Is my Photoshop CS6 gone forever?

[CLOD-HOPPER]

I use an old mid-2010 iMac, and on it, I had run Adobe Photoshop CS6 for years. The installation was legitimately purchased 15 or more years ago, and cost a lot to purchase (from Adobe, if I remember rightly). I used it only for doctoring poor photographs taken on holidays etc., but it came to be invaluable to me. The other week, it started to malfunction, so after trying various hoped-for cures, I decided to uninstall it, then reinstall it. The installation went smoothly and finally, I was ready to open it and use it. To activate it, Adobe demanded the serial number (which needed to be entered before the installation could even begin). Without activation, it would not work, of course. I duly entered the serial number again, and got a repeated "no connection". Finally, I clicked on a link in this alert window, which (no connection or not) took me to the Adobe website. There, there was a mention that perhaps the app had not been activated because of Adobe's policy of not supporting out-of-date apps (which, in view of the age of my app, told me all that I needed to know). There was an invitation to download a trial of the latest version of Photoshop (paid for by monthly subscription, of course).

Since my installer disc is 100% legitimate, I wonder whether some clever person could tell me whether it would be possible to re-install this app, then find a relevant folder (where that might be, I don't know) and delete whatever makes the app re-demand the serial number, thereby allowing me to use CS6 after all. There would not be anything illegal or crooked about doing this.
With thanks in hopeful anticipation,
Clod-hopper

 

[chrfr]

I use an old mid-2010 iMac, and on it, I had run Adobe Photoshop CS6 for years. The installation was legitimately purchased 15 or more years ago, and cost a lot to purchase (from Adobe, if I remember rightly). I used it only for doctoring poor photographs taken on holidays etc., but it came to be invaluable to me. The other week, it started to malfunction, so after trying various hoped-for cures, I decided to uninstall it, then reinstall it. The installation went smoothly and finally, I was ready to open it and use it. To activate it, Adobe demanded the serial number (which needed to be entered before the installation could even begin). Without activation, it would not work, of course. I duly entered the serial number again, and got a repeated "no connection". Finally, I clicked on a link in this alert window, which (no connection or not) took me to the Adobe website. There, there was a mention that perhaps the app had not been activated because of Adobe's policy of not supporting out-of-date apps (which, in view of the age of my app, told me all that I needed to know). There was an invitation to download a trial of the latest version of Photoshop (paid for by monthly subscription, of course).

Since my installer disc is 100% legitimate, I wonder whether some clever person could tell me whether it would be possible to re-install this app, then find a relevant folder (where that might be, I don't know) and delete whatever makes the app re-demand the serial number, thereby allowing me to use CS6 after all. There would not be anything illegal or crooked about doing this.
With thanks in hopeful anticipation,
Clod-hopper

Did you deactivate the previous installation before you uninstalled it? Adobe is apparently still activating CS6 apps so perhaps it's just a temporary outage on their part.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

No chrfr, I did not deactivate it. It's been so long since I installed it, that either I must have forgotten about it, or I did not know that that had to be done. (I really can't remember deactivating it, and it must have been re-installed about five times in all the years that it has been in use.) In my looking for a solution to this problem on the Web, I seem to remember seeing, somewhere, that Adobe ceased to activate in 2021, but I wouldn't like to contradict you, as I have looked at so many websites that I could have got confused.
So, seeing that it was not deactivated, have my chances of restoring it been ruined (on the slight chance that activation is still being done)?

Is it worth trying again, just on the off-chance, or has my failure to deactivate it messed things up?

Also, is there any possibility that a new installation could be manipulated as I described, to avoid a need to activate anyway? (The reference on the website, to not supporting old software, seemed to be pretty definite.)

 

[chrfr]

I seem to remember seeing, somewhere, that Adobe ceased to activate in 2021, but I wouldn't like to contradict you, as I have looked at so many websites that I could have got confused.
So, seeing that it was not deactivated, have my chances of restoring it been ruined (on the slight chance that activation is still being done)?

CS5 and CS6 can apparently still be activated. Earlier Adobe software that requires online activation (CS2, 3, 4) cannot be installed and activated anymore.
Activation and deactivation troubleshooting (adobe.com)
Activation limit reached or Sign-in failed error (adobe.com)

 

[wonderings]

As said, you should be able to log into your adobe account and see your purchases so you can activate and deactivate. Are you using an older Mac? If you have something more recent it might be worth looking at Affinity Photo. It is a modern photo editor, no subscription fee and would be com probably in many ways to Photoshop CS6. Price is really good for the feature set as well. Of course as it is newer software, you can't be using a really outdated Mac.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

As said, you should be able to log into your adobe account and see your purchases so you can activate and deactivate. Are you using an older Mac? If you have something more recent it might be worth looking at Affinity Photo. It is a modern photo editor, no subscription fee and would be com probably in many ways to Photoshop CS6. Price is really good for the feature set as well. Of course as it is newer software, you can't be using a really outdated Mac.

I did try to log into my AAdobe account (my password, stored for years in my passwords file) was correct, but I was denied entry. It stated that the password was incorrect. Yes, I am using a mid-2010 iMac, and Affinity will not work on it. I tried installing it. I am keen to "crack" my legal, purchased copy of Photoshop CS6, but, though there are several supposed methods shown on the Web, they seem to be red herrings made to entice people onto some site that is selling something. I shall keep on looking though, and it is a time-consuming business. Thanks for your comments and desire to help.
C.H.

 

[wonderings]

I did try to log into my AAdobe account (my password, stored for years in my passwords file) was correct, but I was denied entry. It stated that the password was incorrect. Yes, I am using a mid-2010 iMac, and Affinity will not work on it. I tried installing it. I am keen to "crack" my legal, purchased copy of Photoshop CS6, but, though there are several supposed methods shown on the Web, they seem to be red herrings made to entice people onto some site that is selling something. I shall keep on looking though, and it is a time-consuming business. Thanks for your comments and desire to help.
C.H.

can you not reset your password? Or is that email account long gone?

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

can you not reset your password? Or is that email account long gone?

The email account is still active. Though I doubt whether anything positive will come of it, I will have a go at re-setting it. However, my general impression is that anything to do with Adobe is very tricky. Mostly, it seems to be interested only in selling subscription-model software.

 

[wonderings]

The email account is still active. Though I doubt whether anything positive will come of it, I will have a go at re-setting it. However, my general impression is that anything to do with Adobe is very tricky. Mostly, it seems to be interested only in selling subscription-model software.

I just logged into my old account before my family business merged with a larger company. I have old serial numbers still available for CS6 and CS5. If you get this info you contact Adobe and they will get the programs running as I think the servers that were checking those older serial numbers is no longer active, but they are honouring them still from what I have heard.

I have contacted Adobe before about an older version of Indesign (part of CC, just not downloadable anymore). And they were very prompt and helpful at getting me the installer I needed. I would not write it off, if you have your account email you can get the password reset, get into your account, see your purchases along with serial number and can then contact Adobe and let them do the rest.

This link goes over how to activate as well, and is not that old, from 2021

Serial Number Validation screen launching CS6

Find solutions to a Serial Number Validation screen that may appear when launching Adobe Creative Suite 6 applications.

helpx.adobe.com

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

I just logged into my old account before my family business merged with a larger company. I have old serial numbers still available for CS6 and CS5. If you get this info you contact Adobe and they will get the programs running as I think the servers that were checking those older serial numbers is no longer active, but they are honouring them still from what I have heard.

I have contacted Adobe before about an older version of Indesign (part of CC, just not downloadable anymore). And they were very prompt and helpful at getting me the installer I needed. I would not write it off, if you have your account email you can get the password reset, get into your account, see your purchases along with serial number and can then contact Adobe and let them do the rest.

This link goes over how to activate as well, and is not that old, from 2021

Serial Number Validation screen launching CS6

Find solutions to a Serial Number Validation screen that may appear when launching Adobe Creative Suite 6 applications.

helpx.adobe.com

Wonderings, what you have posted gives me fresh heart. I'm glad for you that Adobe were helpful and got your old apps working. In view of what you wrote, I went to my Adobe account and was able to log in. There, I saw that the serial number of my P.S.CS6 app had been saved. However, to my astonishment, another tab I clicked on revealed that I had "no activated devices" (I understood that two activations, done years ago, should have been showing.) It would seem, then, that Adobe has lost interest in the "two activation" rule for old apps.

At present, I am engaged in installing High Sierra afresh on a different partition on my Mac, and setting this up will take a long time, because my free time is very limited. However, when it is up and running, I shall try installing P.S.CS6 on it, and take things from there.

I am puzzled, though, about how you asked Adobe to get the old programmes running (your words are shown by me in bold, above). Was it on a forum? I looked in my Adobe Account, and, when I looked for "ways to contact" Adobe, all it gave (for CS6 apps) was "Forums" — not Adobe itself. If you know that I have missed some way of asking for help from Adobe, I should be very grateful if you would tell me what it is.
With kind regards,
C.H.

 

[wonderings]

Wonderings, what you have posted gives me fresh heart. I'm glad for you that Adobe were helpful and got your old apps working. In view of what you wrote, I went to my Adobe account and was able to log in. There, I saw that the serial number of my P.S.CS6 app had been saved. However, to my astonishment, another tab I clicked on revealed that I had "no activated devices" (I understood that two activations, done years ago, should have been showing.) It would seem, then, that Adobe has lost interest in the "two activation" rule for old apps.

At present, I am engaged in installing High Sierra afresh on a different partition on my Mac, and setting this up will take a long time, because my free time is very limited. However, when it is up and running, I shall try installing P.S.CS6 on it, and take things from there.

I am puzzled, though, about how you asked Adobe to get the old programmes running (your words are shown by me in bold, above). Was it on a forum? I looked in my Adobe Account, and, when I looked for "ways to contact" Adobe, all it gave (for CS6 apps) was "Forums" — not Adobe itself. If you know that I have missed some way of asking for help from Adobe, I should be very grateful if you would tell me what it is.
With kind regards,
C.H.

By old, I mean a 4 versions back, which is part of Adobe CC subscription. I contacted support, let them know I needed the installer for Indesign 2019 I believe because there was a specific plugin we used that works with only that version of Indesign. They promptly called me, and then the same day they sent me a download link. After they they even got back to me again realizing they had send an Intel version of the installer and not an Apple Silicon version. First time I have ever dealt with Adobe support, and it was a good experience.

You should not have to do a clean install of High Sierra to install Adobe CS6.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

By old, I mean a 4 versions back, which is part of Adobe CC subscription. I contacted support, let them know I needed the installer for Indesign 2019 I believe because there was a specific plugin we used that works with only that version of Indesign. They promptly called me, and then the same day they sent me a download link. After they they even got back to me again realizing they had send an Intel version of the installer and not an Apple Silicon version. First time I have ever dealt with Adobe support, and it was a good experience.

You should not have to do a clean install of High Sierra to install Adobe CS6.

Ah, there's the catch! It was an old CC app, not a CS app, and that makes a huge difference. As I said, the only way to contact anyone about CS apps is via a forum. So, I don't entertain much hope of getting it going, now. I foolishly imagined that someone on this forum was able to give me a workaround. A method was provided, but the crucial thing that it involved was not included, as I now realise. It seems that there is a catch to everything to do with CS apps, whether legitimately obtained or not. Thanks very much for your input.
With kind regards,C.H.

 

[wonderings]

Ah, there's the catch! It was an old CC app, not a CS app, and that makes a huge difference. As I said, the only way to contact anyone about CS apps is via a forum. So, I don't entertain much hope of getting it going, now. I foolishly imagined that someone on this forum was able to give me a workaround. A method was provided, but the crucial thing that it involved was not included, as I now realise. It seems that there is a catch to everything to do with CS apps, whether legitimately obtained or not. Thanks very much for your input.
With kind regards,C.H.

You tried the offline activation per the link I put in a previous post?

Solution 2: Process Offline Activation.​

Computers that will never have an Internet connection must use the Offline Activation process to Activate. Store and volume license customers can use these steps. Volume license customers can also use the Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition for assisting with this workflow.
Complete this process for every offline computer that you want to activate. Make sure that you have access to a computer with Internet access to complete the steps below. Complete this process within a 72-hour period. If you cannot complete this process within 72 hours, contact Adobe Support for additional assistance.

1. Launch the product.
2. At the Serial Number Validation screen, click Having Trouble Connecting To The Internet.
3. Click Offline Activation and click Generate a Response Code.
4. Write down the Request Code.
5. Switch to an online computer and navigate to www.adobe.com/go/getactivated.
6. Click Offline Activation.
7. Sign in with your Adobe ID.
8. Enter your Request code and click Generate.
9. Write down the Response code.
10. Switch back to the offline computer.
11. Enter the Response Code and click Activate.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

You tried the offline activation per the link I put in a previous post?

Solution 2: Process Offline Activation.​

Computers that will never have an Internet connection must use the Offline Activation process to Activate. Store and volume license customers can use these steps. Volume license customers can also use the Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition for assisting with this workflow.
Complete this process for every offline computer that you want to activate. Make sure that you have access to a computer with Internet access to complete the steps below. Complete this process within a 72-hour period. If you cannot complete this process within 72 hours, contact Adobe Support for additional assistance.

1. Launch the product.
2. At the Serial Number Validation screen, click Having Trouble Connecting To The Internet.
3. Click Offline Activation and click Generate a Response Code.
4. Write down the Request Code.
5. Switch to an online computer and navigate to www.adobe.com/go/getactivated.
6. Click Offline Activation.
7. Sign in with your Adobe ID.
8. Enter your Request code and click Generate.
9. Write down the Response code.
10. Switch back to the offline computer.
11. Enter the Response Code and click Activate.

No, wonderings, I have not. I do thank you for the fresh information you have given, and eventually (I am under a lot of pressure at the moment), I shall do with it what I can, to see if this is any kind of cure. However, when i clicked (above) on the "Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition" (I presume that, having a purchased installer, I am classed as a "Volume license customer?), all the information in the charts shown was about CC apps, not CS apps. It all left me feeling quite bemused.

Another thing that puzzles me about Offline Activation is that it seems to be applicable only to computers that NEVER will have an Internet connection. What if I switched off my Internet, activated the app (if it would activate, that is), then switch the Internet back on? Would P.S. carry on working?
With kind regards,
C.H.

 

[chrfr]

"Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition" (I presume that, having a purchased installer, I am classed as a "Volume license customer?)

You would not be a volume license customer and AAMEE does not apply to your situation. That's for companies which have large contracts with Adobe.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

You would not be a volume license customer and AAMEE does not apply to your situation. That's for companies which have large contracts with Adobe.

Thanks for the correction, chrfr. I imagined that "Volume" meant an installer bought on a disk!
With kind regards,
C.H.

 

[wonderings]

Another thing that puzzles me about Offline Activation is that it seems to be applicable only to computers that NEVER will have an Internet connection. What if I switched off my Internet, activated the app (if it would activate, that is), then switch the Internet back on? Would P.S. carry on working?
With kind regards,
C.H.

offline activation does not mean you can't go offline, it basically gives you a file that you like Adobe to that is your authentication to run the apps and means it does not need the internet to validate that you are using a legal copy. If you get it activated this way you just have a file you store somewhere, never touch it again after Adobe is linked to it. This activates the software, so when you are online there would be no reason for you to try and activate again.

 

[organicCPU]

Ah, there's the catch! It was an old CC app, not a CS app, and that makes a huge difference.

I'd like to add that there is Photoshop CS6 as permanent licensed version and Photoshop CS6 as an early option of Adobe CC subscription. From this Adobe website:

The most current update for Photoshop CS6 is 13.0.6 (macOS) | 13.0.1.3 (Windows) for perpetual/boxed licensed product and 13.1.2 (macOS/Windows) for Creative Cloud members…

Photoshop CS6 13.1.2 often gets referred as Photoshop CC version and not as Photoshop CS6.

However, if I remember right, Adobe removed the availability of Photoshop CS6 13.1.2 even for subscribers several years ago. Adobe just makes the recent and the last major legacy subscription versions of Adobe CC available for download and installation.

By now, you still can download and reinstall Adobe CS5, CS5.5 an CS6 perpetual licensed apps like Photoshop 13.0.6, 12.1 or 12.0.4, but no earlier desktop versions.

Spoiler: Bonus:: off-topic critical thoughts, better don't click and stop reading here ;-)

Provided that you do even have an older Adobe CC Version installed or do have an older Adobe CC installer available, I speculate that Adobe might even have stopped the ability of (re)installing that specific legacy Adobe CC app from a locally available installer or might even be able to deactivate a functioning older install by simply stopping the required periodically activation server checks.

As far as I know, reinstalling Photoshop 13.1.2 (just for CC subscribers) or 11.x (CS4) or earlier is not possible in any legal way anymore. One exception is Adobe Photoshop 1.0.1, which got open source for non-commercial use.

Especially for versions Photoshop 11.x and earlier, Adobe makes a perpetual license worthless this way or in other words retracts a promise, may even make a widely tolerated breach of contract. Calling it End of Life seems to be the magic formula. Anyway, most users of legacy Adobe CS apps are probably just glad that they still can download and install CS5 to CS6.

Adobe corporation is such smart and yes Adobe support has always striven very hard and polite (no joke), even if they couldn't always help. One real-world example of my customer experience is, that Adobe support tried its best to provide me InDesign CS6 version 8.0.2.413, but oddly weren't able to provide the most recent Adobe InDesign CS6 version 8.1.0.419 updaters. The major difference of 8.1.x release, that just was available through Adobe's internal update mechanisms, and the 8.0.x release is, that 8.1.x can open early InDesign CC .indd documents. Can it really be that Adobe just lost such important legacy update installers or maybe never compiled such an important offline stand alone updater? And one more question to add: how long will it take, that perpetual licensed Adobe CS5 to CS6 apps won't work or can't get installed anymore?

Don't get me wrong, this is not a rant, but rendering permanent licenses useless like in the CS4 case or making it extremely hard to install legitimate copies of older software gives me a bad feeling being a recent Adobe customer.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

I'd like to add that there is Photoshop CS6 as permanent licensed version and Photoshop CS6 as an early option of Adobe CC subscription. From this Adobe website:

Photoshop CS6 13.1.2 often gets referred as Photoshop CC version and not as Photoshop CS6.

However, if I remember right, Adobe removed the availability of Photoshop CS6 13.1.2 even for subscribers several years ago. Adobe just makes the recent and the last major legacy subscription versions of Adobe CC available for download and installation.

By now, you still can download and reinstall Adobe CS5, CS5.5 an CS6 perpetual licensed apps like Photoshop 13.0.6, 12.1 or 12.0.4, but no earlier desktop versions.

Spoiler: Bonus:: off-topic critical thoughts, better don't click and stop reading here ;-)

Provided that you do even have an older Adobe CC Version installed or do have an older Adobe CC installer available, I speculate that Adobe might even have stopped the ability of (re)installing that specific legacy Adobe CC app from a locally available installer or might even be able to deactivate a functioning older install by simply stopping the required periodically activation server checks.

As far as I know, reinstalling Photoshop 13.1.2 (just for CC subscribers) or 11.x (CS4) or earlier is not possible in any legal way anymore. One exception is Adobe Photoshop 1.0.1, which got open source for non-commercial use.

Especially for versions Photoshop 11.x and earlier, Adobe makes a perpetual license worthless this way or in other words retracts a promise, may even make a widely tolerated breach of contract. Calling it End of Life seems to be the magic formula. Anyway, most users of legacy Adobe CS apps are probably just glad that they still can download and install CS5 to CS6.

Adobe corporation is such smart and yes Adobe support has always striven very hard and polite (no joke), even if they couldn't always help. One real-world example of my customer experience is, that Adobe support tried its best to provide me InDesign CS6 version 8.0.2.413, but oddly weren't able to provide the most recent Adobe InDesign CS6 version 8.1.0.419 updaters. The major difference of 8.1.x release, that just was available through Adobe's internal update mechanisms, and the 8.0.x release is, that 8.1.x can open early InDesign CC .indd documents. Can it really be that Adobe just lost such important legacy update installers or maybe never compiled such an important offline stand alone updater? And one more question to add: how long will it take, that perpetual licensed Adobe CS5 to CS6 apps won't work or can't get installed anymore?

Don't get me wrong, this is not a rant, but rendering permanent licenses useless like in the CS4 case or making it extremely hard to install legitimate copies of older software gives me a bad feeling being a recent Adobe customer.

I logged in to my Adobe account and, to my surprise, there was the serial number of my perpetual licence Photoshop CS6 Extended. There was also a tab or something that invited those with a licence, to download it! This, I did, and the installer landed on my computer. Full of relief, I then clicked the installer to do its work. However, an alert appeared immediately, which said that the installer was not functioning. "Possibly (it said) this is because a file is missing." MISSING, FROM A FRESHLY-DOWNLOADED ADOBE INSTALLER??? I have to say that I cannot believe that some mistake has been made. I believe that Adobe knows, very well, that their "installer" will not install.
With regards and thanks to all that have contributed to this thread so far,
C.H.

 

[za9ra22]

I was sure that was going to be the 'great news' post.

But didn't you say you have the installer on disk? If so, can't you run it from there? You know that installer is complete since you've installed from it previously, which would mean that if it still fails with the same error, the missing file is likely not within the installer, but something it expected to find in the system, but which is not present.

 

[OurFather]

I have this note from 2022 when I was upgrading my 2009 MacBook Pro to an unsupported OS High Sierra that would match what I then had on my 2010 Mac Pro (later I pushed on to Mojave on both of them):

"CS 5.5 and 6 installs did not go quite as smoothly. It took multiple tries, and the internet connection with Adobe fails. I have 7 days to get registration figured out; found an automated request at Adobe.com.
"At that point, I did a jump from 10.6.8 to 10.11.6 El Capitan. Acrobat Pro 10.0 was installed with CS 5.5 but is not considered part of the CS. It updated OTA (over the air) to 10.1.16 (note: I was at only 10.1.1 in my prior Sierra setup and they won’t update OTA). Updating CS6, I just copied my old updated Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop (in their respective folders) to the 2009 to replace the .0 versions from the new install."

The "automated request at Adobe.com" I am pretty confident is the same as the offline application that Wondering referred to in post #13 above. Note, the reason I was on OS 10.6.8 was that I decided I wanted a clean install of everything, and I started with Microsoft Office 2008 which required Rosetta to install; I found in different versions of the OS that I got different results trying to update the Adobe apps over the internet from within the app.

 

[organicCPU]

The GUI installer might not work, try to execute the unix installer directly instead like this:
Right click the Installer.app > in contextual menu select Show Package Contents > navigate to Contents > MacOS > Install
Then either open a Terminal window, drag and drop the unix executable Install on the open Terminal window and press enter or try just to double-click Install.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

I was sure that was going to be the 'great news' post.

But didn't you say you have the installer on disk? If so, can't you run it from there? You know that installer is complete since you've installed from it previously, which would mean that if it still fails with the same error, the missing file is likely not within the installer, but something it expected to find in the system, but which is not present.

Yes, za9ra22, I do have the installer on disc, but it doesn't work. With it, I have installed P.S. Ext. many times recently, but when I try to run the app (after what seems to be a successful installation), it demands that it be activated. I have even tried installing on a virgin partition, which cannot have any file missing or any corrupted files. Whichever option I click when trying to run the app, it causes an unending circle of quite useless responses. When I have the time, I intend to try installing the downloaded installer (not on disc) in the way that organicCPU has suggested. Other demands have overtaken me recently, so it may be a while before I can get round to this. If anything good comes from it, I shall post about it.
C.H.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

The GUI installer might not work, try to execute the unix installer directly instead like this:
Right click the Installer.app > in contextual menu select Show Package Contents > navigate to Contents > MacOS > Install
Then either open a Terminal window, drag and drop the unix executable Install on the open Terminal window and press enter or try just to double-click Install.

That sounds interesting, organicCPU, so thanks very much for your suggestion. I certainly intend to try what you suggest, when i have an opportunity. If anything comes of it, I shall let you know.
C.H.

 

[za9ra22]

...I have even tried installing on a virgin partition, which cannot have any file missing or any corrupted files....

My bad, what I meant was that there may be something in the OS which CS6 expects to find, but which is missing - a shared library for example. If that was happening, it may be that beginning with a clean install of the original macOS in which CS6 worked would be a good starting point. A fresh install of a later macOS may not contain the component CS6 needs, which would otherwise have remained during subsequent OS updates.

Just trying to think of avenues to continue exploring.