Installing photoshop cs6 on a third computer

[jrsherrard]

I currently subscribe to the complete CC package for a king's ransom of monthly payments. I use Audition, PS, Lightroom, and Premiere daily on my laptop and my main frame.

As a loyal Adobe customer, I have copies of every version going back to the earliest - and have always paid full price for my previous versions. I'd like to install PS CS6 on a third computer, however, and evidently am forbidden from doing so. My question is, WHY?

I paid for it in full, why can't I use it. It's not compatible with Mojave, in any case, so who on earth would care that I'm using an outdated version of PS? Especially since I pay through the nose for my CC versions of EVERYTHING.

So. Anyone figure out a workaround, as evidently the only way to install CS 6 is through Creative Cloud, which prevents more than 2 computers from using it.

Immensely irritating!!!

[Here is the list of all Adobe forums... https://forums.adobe.com/welcome]

[Comments is to ask about the operation of the Forum, not a specific program]

[Moved from the Comments forum to the specific Program forum... Mod]

[John T Smith]

1 - Read Cloud takes over https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2089127 for some ideas (see reply #1)

2 - Once you deactivate CS6 on your other computers, you should be able to install your serial numbered version on a computer

[jrsherrard]

Thanks for the attempt at answering. I did try deactivating CS6 and then installing it again, but each time I attempted to quit and start up again, CS6 opened up Creative Cloud and informed me that I needed to sign out of one of my other computers for it to load.

I saw the other posts in the thread you shared in #1, but I no longer have the serial number that came with my CS6 - and the link to find that serial number goes to a 404 page - also, for some reason, Adobe has deleted all my activity prior to my monthly subscription.

It seems just a little ridiculous to prevent me from using a product that I PURCHASED before the cloud! In fact, by making it so difficult to install this already purchased product, Adobe has quite literally stolen a program that I legally own.

I'm still fuming....

[Test Screen Name]

Mixing subscription CC and permanent license CS6 on the same computer doesn't seem possible. But on a computer without CC you should be able to install and use your CS6 - always assuming you find the serial number in your records. You won't get anywhere without that.

[jrsherrard]

Sadly, as I noted in my previous email, I do not have the CS6 serial number in my records - although I had a complete install which has been updating since 2013 using Creative Cloud. In other words, the entire creative suite was bought and paid for.

And until quite recently, Adobe had a page (referenced in one of the links above:  Find your serial number quickly

which now leads to a 404 page. In other words, they've shut down the one possible avenue to find a 7 year old purchase.

I have spent many thousands of dollars on Adobe products and will continue with my subscriptions because there is no other choice as a working photographer, but this wrinkle seems just a bit repugnant to me.

[Jeff A Wright]

Jrsherrard, sorry for any confusion you are facing.  As has been mentioned you will want to use your Creative Suite license on a different computer than the one which contains the Creative Cloud membership.  A full Creative Cloud membership actually includes access to the Creative Suite 6 version of our applications.

The page on how to locate your serial number can be found at Find your serial number .  The pages location was recently moved and it does not appear the redirect is currently functioning.

Please update this discussion if you have any questions.  You have already received some great advice from both John Smith and Test Screen Name.

[jrsherrard]

Jeff,

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, the page you linked to ( Find your serial number) still sends me to a 404; however, I found the original serial number buried in my account. I'd suggest Adobe make it a bit easier to find, as some of the menus are not intuitive (to find it, I went to my account page, then under My Plans, clicked the "Manage Plan" link, then in the upper left, clicked on "order history", which revealed my original CS6 order from 2012. Perhaps Order History should be more prominent in the menus, or, correct your faulty link to "Find your serial number".

Mike, not a bad notion to keep a paper record of all one's serial numbers, but as I'd been accessing CS6 for years directly through Adobe - and have now found that missing serial number buried in my account order history - it seems like a bit of a chore, particularly for ancient software I never planned on using again!

So. I'm now downloading a copy of CS6, with the serial number available. Interesting now to see if I can actually install without the cloud.

[John T Smith]

I don't know anyone named Mike, but putting your serial number in a safe place (two places!) is always a good idea

[jrsherrard]

Sorry, John, that's what happens when you multitask!

[jrsherrard]

So, Jeff and John, in the end, I managed to track down my original serial number, although it was nested several layers deep. After that, I downloaded a copy of CS6, which would not install due to an unspecified missing file error. Searching through the Adobe forums, I found that it was necessary to perform two further steps: install a legacy version of Java to accommodate the ancient CS6, then, following instructions, drag and drop an install command directly into Terminal. After the installation using Terminal, the request for my serial number came up, which I entered, completing the install.

Truth is, I can see why so many would simply give up and pay for access. Adobe makes it tough to do something simple and reclaim a program that has already been bought and paid for. Seriously, Jeff, it all seems a bit complex for such a simple action. Someday, someone will put all of this into a single location perhaps!

[Jeff A Wright · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the update, Jrsherrard, unfortunately with the release of macOS 10.12 it has become necessary to begin the installation process directly through the terminal.  We have a forum FAQ on this topic at Installing Creative Suite on a new Mac or macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later .

I am happy to hear you got Creative Suite 6 installed successfully, Jrsherrard.  I would encourage you to use your Creative Cloud membership on a different computer so that you face no difficulties with updated shared components or licensing errors.  You may even want to consider finding a Mac which meets the system requirements listed at Adobe Creative Suite 6 system requirements .  There have been several reports of Creative Suite applications not functioning properly on modern versions of macOS.  So using the applications on an operating system they were designed for should allow you to continue to use the applications without errors.

You can then reserve the Mac running the latest version of macOS to also run the latest versions of our Creative applications.  Please bookmark Learn how to download your Adobe Creative Cloud apps for information on how you can install Creative Cloud applications, Jrsherrard.

[jrsherrard]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the advice. Currently, I'm running the full CC on two machines, my main frame and my laptop, both of which are in constant use in my work as a photographer, videographer, and journalist.

In ill-advisedly upgrading to Mojave, I lost access to one of my best large format printers, and had to return to an older Mac Pro to print using a previous OS. In trying to install my CS6, already purchased in 2012, I ran across this rather extraordinary set of difficulties, which have been bedeviling me for the past day.

So, never fear, Jeff. I'm still spending my monthly pound of flesh at Adobe and using Creative Cloud programs on my two main computers.

Jean

[John T Smith]

> Adobe makes it tough to do something simple

NO! Owners of old programs simply have problems with new Mac operating systems... none of which is Adobe's fault... Adobe did not change your old program to make it stop working... Apple changed their operating system and THAT is why your old programs won't work, not because of anything Adobe did... Also... every time Apple issues an update, there is the risk that an old program that HAS been working will STOP working... bottom line, old programs require a matching old operating system

[jrsherrard]

I won't argue with you about upgrades - particularly when it comes to Apple.

My one beef with Adobe is that Creative Cloud makes is confoundedly difficult to re-install a program that I purchased in its many incarnations since 2000. The workaround is pretty complex and the solutions spread out across a number of forums. Given that I, the customer for decades, need help from Adobe doing something fairly straightforward - installing a program that I own and have paid for - and what's more that I currently spend many hundreds of dollars a year on my Adobe software, the process could be made easier.

Adobe, having made a considerable amount of money off me, could accomplish that without too much difficulty.

Why must it be so difficult to find relatively simple answers to what must be a somewhat common question?

Interestingly, CS6 worked perfectly fine on every Apple OS until Mojave. In my original question, I was attempting to install it on a machine running High Sierra (or whatever its called), so my difficulties had nothing to do with Apple's upgrade. It was the byzantine nature of CC which confounded me. So YES.

In any case, thanks for your initial answer, which led me toward the correct path, however twisty.

[John T Smith]

Similar problems with Windows... with the one exception that Microsoft has an option to run an old program in a compatibility mode which usually works... I still use Encore CS6 (serial number version) with Win10 and as of right now, it works with no problems... of course, every time Microsoft updates Win10 there is some risk that my old program won't work

[John T Smith]

>do not have the CS6 serial number in my records

Too late now, but for anyone else reading this

I write all serial numbers in a text file... which I print and put in a folder in a desk drawer AND write to a flash drive