Adobe Creative Suite 3 Activation [CS3 is dead & gone]

[bear92437148]

The hard drive in my Mac with CS3 died and I had to reinstall everything. I have the original DVD and serial, but it won't activate over the internet or by phone. I read in the forums that the activation servers for CS3 had to be shut down. How can I use my software? I realize that it is over 10 years old, but I have invested several thousands of dollars over the years in Adobe software and I expect to be able to use what I purchased. I already have a CC subscription for my new Mac, but I still need to use CS3 on my old computer. Thanks in advance for any help!

[John T Smith · Accepted solution]

>read in the forums that the activation servers for CS3 had to be shut down

That is correct... CS3 may not be activated... nobody, not even an Adobe employee, can help

[bear92437148]

Wow. You're telling me that the software suite I paid over $1700 for is now useless because Adobe failed to plan their activation server retirement? Wow. 

[Nancy OShea]

Servers fail.  It's never planned or expected.  Adobe went the extra distance to make CS3 available well beyond it's EOL.  But now that ship has sailed.