Need help please. Unable to enter new Serial Number for CS3

[neptune58]

Hello, I have a copy of CS3 that I bought around 2007/2008. I have had it installed on this machine for about a year now. And now it is asking me to register it, and says it will expire in 2 day. However I am unable to connect to re-register it. So I went here Obtain a new serial number | CS3, CS4  and got a new Serial Number to use when registering it.

However the problem In now having is that when I open Dreamweaver and select register, there is no place to enter the new Serial Number. It does not give me the option. The only option seems to be 'Reactivate', but no place to enter the new serial number. It then tries to connect to the server and then fails. It seems im stuck in a loop.

Do I need to uninstall and then reinstall in order to enter the new Serial Number?

Could someone please help assist. Very much appreciated.

[Nancy OShea]

For best results, you should remove all traces of the old CS3 from your system with the CS Cleaner tools below.

Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems​

Some people have reported that removing the cache.db from Program Files (x86)/Common Files/Adobe/Adobe PCD/cache/  helps remove the activation countdown.

Enter replacement serial number.

When prompted to register, select Never Register.

Close & reboot your computer.

Nancy

[neptune58]

Hi I found the cache.db file and was able to delete it. I was then able to enter the 'new' Serial number. I then rebooted, but when I reopened DW I got the same message that I will be unable to use the program in 2 days. I also chose never register.

I then tried downloading the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool and ran it. At the end of the program, it gave me a message "Adobe CS4 Cleanup tool stopped working, a problem has occurred causing the program to stop working. The only option was to click the close program button.

I also tried uninstalling from Windows Programs, then reinstalled. That did not work either.

Fyi I am running Windows 10.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Preran]

Moving your post to the DISU forum. The experts here may have additional guidance for you.

Thanks,

Preran

[ADocs]

Hi Nancy,

I spent several hours with on-line tech support yesterday trying to overcome this problem, to no avail.

So I joined the forum last night and within a couple minutes discovered this thread and I have to say it's saved my life! After countless uninstall, cleaning and reinstall sessions yesterday, I turned on my machines this morning and removed that darned cache file and everything fell into place. Can't thank you enough

For additional information, my activation problem initially occurred immediately after the latest major Microsoft Win 10 update 1703. So I foresee a lot of people maybe have this problem as it rolls out.

Many thanks....

[neptune58]

I tried removing the cache file again and I am still getting the message that I have less than 1 day left.

[neptune58]

Hi, I received an email from Adobe support but do not understand where they say to continue the conversation by going to the direct message on Adobe community?? they also said they send me a request over skype and to kindly add us for further communication???

Today is the last day that my registration issue says is running out and I won't be able to use my CS3!! I really need this resolved as we have a website i need to do work on...

[Nancy OShea]

neptune58  wrote

they also said they send me a request over skype and to kindly add us for further communication???

DO NOT.  I REPEAT, DO NOT respond to that Skype thing.  Adobe Tech support never uses Skype.  It's a scam to gain control of your computer.   Please be very careful. 

I will ping  out to an Adobe Staffer, Jeff A Wright​, to see what more can be done.  Please do not interface with anybody who pretends to be an Adobe staffer and uses Skype.   It's just not done.

Nancy

[neptune58]

thanks Nancy for catching that! I wonder how they got my email information. The emails were coming from this address, forums_noreply @ adobe.com

I have marked those emails as Spam and got rid of them.

Please let me know if Jeff can help assist with my issue. I will hang tight. Thanks again, Dan.

[Nancy OShea]

neptune58  wrote

thanks Nancy for catching that! I wonder how they got my email information. The emails were coming from this address, forums_noreply @ adobe.com

I have marked those emails as Spam and got rid of them.

Please let me know if Jeff can help assist with my issue. I will hang tight. Thanks again, Dan.

No problem, Dan.  If you receive copies of forum posts to your email inbox, it might have gotten through that way.  I don't know for sure though.   I have reached out to Adobe Staff.  Hopefully somebody will be in touch with you soon.  Please keep us updated with what happens.

Nancy

[neptune58]

Thanks Nancy. I thought it was a little strange and I should have caught that also. I'm soooo glad you caught that, omg.

Yes please let me know if you should need my email or contact information.

[neptune58]

Hi Nancy,

Just checking in. Were you able to hear back from any Adobe staff? I have not heard anything as of yet. I would imagine once I get home I won't be able to get into DW as it will have been expired by that time.

[Nancy OShea]

Download a free 7-day trial to Creative Cloud App and DW CC.   There's no obligation to purchase & it will give you an opportunity to work with the latest DW.

Download a free trial or buy Adobe products | Adobe downloads

Nancy

[neptune58]

I'd really rather get my CS3 working since it has worked fine for the simple updates I have been doing on our website. How else can I contact Adobe support to see if someone can assist? Seems that others have been able to get their CS3 working, and I'd really like to resolve this if possible.

[Nancy OShea]

CS3 is more than 10 years old & not certified to run on Win10.  Nobody can guarantee it will ever work or for how long.    At least CC is compatible with Win10.

Have you tried installing the replacement on another computer with a lower operating system?

Nancy

[neptune58]

Understood, however I've had it running fine on this machine for the last couple of years without any issues whatsoever until this serial number thing.

[neptune58]

Nancy, so did you ever hear back from your contact Jeff Wright? I have not heard back from you on this support issue??? This looks like its the Adobe phone number?

1 (800) 833-6687 or

Purchase on Adobe.com
Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat: 800-585-0774
Creative Cloud for small and medium business: 800-915-9428
Adobe Marketing Cloud: 877-722-7088
Adobe Connect and LiveCycle: 800-685-3644
Learn about licensing
Become an affiliate

Office locations

Corporate headquarters:

Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, CA 95110-2704

Tel: 408-536-6000
Fax: 408-537-6000

Its very hard to understand the lack of support on this support site for Adobe. I am at the point of contacting someone at Corp headquarters at this point in time. This has been a waste of my whole week trying to get this software to work. It has been working and has nothing to do with Win10. I have had it working on Win10 for the last 2 years.

Sorry to have to be this direct.

[John T Smith]

Adobe no longer supports CS6 (except install issues if you use the "previous program" process to use CS6 with a Cloud account) so I very seriously doubt that you will receive any support at all for CS3

As far as what used to work... Owners of old programs simply have problems with Windows 10... none of which is Adobe's fault... Adobe did not change your old program to make it stop working... Microsoft changed their operating system and THAT is why your old program won't work, not because of anything Adobe did... Also... every time Microsoft issues a Win10 update, there is the risk that an old program that HAS been working after the initial Win10 upgrade will STOP working... bottom line, old programs require a matching old operating system

[neptune58 · Accepted solution]

Hello John T Smith.

Wow. Great answer.

So why has DwCs3 been working on my win10 machine without any issues for the last 2 years? And why is my Dreamweaver CS3 now all the sudden asking to re-register it? Why would win10 care if it was registered ? Plus the fact that I "dont care about support" I just want my old ($300.00) CS3 version to work. I have had it since 2007 and nothing much has ever changed so who cares about updates and support. I am only using it to change simple code, such as pictures and buttons.

your reply makes no sense. Plus why have others with the same issue here had the same issue resolved?

I will be contacting Adobe Corp. As this is totally unacceptable. And this forum is, I am sorry very lame.

[R Neil Haugen]

CS3 versions of the programs were built to run on an operating system that is long out of use. Microsoft & Apple do build some "compatibility" things into their newer OS's, however, so that code designed for a previous OS version can still work ... but to keep the OS "clean" they do over time drop those old bits of compatibility coding from the OS.

And when that happens, programs built for that earlier OS normally cease to work.

I've got old floppies here of software built to run on 3.11, or XP, or 2000. Should I be angry with the makers of those programs (dBase, several Lotus apps, and Quickbooks among others) because they won't work on Win10?

That is exactly the problem here as well, and I paid a ton of money for dBase and those Lotus apps too. Unless I want to find an old 486 running XP, I'm outta luck with those apps. No software company I've heard of goes back to old software and completely rebuilds it to run on a newer OS.

And just as an fyi ... those of us with an ACP (Adobe Community Professional) or MVP (Most Valuable) badge are not Adobe staff, we're fellow users like yourself ... just with some noted experience in the various apps and a willingness to help other users on these user-to-user forums. Adobe staffers always have a full Adobe badge.

Neil

[neptune58]

Thanks for that info Neil. I do appreciate the folks here and do understand its no-ones fault here at this forum. I'll see what else I can do to replace my CS3.

[R Neil Haugen]

I understand. Numerous times I've had software I was heavily using for either business management or whatnot, that ... the company either ceased to exist or stopped making/updating the software ... and I had to figure out how to change ... and sadly, sometimes I simply couldn't replace some of the features I'd used a lot.

And yea ... I had a ton of cash in those apps. Which was an "ouch" also, being a small business.

Neil

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Neptune58 my apologies for the delay but I was out of the office last week.  Were you able to download and install Creative Suite 3 successfully?  As Nancy, Neil, and John have discussed there can be a number of compatibility issues with opening applications from that time period on modern operating systems.  You should be able to at least install the software successfully.

If you were unsuccessful Neptune58 then can you please post a screen shot of the current error you are experiencing when installing Creative Suite 3 on Windows 10?  Details on how to post a screen shot can be found at FAQ: How do I capture and post a screen shot or video?​.

[neptune58]

Hi Jeff, thanks for getting back. Yes it has been very frustrating and I basically gave up.

I have been using my CS3 on this particular machine for about 2 years now without issues.

I followed all the steps from the folks in this post with no avail.

Basically the message I get after I do the install and use the new serial number is "I need to register my copy in X number of days". Then the only option is to quit or try to register online, and we know that no longer works.

Now, since the timer has counted down. I can't use it at all. It just says I need to register it, and then have to hit quit.

Regards,
Dan

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Dan if you are referring to the screen indicating the Registration - Connection Failure:

Then just click on Never Register.  This service was discontinued quite a long time ago after the ability to register serial numbers was added to http://www.adobe.com/​.

If this is not the error Dan, then can you please post a screen shot of the error you are seeing?