CS5 - Install software - same computer - under multiple OS versions - Possible ?

[W_J_T]

Hello all,

• I am presently using CS5.5 Master Collection under OS X 10.6.8
• However I am in consideration for upgrading the OS for various reasons, thus I am wanting to test how it runs ( first hard ) under newer OS X versions 10.7 / 10.8 / 10.9 / 10.10 / etc..

So I was thinking to use an external hard drive and install the various OS X versions under separate partitions to install and test the performance, stability, compatibility of my software, plug-ins (newer versions), my custom workflows, etc.. of CS5. I could partition my internal hard drive as an alternative but strongly preferred going with the external hard drive route.

• Would this be possible, Would I have issues in doing so?
• Since it's the same computer, would I need to go through the process of the whole "deactivate" etc., ? Or would it work correctly if only one instance is booted and running at a time, since its all from the same computer?
• If required, can constantly using the "Activate / Deactivate" process cause corruption or issues (I do not wish to trash my current install or render it useless)?

Like I said above, I would prefer first hard determining if a certain OS meets my performance, stability and compatibility expectations. I have read extensively and talked to others about compatibility stories, which in many cases offer confidence, while other cases not so much. I would possibly consider upgrading to CS6 or even getting another new/er computer to run my allowed second install of CS5 on as to not disrupt this setup, but I would prefer to upgrade my current system, if I can deem it acceptable in doing so though the desired testing as mentioned above.

Any advice, feedback, war stories, your OS # with CS5 and personal experiences and recommendations are all welcome.

Thanks everyone, any and all is greatly appreciated.

W_J_T

[kglad]

you can only activate up to two of those at any one time and trying to install on anything but a c-drive may cause its own set of problems.

in any case, you'll need to deactivate (help>deactivate) on one before trying to activate on a third os.  (each os will be detected as a separate computer installation/activation and single-user licensees are limited to two.)

[W_J_T]

Thanks for the response kglad, yeah I figured going the external route could introduce possible issues of its own, but had hoped it would be viable to avoid going the internal route.

So would it still detect as a separate computer if i partitioned the internal drive instead of going the external drive route? I figured it was directly tied to the device not the OS ?

Do you know if through this type if testing and all the required deactivations and re-activations would/could cause corruption in my original install? Like I mentioned, I don't wish to disrupt or trash my present workflow while testing.

Thanks again for your response it's much appreciated.

[kglad]

installing on another partition would not require a deactivation/reactivation.

[W_J_T]

Hi kglad,

Sorry for the delay.

Thanks for your reply, I never got around to doing this, but now I am. I had a logic board failure in my macbook pro, so I figured there is no time like now to start fresh 😉 I also took the opportunity to upgrade the ram and have a SSD I would like to switch to. I also got a second computer as backup now after this failure. Not sure if all these internal changes in my laptop are gonna cause issues?

[Question(s)]:

So you are saying that as long as the hard drive(s) are internal then I can either partition or install on a different drive as long as it/they are internal on my machine? I can install as many copies of my Adobe Suite as I wish for testing under different operating systems as described above in my posts? Given all the changes mentioned above are 'Activations' tried to machine ID, hard drive, other?

Thanks so much to you or anyone who can provide information on things.

[kglad · Accepted solution]

any significant hardware change (eg, new hard drive) will be detected as a 'new' computer by the installer and require a distinct activation that will count as one of your allowed two.

some hardware changes (eg, upgrading ram) wouldn't be detected as a 'new' computer.

bottomline:  your macbook with the described changes will be detected as a different computer from the macbook before those changes.

if you failed to deactivate your cs5 installation on your pre-change macbook, you may (or may not if the old macbook was your first and only installation/activation) see an activation count error when you try to activate cs5 on your after-changes macbook.

if you see an activation count error, using a browser that allows popups and cookies, contact adobe support during pst business hours by clicking here and, when available, click 'still need help', https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html and request an activation count reset.

if you did not deactivate on your pre-change macbook and don't see an activation count error, the activation on your after-changes macbook will count as your 2nd installation.

if you did deactivate on your pre-change macbook, you won't see an activation count error.

[W_J_T]

Thanks for the insight concerning the activations.

[Q.] Once that is sorted out : What about the testing under different OS versions as mentioned above? Any insight concerning that portion?

[kglad]

cs5 was made to work with Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6.3; Mac OS X v10.6.3

as you move to more current mac os you can expect to see some problems.  how significant those will be depend on which programs are most important to you and possibly what features in those programs are most important to you.

you can check other users' experiences here, http://roaringapps.com/apps:table

[W_J_T]

Yes thank you, I am aware there are/may be issues.

I was looking for further insight concerning the following however:

Your post 4 & my question(s) in post 5 above:

So you are saying that as long as the hard drive(s) are internal then I can either partition or install on a different drive as long as it/they are internal on my machine? I can install as many copies of my Adobe Suite as I wish for testing under different operating systems as described above in my posts (for testing)?

Thanks so much kglad!

[kglad]

different os versions (even on the same physical hard drive) will probably be seen as different computers and require their own activation.

i don't see a problem though because if you have a problem with one os/partition, you can deactivate and then test/activate another os on another partition.

[W_J_T]

Alright, thanks so much. I will give it a go and see what happens. Perhaps it would be best to do as you stated above and ask for a reset and go from there. Again thanks kglad.

[kglad]

you're welcome.

[W_J_T]

Talked with Adobe, gonna give things a go today. Do you happen to know if the downloads for legacy apps have all the latest updates already rolled into the installers? I was just curious -vs- installing from the original media disks and having to then do all the various updates. Thanks for all your assistance and knowledge kglad!

EDIT / Update:

• As for the legacy installers, (oddly enough) they don't have all the updates rolled into them, but no biggie.
• Everything worked out great in the end, back up and running, thanks Adobe Chat and thanks so much Kglad for helping here in this thread.

[W_J_T]

I would thankfully welcome any further feedback, experiences and insight. Or from others wishing to express further upon the aforementioned inquiries. Thanks everyone.

[_nemery]

Thanks for the information! I figured it would have to be a new activation. Is there a way to move the activation across partitions? What I want to do is move the activation (CS 5.1) from my main macOS partition to a secondary partition so I can update my main one to the latest macOS. Is there any easy way to do it without having access to the original installation disk? Thanks!

[kglad]

no.  you can't move activation, at all.

you must deactivate (if you are at your max of two activations) and then you must reinstall and reactivate.