Does CS3 work on Mac OS X Lion?

[cgguven]

I have installed the Adobe CS3 Design Premium (from original package discs) on my iMac but although I am able to open Photoshop, the other applications won't open and instead return "the application has unexpectedly quit" notification. I was able to use this suite (and all applications) with no problem in my old mac laptop a few years ago. Does anyone know whether this is a compatibility issue with Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 and Adobe offers a solution? Thanks.

[Ned Murphy]

You should try searching Google using terms like "CS3 Mac Lion" and see what others have experienced.  It appears to be a mix that tends towards there being problems.

[cgguven]

Thanks but does that mean Adobe or users on this platform cannot provide any solutions? I was told by the Adobe Customer Service that they cannot help because this is a technical issue and that I should use this forum to get help.

[Kaewngam]

Yes, I use CS3 with OS Lion with no problems. How did you install the programmes? They need to be installed from the original media or via download, they will not work if they copied or migrated from an old Mac.

[cgguven]

You must be one of the few lucky ones; apparently many people are having issues. I have installed from the original package discs (the one labelled "application"). I also checked the Adobe website for download (CS3 Premium) but the page is not working: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/dlm/

[Ned Murphy]

Here is a different link for CS3 downloads - if you have issues with pages you should try using a different browser.

Download CS3 products

Another resource for CS3 downloads is:

Be sure to follow the steps outlined in the Note: Very Important Instructions section on the download pages at this site and have cookies enabled in your browser or else the download will not work properly.

CS3 and CS4: http://prodesigntools.com/download-adobe-cs4-and-cs3-free-trials-here.html

[cgguven]

Thanks a lot for the links; however, they don't seem to be working either. I used a different browser for the first link and downloaded the files but got the following warning: "The following disk images couldn't be opened. Reason: not recognized". Then I tried the other link and got this: "HTTP Error: 404/support/downloads/dlm/main.jsp".

Can I not get technical support from Adobe on this? I mean I paid for this CS3 suite just a few years ago and now I cannot use it. I contact customer service and they say they cannot help with technical stuff and ask me to post my question here. I just don't understand how this works!

[Ned Murphy]

For that second link you need to follow the instructions to the letter or else the download will not work.

As far as technical support goes, I believe CS3 is no longer getting technical support from Adobe.  If you had a serial number/activation issue they might offer some assistance, but as far as troubleshooting for you goes that is no longer supported (to my knowledge).

[cgguven]

Is this an official Adobe page? Also, these seem to be "trial" versions? Is that so?

No, I have a serial number but unfortunately cannot get assistance from Adobe.

Thanks again for your help.

[Ned Murphy]

The second link I gave you is not an Adobe link, but it does download the files thru the Adobe server, just without the download manager being in the loop.  Prior to Adobe providing links such as the first one I provided (which occured only very recently), the ProDesignTools site was the only place you could go to download older Adobe versions and was a constant offering to anyone in these forums looking for downloads.

They are trial versions, just as alot of Adobe downloads are.  A trial version is not different from any other version except for the trial period being imposed.  You can use the serial number you have to activate the trial to being a fully licensed installation.

[cgguven]

Ned, I really appreciate your help with this but I'm afraid this is not working either. I'm getting a similar result: Photoshop and Dreamweaver are opening and seem to be working but other applications "quit unexpectedly"

[Ned Murphy]

Then it might just come down to you not being able to use CS3 products (or at least not all of them) on your machine.

[cgguven]

Exactly, another unresolved Adobe issue with no clear explanation or support from the company!

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Cgguven do you receive any error messages during the installation process?  You can find details on how to locate and interpret your installation log files at Troubleshoot installation with install logs | CS3, CS4.  If you can post any specific errors you discovered it would be appreciated.

[cgguven]

Thanks Jeff, but no, I don't receive any error messages during the installation, and did not get ERROR or FATAL values in the product install logs either. The installation process seems to be running with no issues.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Thank you for the update Cgguven.  I would encourage you to post/search in the forums for each of your non functioning software titles.  You can find a list of the available forums at https://forums.adobe.com/welcome.  You can also run a broad search in any of the forums for CS3 and Mac and the software title and any errors you receive.

[cgguven]

Thanks Jeff. Do you know if there is any difference (how they function technically) between how applications work as part of the Creative Suite and stand-alone programs?

[cgguven]

And do you mean non-Adobe sites by "broad search"? Does that mean Adobe cannot provide any solutions to its products and I should give up seeking help here?

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Cgguyen in the window which you typed into to start your discussion you can perform a search.  By default it searches that particular forum.  You can remove the criteria to search all Adobe forums.  You can then see the discussions which are answered or not to help you determine the best discussion to meet your needs.  This is different than using a search engine such as Google or Bing.  You can find an example in the Photoshop General Discussion forum at Photoshop General Discussion.

I am recommending the forums for the specific application since that is the best place to seek assistance if you are facing a non-installation issue.  The community in each of those forums are going to be more familiar with how the application performs under recent operating systems.

[cgguven]

Thanks, Jeff, much appreciated. I'll give it a try.