How to Activate CS5.5 Offline!

[allan=ia]

I have a legitimate copy of CS5.5. Recently an MS update BSOD'd my SP4 (3rd time in two years - Grrr). I've reinstalled my CS5.5 (Acrobat and Dreamweaver only), but cannot activate online. I believe this is because my ISP now uses CG-NAT, so in effect I am double NATed and as a result CS5.5 thinks that I'm not connected to the internet - I AM, I'm posting this.

I was directed to an offline activation page, but CS5.5 does not generate activation request codes (it was designed in the days of telephone activation). CS5.5 only provides me with information that was meant to be given to adobe to validate the product. So how can I perform an offline activation for CS5.5?

[embejemi]

NOne of this tells me what I can actually do to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop.  I'm so frustrated by all of this.

[kglad]

as far as i can determine, you only have one current problem; you're seeing an excess activation count error.  is that correct?

[Rachel36694248slcr]

Yes - although I did absolutely nothing as far as trying to load it on another device. Just out of the blue, the same computer my CS5.5 has been on for maybe 10 years, comes up with excess activation. Adobe support will not help with older versions. Seems there are a few people on this chain with same problem. 

[kglad]

dis you change any hardware, change your computer clock or add software prior to the warning?

[Rachel36694248slcr]

No

[adbmois]

Well, so then how come my Adobe CS4 Design Premium still works on my new desktop as I mentioned previously? Does this mean I haven't gotten an excess activation? Didn't make any sense, I pretty much installed both my CS 5.5 and CS4 hand in hand always one after another.

[kglad]

@Rachel36694248slcr 

open a cs5.5 app > click help.

is activate or deactivate clickable?

[Rachel36694248slcr]

No

[kglad]

is there a sign-in or sign-out clickable?

if not, copy and paste a screenshot of the help menu.

[Rachel36694248slcr]

I gave up, after weeks of trying things, it is now un-installed. I have the orignal cd I purchased of CS5.5, whenever I try to install, the product code must be entered, and at that point it says "Activation Limit Reached", and will not let me go any further. Before un-installing it, I tried to deactivate, but it was 'un-clickable'. I appreciate your efforts, but I think it is not possible to load, unless Adobe gives me a activation reset on their end for that product code, and that's not happening - they will not suppport or help in any way......they want to sell subscriptions. 

[embejemi]

Rachel, you and I, and indeed many more, are facing a giant.  I will not let this drop, somewhere along the line Adobe have messed up with users of its older software.  Just because it is old shouldn't mean we can no longer use it.  All I ask is for me to be able to reinstall the CS5 products I bought and to be able to use them hassle free.  Instead we get messages that mean nothing, questions that don't answer our questions, and then in one, I was told that I'm not even in the right place to get help and I should be talking to Adobe help - who were less than useless when I DID manage to speak to a real person.  You sound as frustrated and angry as I am about this.  They keep saying it is our fault - and that we are using them on more than two machines, but how come we are all getting these messages, seemingly out of the blue?

[Rachel36694248slcr]

Yes, at one point I did manage to talk to a real person, and they were no help at all, just tried to sell me a subscription. Now when you call the customer service, the automated system asks if you have a subscription or 'perpetual' (lol) version. Whhen you reply Perpetual - they say "Sorry we do not support that version anymore" and disconnect. Terrible customer service.

[kglad]

@Rachel36694248slcr 

understood.

[Richardnz]

I have had a reply which says it is the resolution. They say to uninstall the software, and then to download a copy of it via a link they sent me, and to then install this. They have given me some links to download the software version I have, which is the Master Collection. The explaination is that I was trying to install the software using an old method. I was installing via DVD that I purchased from a local retailer. I haven't yet tried this as it is still downloading as it is a 5GB file, but wondering if this solution was provided to anyone else, and if it worked. 

[allan=ia]

That is similar to where support ended up with my software and it has stalled. They downloaded a file from the archive as engineering said that the CD-ROM installer would no longer work. The problem with that from my end is that my Serial Number is for an upgrade version and therefore will not work with the copy that they downloaded because it's not an upgrade product. The support tech was trying to get me a new SN to proceed and see if that solution works, but I'm still waiting.

So if your copy is an original copy and not an upgrade it could well be worth the try. Please let me know how you get on.

[Richardnz]

Thanks. I have tried it but it still was not able to activate. This version however did give the option to activate over the telephone. However becuase I closed the actviation screen, and set it to attempt activation at next lauch, I can't get the activation screen to reappear. However I looked at the amt3.log file, and it still shows it is on the 30 day trial, and the deactviation is disabled in the menus. When it is activated, I should be able to 'deactviate ' it from the 'help' > 'Deactivate' tab in the menus. Do you know how to force the activation screen to reappear again? I think I have to wait for about 7 days for it to reappear, which is what happened last time. If I can force it to reappear again, I maybe able to see what he telephone activation process involves.

[allan=ia]

Hi Richard. I think you may be right in needing to wait 7 days. I have never found a way to force the activation screen to come up, but the support person did. But he changed so much I'm not sure which thing he tried worked. One thing that may work is to uninstall and reinstall. Given that you're not activated, there should be no need to deactivate, but if the de-install screen gives you the option (mine did), then I'd tick that box. I also suspect that once you get there, that you're likely to see the same screen as you can see further up in these posts. The Description 1 item in mine is only 25 characters long, so unless your screen gives you a 44 character version, neither you nor support are going to be able to use the off-line activation process.

[allan=ia]

Just to note Richard, I'm seeing messages from you which do not sho here and do not show in my private message area - so not sure how that all works. Just for the record, I understand that you tried the archived version that support told you to download and that still did not work. Is that correct, or are you still trying to get the activation screen back up?

Please respond directly on the thread so that we can maintain a record of the problem and hopefully, eventually a resolution.

[Richardnz]

Tahnks, I am not sure how that works either, I am just pressing the blue reply button in the thread. So I didn't know my messages weren't appearing on the public thread properly.

Yes I have installed the updated version via the link the Adobe support sent me, and that also doesn't actviate. Same internet connection error. The file link they sent had the word 'trial' in teh filename, so I think that used to be the version they had on their website at one stage which you could download to try out, and purchase online. So it is probably the most upto date version, but there were still application updates it needed to download after that. So I am not really any closer to getting it resolved either. I should be pretty simple for Adobe to work out what is going on here with their activation server, it probably just needs escalating to the right people in their organisation.

[Richardnz]

I see there was someone else on another thread in the last few days at https://community.adobe.com/t5/get-started/cannot-deactivate-cs5/m-p/10790886 who was wasn't able to deactivate their CS 5 software, and it was coming up with a similar 'no internet connection warning'. So I suspect this is affecting most people who are reinstalling or deactviating the software. I suspect there aren't a large number doing this due to it being an older version, and most people here would be using the monthly subscription version of the software, and haven't purhcased it outright.

My situation is that I am still waiting for one of their managers to provide me with a solution. With telling me that that I need to use a downloadable file, instead of the dvd I was sold, as things have changed at adobes end, suggest that they have certainly changed things at their end. But their solution didn't work, and it is still won't activate.  I just dont want to waste any further hours on it, and I don;t want my software non operational either. I understand with some older versions of CS, they provided people with versions that didn't need activating, after I understand they shut down the activation servers for older versions. So perhaps they will need to do that again for people who have purchased CS 5.5, so it doesn't risk expiring after 30 days of no actviation. 

[allan=ia]

Yes clearly we are both experiencing exactly the same thing. I managed to find my old CS3 dreamweaver disks (and serial number) and was able to download the non-activation version of Dreamweaver CS3 (just to make sure that I had it in case all else fails), but that does not solve the issue of the rest of CS5.5 not working. I now have a non functional system and cannot even use Acrobat as the support tech downloaded the archived version, but it will not accept my serial number as its a serial number for the upgrade disk.

At the very least as more and more people get to try deactivating and activating, this thread will provide evidence that they are not going mad and that it's a common problem. Hopefully it might eventually include a solution. A non-activation version of CS5/5.5 in the same vein as was done for CS3 would be a really good solution at this point.

I really do want my CS5.5 working and I have wasted hours and hours and hours on this problem running around in circles following non-solutions from Adobe.

[Jeff A Wright]

Allan_ia, thank you for your private message, I am showing that case ADB-10276544-N0L0 is still active and the errors you are experiencing continues to be investigated.  Please use the process listed in https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/customer-support-portal.html to review your open support case.  

[allan=ia]

Okay, but I just hope that somewhere Adobe is seeing this as a multi-person problem and not wasting time treating each one as an individual case. If multiple people are experiencing the same problem, then it points to a common issue.

[slpProjects]

I can't deactivate and get CS5 out of my system. I need to clear C: drive space. Can't believe there is no fix for this still in 2023.

[kglad]

deactivating is unrelated to drive space.

did you use the adobe cleaner?