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askarv
Participant
August 21, 2017
Answered

Activating Illustrator CS3 ?

  • August 21, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 9887 views

Had bought CS3 in January 2008.  Old installation is no longer available due to failure of the Windows XP computer.  Have new computer with operating system.  Installed the CS3 illustrator.  Tried all possible methods to activate the program which has resulted in disappointment failure.  Have 20 days left to activate Illustrator CS3.  Need help to get it activated. Arvind Saklikar

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer markz82975793

    markz82975793  schrieb

    Monika, your proposed solution is worthless . . on Windows 10! 

    You probably read the very first answer by Bill?

    You might have stopped reading just there.

    Install an old system and then you can run old software. And please mind that people who are not marked as "Staff" on this forum are not staff. And if you want to complain to somebody: complain to Microsoft that they made Windows 10 so that it won't work with your historic software.


    Monika, as it turns out, I got it to work.  The secret lies in removing the cached licensing database file (cache.db) after removing the Adobe files from your PC. The path is "\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe PCD\cache\".

    By deleting that file, and downloading & installing the Adobe CS3 application, I can now run Creative Suite CS3 on my Windows 10 PC.

    4 replies

    N
    nicolasc36581630
    Participant
    November 12, 2017

    Hi; I'm having the same issue, I used my Illustrator CS3 program perfectly with my new laptop, that uses Windows 10, when suddenly I began to receive a notice saying that I had to register my program again if I wanted to continue using it. When I tried to register it, I had issues connecting to the internet. I tried the phone activation service, but it turned out phone activation is no longer supported. Apparently, now I need an authorization code. I recently tried the live chat support, but the representative suggested me to try this.

    I really want to save my program, I'm not ready to let it go. All I need is the authorization code, but since phone activation is no longer supported, I wonder how I can get it so I can continue using my program. Can anyone help me solve this issue? Any help will be appreciated.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 12, 2017

    Did you try the solution in here

    Activation or connection error when starting CS3 or Acrobat 8

    markz82975793
    markz82975793
    Participant
    July 5, 2018

    Monika, your proposed solution is worthless . . on Windows 10!  It just doesn't work because Adobe does not allow you to enter a new serial number or activation code, once you download their CS3 version.  Adobe has made it impossible to use CS3 on Windows 10.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 22, 2017

    To activate the software, try this:

    Activation or connection error when starting CS3 or Acrobat 8

    That won't solve your compatibility issues.

    In order to run old applications, keep an old system.

    Jacob Bugge
    Community Expert
    Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 22, 2017

    askarv,

    You may try this,

    https://www.howtogeek.com/228689/how-to-make-old-programs-work-on-windows-10/

    Failing that, you may try this repetitive procedure, once a month, but it may be too tiresome,

    http://www.download3k.com/articles/How-to-add-an-XP-Mode-Virtual-Machine-to-Windows-10-or-8-using-Hyper-V-00770

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 21, 2017

    If your computer is new and is running Windows 10 then you should know that Illustrator CS3 is not supported on Windows 10. You will need to create a Creative Cloud account in order use Illustrator.

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