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“How Many Computers Can You Install or Run Adobe Software On?”
How Many Systems Can You Use Adobe Products (CC, CS6) On?
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@ProDesignTools
I clicked on the link and you can reactivate on the same computer after it has been formatted, right?
Yes, absolutely – once deactivated, you can reinstall and reactivate on either the same or a different computer, per the article.
@ProDesignTools
What happens if you installed it twice in the same computer? My Mac broke down so I had to re-download it
Well I can’t deactivate it cause my PC won’t start and I have to format it
Good question, twice… If you are reinstalling on the same computer, but couldn’t deactivate it first, it should still work OK because it isn’t really a “new” installation.
If you do run into any difficulties, just contact Adobe Assistance, explain the situation, and they can usually help you sort out your two licensed activations.
My question is,
if I allow a friend to download the software onto his computer, does that mean only one of us can use it at a time?
Wouldn’t we have to be connected to the internet for Adobe to know this? So in theory if my friend only uses the software while offline, it wouldn’t matter?
thanks,
Dean
No Dean – don’t do it. The licensing clearly restricts its use to only one computer at a time, and the second copy is for the use of the same person exclusively…
Please be very careful as we’ve heard stories of Adobe software suddenly becoming useless for people who’ve tried to install it on a friend’s computer in addition to their own.
Remember, you are not purchasing the actual software – you’re purchasing a license (Adobe’s grant of right) to use the software.
The installed product obviously knows when and where it was run, whether it is connected to the Internet at the moment or not… So please, we strongly recommend not trying it.
So I downloaded Lightroom 3 from adobe (free trial), and I also bought a new copy in a box. I was wondering, can I just plug the serial number I get from the box into the downloaded copy to unlock it, or should I install from the CD I get?
Yes Evre, in most cases you can activate an Adobe trial version using your purchased serial number to convert it to permanent without uninstalling and reinstalling…
Read more in the Adobe Trial FAQ (it’s technically for CS5.5 but the same goes for Lightroom).
What if I upgrade my home computer? Then I will need a third install? One for my current desktop, one for my laptop, then a third if I upgrade my desktop? What are the rules on this? Many thanks.
Hi Chris – no, it would still be a total of 2 computers that you’re running on after the upgrade, right?
Just see how to reinstall Adobe software with a system upgrade… It’s not a problem.
I bought CS5 for Windows last summer and have recently decided to purchase a Mac. Does this require the purchase of new software? Any way around this?
Welcome Frank, hopefully our article here will help you:
How to Move Adobe CS5 Between Computers, or from Windows to Mac
Thank you!
hi there,
i purchased Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium yesterday… can i install some of the components ( PS, AI, etc ) on my computer and other components ( Dreamweaver, Fireworks ) on another PC with the same serial number?
thanks
Yes Hairi, you definitely can – you can install a single application or the entire suite on each of your two allowed computers, consistent with the licensing agreement above.
Hope that answers your question and enjoy the new release!
Sir/Ma’am, i have photoshop 7 and I’m downloading the cs5 trial version so i don’t want it to overwrite photoshop 7 as i need to use both..Should i put ps7 onto another drive or custom install the trial version? I’ll be very grateful to u if u answer it today, as im going to install it because its urgent. Thnx in advance.
No problem Kushal, all releases of Adobe software like Photoshop you can install side-by-side and run them both on the same machine… one does not overwrite another, even if older.
So, you should be fine just installing the new trial together on the same computer as your previous version.
Sir/Ma’am, you said i can have both photoshop 7 and cs5 w/o doing any changes in the destination folders, but i read here that after installing the new version the older one stopped working. I think he mentioned it was PS elements 9 in this case.
And in few months, i’m going to buy a new PC – so can i take this software onto that one, and how? Thnx…
Hello again Kushal, Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Elements 9 will install and run on the same system with no issues, the same goes for Photoshop CS3 or CS4… We have those together on our computers here.
If you’re nonetheless concerned, just create a System Restore point in Microsoft Windows before installing. Then you can easily back out the installation if you want.
To your second question, it’s also very easy to transfer Adobe software between computers. Thanks for stopping by and good luck.
Hello there, and thanks for your quick reply. Sir i have a problem with my healing brush as it copies but with black/grey or at times very bright. I now use clone stamp but you know how it is and its time consuming and irritating.
My second question is if i use PS on a pc which has very less Ram, what exactly will happen? It would be just slow or even the end result would be compromised or affected? Plz if you could help, i’d be grateful.. I’m just crazy for CS5 but i’m not that rich and spent everything on tragedies and mom’s illness hence i’m scared to lose my PS 7. Thanks and God Bless.
You can use the suggestions we’ve already given if you’re uncertain about proceeding, also check your system against the complete CS5.5 hardware requirements, and naturally make backups first before any major changes to your computer.
If you had less RAM memory that required, your application would definitely run slower and perhaps a possibility of freezing or crashing.
For any other issues, your best bet is to contact Adobe Technical Support – thanks.
I’d like to purchase Dreamweaver CS5 for use on both my laptop and my home PC. I’ll be the only user and I’m just a graduate student; won’t be needing very advanced features. What is the best website WYSIWYG Dreamweaver product to buy and does it matter that I won’t be able to install it on my home computer for another month? I need to install it ASAP on my laptop.
Please help! I don’t want to wait for Adobe Support to open their phone lines on Monday.
Hi Cathy, thanks for your comment. There’s really only one product to buy actually, and that’s Dreamweaver CS5.5. If you want to do more, you might also consider a complete suite which includes Dreamweaver plus other products like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc.
Also, it should be no problem at all to install it on your laptop now and your desktop later. Hope this answers your question.
Can people sell their adobe licenses? i.e. I see so many people selling on ebay an older version after the seller upgraded to a newer version? How does that work? thanks!
Actually, it doesn’t… That won’t work, and the buyer will be ripped off.
With Adobe upgrades, you can’t sell the old version after you’ve upgraded from it (more on that here).
But in other situations (full copies instead of upgrades), it can be legal and possible to sell or transfer Adobe products from one person to another.
However, buying Adobe products on eBay isn’t a good idea, as there is a ton of fake and bad software there that will harm your computer or worse, and what’s sold there is not legally transferrable anyway per Adobe’s recent rule change.
Your best and safest bet is buying from Adobe directly, where you can download the applications instantly (and that’s the only place where Adobe downloads are legal and legitimate).
Hope this helps!
Hi! I had a backup copy installed on my laptop, and then my laptop met a sudden and untimely demise. (Not even the monitor works anymore!) I would like to install a backup on a new laptop that has replaced my now dead machine, but obviously, I am unable to uninstall it from my now very expensive door stop.
Help, please?
Greetings Laura, sorry to hear you lost your laptop – but lucky it was a backup anyway…
Fortunately, you should still be able to transfer your license with a little help – see what you need to do to reinstall Adobe software from a dead computer onto a new system… And read the full article there for the complete guide.
I bought a copy of adobe photoshop elements 9 a few months ago and installed it on my notebook; i need to also install it on my pc – is this okay to do?
Yes Nev – everything here applies to Photoshop and Premiere Elements too, as well as Lightroom, etc… You should have no problem installing it on your second PC.
Thanks for your comment and please stop back if you have any difficulty.
I have cs5 installed on my macbook pro at work and want to install it on my iMac at home… is there any restrictions to them being ON at the same time? (ie. if I forgot to shut it down at home… it won’t work when I get to the office?) I heard something about it only allowing one computer to be using a license at a time, but allowing it to be installed on 2 machines.
Yes, that’s right Ryan – please see this earlier comment and response with Adam – thanks.
You are to be commended for answering all of these questions. I did not understand why previous versions worked after upgrade and some did not until I read through the comments and links.
I am putting in a second drive with three boot partitions: Leopard (because Snow Leopard broke one printer and one scanner), Snow Leopard and Lion. This would be considered three computers but as long as I deactiviate before I boot with another OS, then activate on the new boot volume, I should be OK? I would just like to install CS3 on the Leopard volume but it likely would not work as CS4 and CS5 are on another virtual machine?
PS: Does CS5.5 install as an upgrade (change CS5 to CS5.5) or as its own suite of folders?
Thank you Terrie, that’s very kind of you to say. Your plans for your system with separate partitions should be fine. Last year Adobe removed the limitation on the number of product deactivations you can do, so now you should be fine in switching them around as necessary…
Also, more good news for you – CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS5.5 are all separate and can be installed side-by-side – so you can run your licenses or trials on the same computer(s) if desired. There are some limitations on where you can put the older versions if you upgraded from them – but outside of that, they work independently and without interference, and plenty of folks have multiple releases installed on one system.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the response. Now I can install my 5.5 upgrade without worry.
Will I be able to install the rental CS5.5 at home and at the office?
Thanks for the good question. Just like with the permanent versions, the CS5.5 subscription editions can be installed on two computers the same as above.
I have just installed CS 5.5 and didn’t realize CS 5 would not be replaced. I don’t need to keep CS5, but can I uninstall it safely or would I need to re-re install CS 5.5 after removing CS 5?
Also — is Adobe’s uninstaller the best way of removing CS5, or would you recommend running another program to clean out all CS5 elements?
Thanks in advance.
Hello Matthew, CS5 and CS5.5 are installed independently and can run together on the same computer, but if you no longer want CS5 on there then you should just be able to uninstall it at this point and have CS5.5 continue working.
If you happen to run into any issues, then just uninstall CS5.5 as well, and reinstall. One possible place that could get tripped up is file associations and the like, but see how it goes.
If ever want to clean your system of any traces of Creative Suite altogether (for example if you wanted to start again from scratch after uninstalling), then you can use the Creative Suite Cleaner Tool, which removes any and all aspects of CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS5.5.
One thing that’s annoying about Adobe. Their upgrades aren’t. They just install a new program. Fine in itself, but any mods you made to the old program you want to replace won’t move over to the new version. They do have a file migration script utility that supposedly transfers your old brushes, actions, textures, etc., but it rarely works well.
So if you do remove the old program, make sure all your custom items are transferred before you uninstall it.
Hi Gary, thanks for your thoughts. You have a good point although some folks like or need to keep multiple releases on their computers, whereas others want only the latest version with a migrated upgrade…
One could argue there could be a choice at installation time as to whether to upgrade in place or install the new release side-by-side. That might be the best of both worlds.
Adobe does offer a suggestion box for future “wish list” items like this, if you’d like to submit an entry and have your voice heard on this or any other idea.
I prefer the way Adobe handles their upgrades. You can do a clean install without having to install every version of the software again. Reinstalling actions, brushes and all of your tweaks can be a challenge if you don’t keep original discs, but I think including full programs on “upgrade” software packages is a big plus.
I bought Education Master Collection CS5.5 for my son in Middle School after he begged for it for a year. Now my other son (also Middle School) wants to use it… which causes great battles over whose turn it is on the computer.
I’m planning to buy a laptop so they won’t have to share a computer. I know I can install it on both but it cannot be used concurrently.
I’d rather not spend that kind of money on another copy and I am not sure I am even allowed to buy a second educational version (maybe so since it is a different child?). Is it possible my boys can run the same license concurrently on a desktop and laptop or am I doomed to buy another license…. or live in chaos?
Welcome Meredith, the same single license cannot be used concurrently – but since you have 2 students you definitely would qualify to buy 2 separate copies of the Adobe Student Editions for 2 different users…
That’s wonderful your sons have such a keen interest in learning and using these products – and no doubt your/their investment will serve them well in the job market of tomorrow…
Also think of it this way – the copies you buy now will each be upgradeable in the future and be able to stay with your children throughout their academic careers.
Can CS5 UPGRADE be installed onto a computer that never has had a previous Creative Suite before?
If not, can a CS4 license be removed from another computer and re-installed onto mine in order to allow CS5 to install?
Greetings Jen, your first question is a common and good one, and the answer is yes – you can install a discounted CS5.5 upgrade version on a brand new computer or one that has never had any version of Adobe software on it before…
If the product can’t find any earlier installations, it will just ask you for the serial number of your prior version, which you can enter in by hand. (If you need the license key from software on another system, just use the transfer techniques here.) That’s all there is to it.
Now the next question is, what can you do with your older release(s)?