Participant

Question

Would a copy of Photoshop CS4 still activate

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 6, 2020
9 replies
10660 views

So I'm one of those people that still uses a really old Mac(a 2006 Mac Pro) because it does everything I need it to do and I do some photo editing with GIMP but I'm thinking of upgrading to a copy of photoshop because it's more powerful and I have looked at some info and it seems CS4 fits my usage criteria and will work on my old mac but 2 things

1 will it still activate and

2 is it legal for someone to sell a copy of photoshop CS4 on ebay because that's how I'm planning to get a copy

Mac

This topic has been closed for replies.

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Tim-HH

Participant

Adobe provided offline installer for CS2 and CS3. Why don't they do the same with CS4? I find that quite odd.

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Lumigraphics

Legend

Adobe no longer supports any older versions. At some point, you'll have to use a current computer and current CC release because nothing else will be activated.

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Tim-HH

Participant

Supporting a software and making it unusable are two different things. No one expects Adobe to support such an old software. But they should still allow their customers to use the software should they wish. Although Photoshop CS4 is fairly old, it works fine under Win 10. I'm just surprised that Adobe provided offline installer for CS2 and CS3 but not for CS4. Why did they suddenly change their approach?

Just Shoot Me

Legend

Also be aware that in the future, could be near future, 1+, or in a Few, 2, 3 years, the activation servers for CS4 will also be shut down.

Then if you need to reinstall you will not be able to activate it.

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Clark Logan

Participant

Exactly where I am right now. Bought a new PC/ migrated the data to my new 4TB M.2 (storage drive) and the data corrupted and wants me to reactivate CS4...

I'm stuck here now with a project in 2022 that I need to do and can't. C'est la vie.

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Lumigraphics

Legend

CS4 may not even work on a current PC (its way outdated on Mac.) I do have CS5 apps on a Windows 10 Pro computer butwho knows how long that will work.

davescm

Community Expert

The activation servers for CS4 are still available but buying from ebay is highly likely to be an unlicensed copy . Also be aware that CS versions were platform specific i.e. licensed for PC or Mac.

Licences ownership can be transferred to a new owner by following a specific process :

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/x-productkb/policy-pricing/transfer-product-license.html

Personally , I wouldn't risk my money or the security of my PC. Hacked versions often come with free malware.

Dave

TheDigitalDog

Inspiring

The activation servers for CS4 are still available but buying from ebay is highly likely to be an unlicensed copy .

By @davescm

Well, I tried to install CS5 on an old Macbook for testing. I wasn't able to activate it. I'm hoping someone from Adobe can chime in here about if or not this is at all possible. The product took my legit serial number but failed on activation.

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"

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Lumigraphics

Legend

CS4 is still active. However, you are almost certain to get a pirated copy. If you do buy, get an original in-box copy with original Adobe DVD and have the seller do a license transfer to you BEFORE you pay them.