public discussion forum, so please avoid sharing any information that you don't want to be publicly accessible including e-mail addresses and serial number.

If you receive a message that the serial number is revoked, see https://adobe.ly/43cdr7s for more information. You can click on the chat icon at the bottom of the page to be connected with a team with whom you can discuss any revoked serial number.

As Kglad mentioned, the activation servers for CS4 were shut down, so if you will be unable to activate the software on a new computer. Only an existing computer, will allow any previous activations to be utilized, Staffan. ^JW

[Nancy OShea]

IMO, 17-year-old software is a ticking time bomb.  Eventually, something somewhere is going to fail. The weakest link in a chain is the legacy software that hasn't been updated since 2008.  😦

MODERN OPTIONS:
==============
Creative Cloud Bundles & Single App Plans for mobile, web & desktops
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Creative Cloud apps work on these systems.

• Windows 11 (64-bit) versions 23H2, 22H2; Windows 10 versions 22H2, 21H2;
• MacOS 15 (Sequoia), 14.7 (Sonoma), 13.6.7 (Ventura).

- https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/system-requirements.html

Hope that helps.

[kglad]

fir whatever reason you're being promoted to activate cs4, and that's not longer possible.