Can my PS CS5 be installed on Windows 11?

[Steve24590]

I've heard that the ability to register my PS CS5 license in no longer possile on my new Windows 11 system. IS this rtrue? Rather than waste a bunch of time and effort on something that won't work at least I could look for an alternative program that I can use. I don't use CS5 for montary gain and I refuse to get hooked into an expensive software subscription. If i need to learn a new program I'll do so but I will also carry a huge resent for Adobe after having paid for a program that can't be registered. That last part is what I've heard and hoping it isn't reality. I paid for a ligit license directly from Adobe and I expect it to work. Else I've learned a lesson. That applies to my Dreamweaver license.

Thanks for any input.

 

as well.

[Steve24590]

Actually what I've heard is that the ability to register any older software has been disabled. Just looking for facts. I ahve both PS CS5 and Dreamweaver 6 that I'd like to install on my new Windows 11 system. Both are 64 bit as are my computers.

[davescm]

Registration or activation?

CS5 can still be activated (versions up to and including CS4 can no longer be activated) , provided you have the original serial number etc, but whether it will work without issue in Windows 11 I do not know.

Dave

[JeaninesCS5]

I went into 'deactivate' and there were 2 options.  I'm thinking I'm getting too much into the wording; but...

1st Option - Suspend Activation that 'deactivates' without removing the serial number.

2nd Option - Deactivate Permanently that 'deactivates' and removes the serial number

I did try the 1st option; but, when I went in to download and install and entered my serial number it said that number was in use.  It actually is on another laptop.

[LRNZLRNZLRNZ]

It works like a charm. Just be sure to avoid installing all the extra stuff (adobe player etc) because that will cause a runtime error during the installation process. Keep the installation at the bare minimum and you'll be good to go. PS CS5 is amazingly faster than the CC version on the same machine (13900K 128gb RTX3070). Same for Illustrator. After Effects works, no GPU support for new cards and it's way slower than the CC counterpart. That's a bummer, but you can live with it if you are not using it for heavy load of work. Also keep in mind that I couldn't find a way to make quicktime 7.X work, so no video support on compressed files inside PS. Hope this helps, even if it's a one year late reply  🙂

[Steve24590]

Thanks for the reply. I need to deactivate the older system before attempting the intsall. I primarily use it for my astronomy images so it isnn't heavely used. The astro imaging programs like Pix Insight do most of the labor calibrating and such but Phoroshop allows me to do some fine tuning.

[JeaninesCS5]

Would you suggest I totally delete my existing CS5 and reinstall it with very simple options.  I never used all the other 'fancy' stuff anyway.  

After reading other comments that said 'NO', I was becoming very unhappy.  Not sure when this was posted; but, I hope to hear from you.  

Thanks,

Jeanine

[JeaninesCS5]

Would you suggest I totally delete my existing CS5 and reinstall it with very simple options.  I never used all the other 'fancy' stuff anyway.  

After reading other comments that said 'NO', I was becoming very unhappy.  So, I just go into that control panel and 'uninstalll' my CS5?  I'm sure that's a sillly question; but, my first date on the CD says 3-14-11; then 9-10-15.   I do have a CD drive I can plug into this Windows 11 laptop.  Any other info would really be helpful.  Thanks so much for your 'reassuring' post.

Jeanine

[boydjw]

Finally got cs5 to install on windows 11 after many -1 error codes amidst many attempted installations. The Adobe installation troubleshooting help article provided several good tips including using the Creative Cloud Cleaner tool, installing from a new administrator account, installing from a different installation media, deactivating PS CS5 on my previous laptop and installing a monomal. I was able to download a copy of the PS CS5 32-bit installation media from my Adobe account having registered my cs5 serial number long ago. I have not fully vetted the installation to determine any lost functionality.

[thomasc32924724]

I tried to install CS5 on my Win11, but it said that there are too many computers in use. I removed it from the old computers that I have, but it still doesn't work. I only use it for IR work, but I still wish that I had it.

[Steve24590]

Did you deactivate it on teh other system? Uninstalling is [not] the same as deactavation.

[thomasc32924724]

Yes. I uninstalled it on the computers that I have. I don't know if Adobe counts the old computers.

I never had a problem with this old problem before. I think that Adobe is just playing games.

[jane-e]

Uninstalling is the same as deactavation.

By @Steve24590

Uninstalling is NOT the same as deactivation. (It's possible you made a typo?)

CS5 needs to be deactivated before it can be installed and activated on another computer.

Jane

[Steve24590]

Something happened to the "not" , sorry.. It was supposed to be uninstalling does not deactivate.

[thomasc32924724]

Well, I guess that I will never be able to use it then.

[jane-e]

Something happened to the "not"

By @Steve24590

It looked like a typo, but I wasn't positive. I've edited your post to add the missing word.

Jane

[JeaninesCS5]

I totally agree with Steve.  I've been attempting to get my CS5 to print images in something other than shades of purple for several weeks now.  The thought occurred to me last night...and, after 'googling' if that was the case....IT SURE IS!!!   I'm not happy either.  I only use it for personal use for small 'wall-home' photos and don't want to purchase anything from Adobe that WOULD not run on a newer Windows platform.  

[thomasc32924724]

I agree. I can't use CS5 on my Win 11 because "It is on too many computers". These computers are old and gone, I can't deactivate them.

On the computers that I do have, I have deactivated, but that doesn't help.

[Gord@APL]

This is frustrating... I'm currently looking into getting myself a laptop so I can work on personal projects while on the move and, while most of them wouldn't need Adobe software or their analogues, I do frequently use Photoshop CS5, having bought the CS5 suite about 15 years ago, with some of a redundancy payout. The great irony there is that I bought it mainly to upgrade from PS4 and AI5 that I'd been using for absolutely ages. They still worked on the machine I was using 15 years ago (and might even still work on my current machine, albeit not optimally, being 32-bit apps in a 64-bit OS), but I'd been using CS5 at work and the additional applications were enough of an enticement to buy the full suite.

I'd anticipated that I might need to uninstall/deactivate software on my desktop before attempting to install on a new machine, but it hadn't occurred to me that the move toward online 'activation' back in the day might mean activation would no longer be possible now, regardless of any deactivation... And I found it annoying enough, back then, that I was required to be connected to the internet just to install software provided on CD-ROM.

Where I currently work, we're all using Creative Cloud - across both MacOS and Windows, depending on department - but it feels like a massive waste of resources (specifically money) to pay for software on a subscription model, and I'd never want to be doing that for myself. Online activation - and the loss of that facility after x-number of years - is retrospectively an even more cynical ploy that I'd thought at the time.

Looks like I'll be looking into a whole slew of Adobe alternatives to get that laptop set up...

[boydjw]

I was in a similar situation several months ago having to replace a Windows 7 laptop that couldn't be upgraded to  Windows 11. Like you, my old laptop was for PS5 on-the-go. My infrequent use of PS5 on the laptop and the whole subscription model soured me on a PS CC license. I purchased a Windows 11 laptop and then saw what an ordeal it was to install PS5. It turned into a months-long on-again-off-again process to get PS5 running on the laptop, with a brief detour to Photoshop Elements. The Elements detour was abandoned when the Actions I created under PS5 wouldn't run to completion in Elements (on-to-one command mapping is required to run PS actions in Elements).

I was finally able to get PS5 installed and running on the laptop. Some things that were working in my favor included:

- I had access to the old laptop to deactivate the installation, avoiding the "installed on too many computers" issue.

- I had a registered copy of PS5 under my Adobe account. The Adobe account still allowed me to download PS5 installation (.iso) media.

- I followed the troubleshooting hints on PS5 installation on Windows 10, 11.

My early attempts to install PS5 were plaqued with "Installation failed with error code 0" failures. After wading through and following the installation troubleshooting tips, I was able to install and activate PS5 on Windows 11. I didn't follow every tip but which ones are required probably depends on what caused the install to fail in the first place. After my installation had failed repeatedly, it was important for me to install from different media (I started with the original PS installation DVD, but later used downloaded iso from my Adobe account), create a different Administrator account in Windows to run the intallation from, deactivate the installation on the old laptop. And there probably one or two other hints that I can't remember.

So I can tell you that it can be done, but no guarantees.

[davescm · Accepted solution]

Gord@APL CS5, CS5.5 and CS6 can still be activated provided you have remaining activations. Cs4 and earlier can not be activated as the servers have been shut down.
Dave

[Steve24590]

Thanks Dave,

I have it installed on my older Windows 10 computer but have a newer and faster, more RAM and much faster videi card, system I'd prefer to have it on. I think the license allows 2 systems but the other was on an old laptop that died some years ago and I couldn't retrieve the license to uninstall the program. Is there a way to recover the ability to install on 2 active systems if one of teh old ones no longer exists?

I also seem to remember it being a bit difficult installing it on my current slower system. Is there a step by step proceduer for lay people to follow? At 71 I've foggotten a lot more than I'm willing to admit.

-Steve

[jane-e]

I think the license allows 2 systems

By @Steve24590

While you can install on multiple computers, you can only activate on two at a time. You need to have two available and Adobe does not reset activations. If you do not have two activations available, then unfortunately you're out of luck.

Jane