Unable to Install and Activate CS5 on new Windows 11 PC

[kurtskytte]

I've designed websites for small businesses for the past 15 years and have used Photoshop to support this work. I originally purchased a Photoshop CS4 Extended license then upgraded to CS5 Photoshop a few years later. I have been using the single Photoshop CS5 license for over 10 years and have installed it on many different PC's and on as many as 3 different PC's at any given time, with never any issues. Up until a month ago, all my PC's have been running Windows 10. So because support for Windows 10 is stopping in a few months I thought it would be best to upgrade to Windows 11, at least on my main business computer that supports my website business. Unfortunately, it turned out that this hardware was incompatible with a Windows 11 upgrade so I decided to purchase a new Windows 11 PC from Dell instead. So during the configuration of this new business PC, I started installing and configuring my applications, including Photoshop CS5. Again, there wasn't any problem with this installation. However, because of other issues regarding Windows 11, I had to do a Windows reset that then required me to re-install all my applications again. Unfortunately, when I tried to re-install Photoshop CS5 again, I got the warning that my Photoshop CS5 could not be activated stating that; 1) I had more than 2 installations and 2) I had exceeding the maximum number of installations allowed. I tried deactivating the installation on my old Windows 10 PC but I still got the same warning that stated that I already had more thn 2 active installations. I find this entire problem very frustrating since; 1) I was never made aware of any of these installation limitations, 2) that support for Photoshop was ending, and 3) I had a working installation of Photoshop CS5 on my new PC prior to doing the Windows 11 reset.  I read that the CS5 activation servers are still active and that an activation reset would be possible but since there is no longer support for Photoshop CS5 it seems there is no one knowledgeable to do this. Had I been made aware of these activation limitations and end-of-life I could could have made different decisions and could have avoided this problem.  And since I mainly use Photoshop now very infrequently and only for support of legacy website designs, it is very impractical to purchase a new license that may only be used a few times a year. So it was suggested that I post my issue here to see if there are any reasonable resolutions to this problem.

[davescm]

Photoshop CS5 can still be activated, provided activations remain. It can be active on two machines at any time. In practice, that means that it must be deactivated on an old PC before activating on a new PC. Unfortunately, there is no way around this and Adobe no longer reset activations.

Dave

[kurtskytte]

That's what I was told by Adobe support but it is not true or at least it didn't work for me. As I stated in my original post, I was able to install Photoshop successfully on my new PC even though that meant I had 3 installations at that time. When I had to reset my Windows 11 installation and even de-activating Photoshop on my old PC, which essentially means I have only one installation now, I still can't install Photoshop. I have had more than 3 active installations in the past so that is not true based upon my experience. This must be a policy change that was made by Adobe some years ago but was never communicate to licensed users. Now I'm stuck!

[D Fosse]

No idea what happened there, but you only get two activations and a third has never been possible. This has not changed since activation was introduced in the original CS (version 8).

What's new now is that Adobe will not reset if the two allowed slots are used and have not been deactivated. You absolutely have to deactivate at least one of the two before you can activate a third.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Also note the computer you are deactivating from has to have an active internet connection to communicate that you deactivated. If it is not connected it wont show as removed. 

[davescm]

From what you are saying you had 3 active installations.  I don't know how that happened, but moving forward, from your description to have one installation available to activate, of the two allowed, you would need to have deactivated two of your three. It is not clear whether you did that. Although you say it 'essentially means I have only one installation now...' the important step is how many are activated not how many are installed.  Uninstalling, is not the same as deactivating. So to move an installation you deactivate, then uninstall, then install on the new hardware, then reactivate. 

Unfortunately, if you can no longer access the older installations to deactivate them then no-one here can help.

Dave

[kurtskytte]

It seems unfair that after using Photoshop CS5 for over 10 years, I only get informed of these activation policies, after Adobe discontinues their support for this product. 😞 Over the years, I did have to contact Adobe support a few times for installation questions, but I was never informed about activation or de-activation policies regarding my license. I have no interest in purchasing a new Photoshop subscription since my only real use now is to support old, legacy designs, which is very infrequent. One would think Adobe would have been more considerate of their older customers, at a minimum informing us of end-of-life issues so appropriate steps could be taken?

[D Fosse]

Actually I think that's a fair point in principle. But consider the logistics. Adobe's user base is how many millions worldwide, and they have no current records of users of legacy versions that haven't updated. In fact, they haven't heard a peep from them in fifteen years. Tracking activations, tied only to a serial number, back to original users would be taking up a lot of resources.

Just being realistic.

[Park Street Printers]

Adobe made it quite clear with the release of CS that only 2 activations were allowed, and that, if you wanted to move an activation to another machine, you first had to deactivate it on one of your current machines, while connected to the internet, so that they could verify that you had freed up a seat. This is not a new policy. While I will readily agree that there are many problems with the way Adobe does business these days, the licensing structure and strictures of the Creative Suite line was perfectly fair. Activation servers are still operating for CS5, so if you had disabled the requisite activation and freed up at least one in the correct manner, you would not be experiencing this admittedly miserable consequence. I had the same thing happen to me back with CS4, so I do know where you're coming from. They did (somewhat poorly) announce the discontinuation of the ability to retroactively free up an activation for CS products some time ago.

[kurtskytte]

I appreciate everyone's feedback and shared information. I now understand the 2 installation policy, but honestly over 10 years of use and re-installations, that was never my experience. For many years I had 3 working installations for myself (i.e. business pc, business backup pc and laptop) and was never informed that I exceeded some limit, so I never knew this was the Adobe policy. Therefore, I never knew about the deactivation process either. So when I got my new Windows 11 PC, I installed CS5 with no problems even though CS5 was still installed and active on 2 other PC's (my old business PC and my backup PC). It was only when I ran into a Windows 11 issue and had to perform a Windows 11 reset and re-install of all my apps again that I encountered this activation problem? So as noted by many people here, if I deactivate one of my other installed accounts, that should free up one for my new PC. Unfortunately, after I deactivated CS5 on my old business PC using the instructions sent to me by Adobe, I still could not install CS5 on my new PC. So here I am. 😞  Someone mentioned that during the deactivation process, the PC has to be connected to the internet even though the Adobe instructions that I was given did not include this information. Since I was juggling 3 PC's at the time I can't say for sure if I had my old PC connected to the internet when I de-activated CS5? If the activation servers for CS5 are still running as everyone has stated and Adobe can verify my CS5 license that I purchased directly from Adobe, why can't someone at Adobe reset my activation license so that I can utilize my second, valid installation? Seems reasonable to me?

- Kurt

[kglad]

the deactivation policy changed in the past few months.  https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/activation-limit-reached-for-non-subscri...

[davescm]

Adobe CS5 went on sale in 2010, and was replaced by CS5.5 in 2011. All Creative Suite products reached 'end of life' in 2019, meaning that they are no longer supported. What that means is defined in these docs.
https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/support/programs/eol-matrix.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/support/programs/support-periods.html

Dave