Photoshop deactivation, removal and reinstallation.

[The Blue Boy]

Hi Guys,

Hope someone who has had to do this can help as this is the first time I've had to do this. I'm slightly (read really) confused as to the dialogue box when it comes to Deactivating Photoshop. I'm given two options (CS5 by the way) the first is Suspend Activation and the second is Deactivate Permanently. Now what I want to do is remove the program, format the drive and reinstall the operating system. Then, obviously, reinstall Photoshop. My trepidation for doing this is I know firsthand how of a PITA Adobe customer service can be at times, so anybody with previous experience please chime in.

Hope this is clear and thanks in advance for any help.

[arith]

I don't understand either Mark. If you have an activation code, why is it a big problem to apply it more than once on the same computer?

I have not got CS5 but other programs installed fine on a different computer, but then I reckoned I could use the programs on one computer, didn't matter which one.

If your computer had a catastrophic hard drive failure; does it mean you lose the substantial amount of money paid to use CS5, I'm only guessing but I think not.

PS on my old PC I've restored the image of XP over and over again; and my PSE7 still works fine on it. But that isn't like starting from scratch.

[The Blue Boy]

Hi Steve,

I've had a previous experience when the PC crashed with a legal version of CS3. Took nearly a year to get reimbursed and reactivated as I had no disk.

This time I have the disk, but am unsure as to how complete this task without any fubars.

[PhotomanJohn]

Mark,

It should be the same as moving the license from one computer like I have done several times. On the old computers I simply did an uninstall which removed the program from the computer and I believe notified Adobe. I then downloaded the software to the new computer and put in the activation code and all was well. I believe the Adobe allows you to have the program on only two computers at a time so you would want to do the uninstall.

The one hitch to this might be that their rules may be different in the UK then they are in the US.

John

[The Blue Boy]

John,

Cheers for that mate. But I'm still in the dark as to which Deactivation button to hit to safely reinstall the program.

[enaiman]

Mark, if you are going to reinstall the OS, why do you bother uninstalling any apps? They will be lost anyway; your C drive probably will be formatted in the process of installing the new OS. If that is the case then put the new OS in place then install CS5 and use the code they sent you last time.
No need to worry too much.

[russellsnr]

http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/p..._your_software

[Manfred M]

If you are planning to use PS on the specific computer in question again in the future, chose "suspend activation". It leaves the software on your machine, but you will not be able to use it until you activate it again. A scenario here could be that you are going on a trip and need PS on a laptop that will accompany you on your travels, but at the end of the trip, you want to go back to the machine that you normally use. When you return, deactivate the laptop and reactivate your other machine and you will be good to go in minutes, with all of your preference / customizations still in place.

"Deactivate Permanently" is for when you are getting rid of the computer and will never use PS on it again. It will remove everything and you will have to do a complete reinstall and activation if you ever change your mind in the future.

[The Blue Boy]

Manfred,

Thanks for that. Like I said above, I'm wiping the drive so I'm getting rid of everything. Then reinstalling on the same machine.

[The Blue Boy]

Eugen, Russel,

Thanks also.

[Manfred M]

Manfred,

Thanks for that. Like I said above, I'm wiping the drive so I'm getting rid of everything. Then reinstalling on the same machine.

In that case the important thing is that you deactivate and either method would work for you. Reformating the drive means a total reinstall of the software. The important thing is that you have a free activation code available afterwards when you activate the software.

[takfuji]

Mark,
Deactivate permanently.

CS5 does not allow more than two installations. You have to deactivate one of the two instances
to install on the third computer. That is the rule of thumb for Photoshop.
The check is done when you activate (thru online) the newly installed CS5.

Now,
There may be a possibility that the new activation will successfuly confirm that
the CPU, memory, HDD, VideoCard, or any other HW are same as previously registered
one and allows to use. But I did not tried it yet.
So your best bet is to deactivate once, wipe the HDD, and reinstall/reactivate
again. This process will work.

Tak

[The Blue Boy]

Manfred, Tak,

Thank you also.

OK, here's the update,

I deactivated the program (CS5) using the "Suspend Activation" choice in the dialogue box, from the Help menu.

I then wiped the drive and reinstalled the Operating System. I reinstalled updates and other programs. So far so good.

Reinstalled CS5 with no problems. Only had to add registration. The trick is to keep your Adobe ID. (Sorry! )

I hope this is useful for the future for other people, as I was dreading doing this. I've had problems with Adobe in the past, but this seems to have gone well.

[Colin Southern]

Out of interest, I had a PC damaged by a lightning strike recently - had to replace the mobo - and then Photoshop spat the dummy with the activation issue (even though same hard drive). To cut a long story short, had an online chat with Adobe customer support, and the reset the activation count in a few minutes after verifying my entitlement.

No probs at all

[jcuknz]

It may not be relevant to your needs but two points ... my understanding of adobe activation codes is that they vary each time an installation is made .... wont tell you why I came to that conclusion. The second comes from my Guru of some years back and that was following removal you should re-boot before installing things again.