WARNING! CS3+ iMac 27" with Snow Leopard 10.6.1

[macaddict23]

Just a word of advice . . .

I bought the 27" iMac and transferred my PowerMac G5 files via a Time Machine backup. All of my CS3 apps stopped working due to "Licensing for this product has stopped working." I called Adobe, and they told me this is a known 10.6 issue when transferring files from a Time Machine backup. They had me try several solutions without any luck. I was so frustrated, that I had to reactivate my CS3 on my PowerMac in order to get some work done.

I used to transfer my files via Target Disk mode, but this new iMac no longer has a FW400 port. Now, my next option is to buy a $10 FW400-to-FW800 cable.

What a waste of three hours . . . (sigh).

 

[muskratboy]

the entire system is set up to punish legal buyers. i just don't get it.

case in point... SO MUCH EASIER to just use the hacked version.

so their big anti-piracy concept is to frustrate paying customers... while the pirates use all the same apps without wasting all the time.

"activations" can all suck it.

 

[tri3limited]

I believe Adobe has mentioned in the past it's decision to only half support CS3 on Snow Leopard (important fixes only), which I imagine will mean it'll take a while to correct.

I'm fairly sure there are quite a few threads on this although I'm unsure as to if they specify models as the issue is with Snow Leopard and CS3 rather than the iMac or other specific models.

 

[Kebabselector]

Would it be easier to reinstall from the original media?

 

[macaddict23]

Would it be easier to reinstall from the original media?

Three times, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling from the original CS3 discs, without any luck. Adobe had me create a temporary Admin account to where I can install a fresh copy of CS3. That didn't work either.

 

[SatyMahajan]

Hi macaddict23, try this:

1.) Re-install back on your PowerMac G5.
2.) Activate (via help menu) Photoshop.
3.) De-activate (via help menu) from Photoshop.
4.) Try re-installing on your new iMac.

I had a similar problem because I had forgotten to deactivate. Hope this helps.

 

[Foxglove9]

I had the same licensing problem with my upgrade to Snow Leopard. I ended up having to do a Clean Install to get it working right and even now it still gives me issues and says my alias is missing even though I never even set up an alias to the program. Adobe. Ugh.

 

[kolax]

My friend actually ended up just downloading a pirated version because he couldn't get CS3 to install/accept his license on Snow Leopard. Adobe..

 

[macaddict23]

Hi ByteofApple,

Thanks for the tip. I actually tried that before calling Adobe. Unfortunately for me, it didn't work.

macaddict23

 

[Eddyisgreat]

This tip is for CS4 but it may work for CS3: Just delete the HD>Library>Application Support > Adobe > Adobe PCD > Cache > Cache.db file.

Hopefully that'll work.

All else: Pirating CS is silly. It's one of the most widely pirated Apps and thus probably one of the most compromised warez floating around. I've seen keygens (from all apps not just for cs) eat machines up. Good luck with that, though

 

[macaddict23]

Hi Eddyisgreat,

Yup, Adobe had me do that, and it still didn't work.

macaddict23

 

[Buzz Bumble]

Never "install" applications from a backup, especially a backup from another computer - it's really just pirating the applications (especially if you leave the applications on the original machine as well), which is why Adobe's activation system blocks the second copy.

What you're meant to do is deactivate the applications on the original Mac, install the applications on the new computer from the original discs and activate them.

A problem occurs of course if the original computer dies and you can't deactivate the applications ... and for this entire silliness we can blame the selfish idiots who think they should be allowed to use any software for free (as well as do anything else they want).

You could try wiping the hard drive on the iMac and reinstalling the Mac OS and applications (after deactivating the original machine) from the original discs.

 

[Macsonic]

@MacAddict

Not sure if this will work. Have you tried having CS3 under Leopard first then from there upgrade your OS to Snow Leopard ? I recall there was an issue before when CS3 would not run in Leopard when it came out. The solution was to upgrade the Tiger OS ( with CS3 installed ) to Leopard to make the app work.

 

[sossy]

To make things worse....

In my case the problem emerged after I had to do an erase and re-install of 10.6.1 - on the same machine (iMac). Same machine. Same legal CS3. Tried all the recommended things - removing - stripping out everything Adobe - running all the cleaners and license recovery utilities. So I can't even "go back to the original machine."

All good arguments for the open source community, but I'm a bit reluctant to move to Gimp altogether, having put in the effort over the years into finding my way round Photoshop.