There is another workaround using cloning software. This would require more resources but would perform better. You'd need to have an old/spare machine that you have not installed your Adobe product on or you can reinstall your operating system.   Configure it as you'd like without your Adobe program(s) then clone (the disk) it or create an image file of the disk. You could just image your system partition but it might be less complicated to get the restore up and running if you can do the disk. However, dumping an image of the system partiton is quicker and requires less offline storage. Keep that (disk) clone, disk image or system image as your "clean" version (w/o your Adobe program(s). Install your Adobe program(s) on your machine. If it is coded to run for 30 days, use it until it stops. Then overwrite your disk with that (disk) clone, (disk) image file or system image file from your "clean" config and install the Adobe program(s) again. Like the virtual machines, it's a bit of of pain but better than nothing.   I started using cloning/imaging programs in 1996. As technology progresses, things got a little more complicated but they are pretty straightforward to use. I've used CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner) on macOS and it was fine. I haven't in some time but it looks like you can purchase one copy for all your machines in your household (personal use). The creator (Mike Bombich) puts out a good quality product. It does not look like a subscription based product.   On Windows I've recently used Macrium Reflect and Acronis True Image. There are a few more which get good reviews. Those two I've used recently are European companies. Acronis has phone support and chat, as well as email, community forum and knowledgebase. Macrium has email, customer forum and knowledgebase included. No phone support or chat. These are subscription based products and go for about $50 per yr for 1 computer.   You can also search for, Open source disk cloning.   Hope this helps someone.   ... View more

It certainly is. I've gotten my money's worth with Adobe products in general. I suppose they got their money's worth out of me as well since I've been supporting their products since 1994.   Fortunatly, there are alternatives. Adobe has terrific products. It's nice having a choice. ... View more

No, do not install the program on your clean copy. Please see post from a few minutes ago. ... View more

No problem but I misunderstood your previous post - my mistake. I wouldn't install the program on the clean/original copy.   If I were to install it on March 1 then save the copy, when I revert back to that saved copy on April 15 it will be over 30 days. Install the program every time to use a fresh copy. Kind of a pain but the 30 days will start on the date it is installed. Sorry about that. ... View more

That would work. ... View more

Sort of. I make copies of the VM file and reuse it after 30 days or whenever the program stops working. Once it's configured, it's simply a matter of copying a file over the old file.   If an end user is able to install an Adobe product and it was coded to allow them/us to use it for 30 days, then you can insall the program on your VM after you make a copy of your VM. Don't install the program on the clean copy of your VM, just on your "working" copy. After it stops working, overwrite that file with the clean copy (or backup file) and start over.   There are Virtual Machine programs that run on Linux, macOS or Windows. I haven't used Virtualbox  in many years but I see there is still a free version. The base version of Oracle VirtualBox is free for personal, educational, or evaluation use. It is open source. You can use it to run multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, and macOS. It was developed by Sun Microsystems who were bought by Oracle. Apparently, Oracle still has some sort of free version.   I've used VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop  on macOS. They probably performed better than Virtualbox. I use a free version for Windows provided by VMware. It was little difficult to find. I use two programs: VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Client to create (copy) a VM of my current laptop. VMware Workstation 16 Player to run the VM. Looks like the Player is discontinued but they have a free version for personal use. Maybe that's why it was hard to find last November?   There are also VM's on the cloud that perform great but you'd need access to something like Azure or AWS.   VM's can get pretty large but if you can fit it on your internal drive, it will perform better. Mine were on an external USB 3.0 HDD and ran painfully slow. I might try it on one of my external SSD's. Or just run it from my internal drive not that I ran into this activation issue this week.   A VM requires a little configuration, primarily for hardware - HDD, video, optical drive, network interphase, audio and how much resources are allocated to the "guest" (or VM). It's not a requirement to have all the hardware configured though. You don't need the network interphase or audio to work but the optical drive might help to install legacy programs from the media. If you have difficulty getting the optical drive running, one could copy the files to a folder and share the folder with the guest operating system.   Hope this helps someone. It's a little dissapointing (but not surprising) that Adobe pulled the plug on activating/deactivating EOL programs but they still keep monitoring the activation limits. I spent a good amount on Creative Suite Design Premium.   ... View more

Unfortunatly, I too am at the end of the road with Creative Suite CS5 - a prehistoric group of programs but I still liked using Photoshop. I did deactivate my copy before migrating to a new machine. Apparently, that didn't register on Adobe's servers? When I login to my Adobe account it has 4 (of 6) of my registered products in its database but the Activated Devices page is blank. "You have no activated devices"   I ended up having a virtual machine of my laptop and use CS5 on that for a few weeks. When it balks on the activation I revert back to the original virtual machine and use it for a bit. Sort of like the perpetual loop people (including myself) experience with the AI chat. I also have the NIC disabled.   Thanks to everyone who monitors this community forum. At least I got a definitive answer. ... View more