Request to Adobe support - Photoshop CS5 without activation needed.

[mikolajn]

Hi, I have a Photoshp CS5, but I'm worried that Adobe will turn off activation servers and I will not be able to reinstall it on another computer when my computer breaks. Could you please give me installation file that doesn't need activation?
I want to use this software forever and not only when activation servers are active.

I know that Adobe was providing some users with Photoshop that didn't need activation. I hope they still do.

[DaveJCummings]

I'm sorry,  but I don't think that's something we can supply here.  ESPECIALLY since support only goes to the last couple of editions of Adobe products.  But this is something you shouldn't ask in a public forum.  Have you tried to contact Adobe support? 

[mikolajn]

Hi, I forgot to mention that this is a request to Adobe employees. I have contacted support earlier and they told me to write on forum.

[davescm]

It isn't going to happen. Today activation servers still exist for CS4 upwards but no-one outside of Adobe could know what the future hold for activation of those older software packages, as the only officially supported versions are CC v20 and v21

The idea of using software forever is in reality a myth. It only works if you freeze your hardware (PC and camera), operating system and software in time.  If you need to replace your computer, the replacement could then have hardware and an operating system that leave the old applications unusable regardless of activation issues.

Enjoy it whilst it works and accept that, even if it stopped today, then you have had a full 10 years for the price of the suite which is not a bad return.

Dave

[mikolajn]

I don't like the idea of subscription. In my opinion current version of Photoshop (I use it) is worse than CS6. They knew that nobody needs the features that they add now, because CS6 was the complete product, so they decided to implement subscription.

[davescm]

You say you use the current version but don't have a subscription. How?

If CS does it for you then that's fine. I would hate to go back and lose Brush symmetry, Face aware liquify, Content Aware Fill control, Perspective Warp, Linked smart objects, the latest camera raw for current cameras..............etc

Dave

[mikolajn]

I didn't say I don't have subscription. I just said I don't like the idea.

[jane-e]

Mikolajn wrote:

"CS6 was the complete product"

Hi

James Wamser has been putting together a free guide with all the new features of each version of Photoshop. Although it appears to be missing the past two versions, a quick scroll starting with the first version of Creative Cloud (2013) will show you what's been added. It's in Publish Online from InDesign, and can be saved as a PDF. I wouldn't want to go back to CS6 after getting spoiled by the newer features that have come out since then. Life without an Object Selection tool? I can't imagine it!

https://indd.adobe.com/view/c7191893-fc7c-4b41-b61a-130dd125a1e7

~ Jane

[Calgarts]

Don't restore your Mac with timemachine when the PS version is not supported anymore. It used to be slow until I added 8GB memory ram, then PS CS3 and old iMac are running pretty fast. Almost as good as my new mac. I had no problem after installing many newer versions of Mac OS in the past. And yesterday, I restored mac with timemachine and my PS CS3 has been deactivated. Gone for good! 

[Test Screen Name · Accepted solution]

Support send people here rather than say they won't help. There's nobody here who can give what you want. And based on recent behaviour, it's the last thing Adobe would do. Why would they? So you can continue to not spend money with them...?

[Nancy OShea]

@Calgarts

It's late 2020 and this is where things stand right now. CS1, CS2 and CS3 are dead & gone. The aging activation servers failed and were taken offline years ago. Even if you find an installer, it's impossible to activate old software.

CS4, CS5 and CS6 are on life support. But they can still be activated providing you have the following:
1. original media (disks or downloads) you received at purchase and a way to read them,
2. a legitimate serial number for that version, language and platform (Win/Mac),
3. an older operating system that can support legacy 32-bit apps.
--------------------------
NOTE 1 : Creative Suite installers won't work on macOS Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave without terminal workarounds. See the help article below.
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/install-creative-suite-mac-os-sierra.html

NOTE 2: Creative Suite cannot run on Catalina. Either downgrade your OS, set-up a virtual machine or get all new, 64-bit software. Your choice. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

NOTE 3: Legacy Creative Suite is discontinued & unsupported. There is no such thing as a "forever license."  Every product has an End of Life date.  Eventually, all Creative Suite products will stop working.  Use at your own risk.

Goodbye & good luck.

[D Fosse]

Dave points out the real issue here. "Perpetual license" is an illusion. It's only perpetual for the time it takes the rest of the world to move on and leave you behind.

CS5 is ten years old, a lifetime in computers. Sooner or later it will be useless, how fast depends only on how many changes you make to the rest of your system. 

New features are beside the point. The question is, do you want to be left behind?