Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

neilw

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 4, 2003
459
929
New Jersey
Anyone know for sure if Adobe CS3 (mainly Photoshop) will run under Rosetta2? In my experience Rosetta2 is pretty solid but nothing is 100%.

It's time to hand down my M1 iMac to my father-in-law, and CS3 is the main 3rd party software that would conceivably present a compatibility issue (well that and the Epson V700 scanner software, but that's a separate matter).
 

StuAff

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2007
391
261
Portsmouth, UK
Won't work. No way, AFAIK, of making it work. 32-bit (& Carbon) so would need to be run on Mojave or earlier. A native Mojave installation is apparently possible with workarounds, a quick search on Google suggests. You might be able to use run a suitable OS in a VM, but don't count on it.

There are compatible drivers for the scanner on Epson's support site (I have a V500 Photo and it works on Ventura and Sonoma).
 
  • Like
Reactions: neilw

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,706
7,276
Anyone know for sure if Adobe CS3 (mainly Photoshop) will run under Rosetta2? In my experience Rosetta2 is pretty solid but nothing is 100%.

It's time to hand down my M1 iMac to my father-in-law, and CS3 is the main 3rd party software that would conceivably present a compatibility issue (well that and the Epson V700 scanner software, but that's a separate matter).
As the post above mine mentions, there's no way to run Adobe CS3 on Apple Silicon. It also can't be activated for new installations on any platform anymore, so it's really dead at this point. https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html
The Epson software is not a problem for Sonoma.
 
  • Like
Reactions: neilw

StuAff

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2007
391
261
Portsmouth, UK
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the activation problem. They switched the servers off and removed activation-free install options. So keen on selling software as a service that they stop people using software they bought.
 
  • Like
Reactions: neilw

neilw

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 4, 2003
459
929
New Jersey
Hmm, OK thanks for the quick responses. I was afraid of something like that but hoping for the best.

I'll see if Pixelmator Pro can open his files. I would be that Affinity Photo could, but since I use Pixelmator it would be easier to support him with that.
 

bradman83

macrumors 65816
Oct 29, 2020
1,281
3,249
Buffalo, NY
Depending on what exactly he needs Photoshop for he could use Photoshop Elements, either in a pinch to access/export his files to a more universal format or for daily use if he likes it. There's a free trial available and it's a one-time purchase, not a subscription.
 
  • Like
Reactions: neilw

neilw

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 4, 2003
459
929
New Jersey
Depending on what exactly he needs Photoshop for he could use Photoshop Elements, either in a pinch to access/export his files to a more universal format or for daily use if he likes it. There's a free trial available and it's a one-time purchase, not a subscription.
That's a great idea, I totally forgot about Elements. It's only a bit more expensive than Pixelmator Pro and probably would have more familiar user interface (even if still pretty different).

👍👍
 

desisn.com

macrumors newbie
Apr 27, 2015
17
15
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the activation problem. They switched the servers off and removed activation-free install options. So keen on selling software as a service that they stop people using software they bought.
This is factually untrue. I have Adobe CS3 Master Collection and before they switched off the servers they enabled owners to switch to an offline activation version. I have this on my computer and am able to install it. I am running Sierra in a VM on my Macbook Pro 2019 right now and Photoshop works, but the problem is the mouse cursor is slow in a Photoshop window because it does not play along with the higher resolution. Also getting the VM to run is kind of tricky and the GPU acceleration does not work. I will try to run it via opencore using Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave. Would be excellent to be able to run this old piece of software. Basically it is all I need for editing graphics.
 

StuAff

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2007
391
261
Portsmouth, UK
This is factually untrue. I have Adobe CS3 Master Collection and before they switched off the servers they enabled owners to switch to an offline activation version. I have this on my computer and am able to install it. I am running Sierra in a VM on my Macbook Pro 2019 right now and Photoshop works, but the problem is the mouse cursor is slow in a Photoshop window because it does not play along with the higher resolution. Also getting the VM to run is kind of tricky and the GPU acceleration does not work. I will try to run it via opencore using Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave. Would be excellent to be able to run this old piece of software. Basically it is all I need for editing graphics.
Not untrue- you mention the offline activation, so did I. Either way, Adobe actively chose to stop older CS versions from working. You can still run pre-activation versions without issue (got 4.0 working in a Sheepshaver install of OS 9).
 

desisn.com

macrumors newbie
Apr 27, 2015
17
15
Not untrue- you mention the offline activation, so did I. Either way, Adobe actively chose to stop older CS versions from working. You can still run pre-activation versions without issue (got 4.0 working in a Sheepshaver install of OS 9).
Even the Adobe link you mentioned lies about the software not being able to install anymore at all. The information in this thread was not true, as you both said "Adobe CS3 on Apple Silicon. It also can't be activated for new installations on any platform anymore" - this is simply untrue. It can be activated and used on Mojave (buggy), High Sierra (less buggy), Sierra and El Capitan on older Macs or in VMs. And on the Windows side it even runs on Windows 11:


Adobe falsely states in many forum threads that it is not possible to install CS3 anymore "because activation servers are down".

You can still install the software IF you have converted and downloaded the offline version and got a new serial. Adobe now does not offer the offline version to download anymore or the option to convert old versions. I can still see the product and serial in my Adobe profile, but not download it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: StuAff
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.