OK, so your old computer is running out of gas, you’re upgrading or changing systems, adding a new machine, or switching from a PC to a Mac, or vice versa — and you want to move over your purchased Adobe CS5 (or CS4 or CS3 or other) software — what do you do, and how do you do it?

As we’ve covered previously here, you are generally allowed to install and activate most Adobe software on up to two computers, with the restriction that the software can not used on both systems at the same time. So right off the bat, you might be good to go with installing the software on a second computer, although you may wish to double-check the licensing agreement for your product to be sure.

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Adobe Lightroom 3 is only days old, yet it’s quickly getting rave reviews across the net… Expert Reviews gave it five stars, writing: “The best just got better. Whether you’re a profes­sional photographer or enthusiast, Adobe Lightroom has quickly become the must-have managing and pre-processing software. With version 3 just released, there’s even more reason to rush out and buy it. The powerful lens correction profiles and amazing noise reduction, combined with excellent management make this a tool that all photographers should have.”

And there is already a wealth of free learning resources available… Here are some good ones:

• Lightroom 3 New Features
• System Requirements for Adobe Lightroom
• Direct Download Links for Lightroom 3 Trial
• Lightroom 3 Installation and Setup
• The Lightroom 3 Workflow
• Adobe Lightroom 3 Keyboard Shortcuts (PDF)
• Digital Camera Raw Support for Lightroom 3
• New Video Support in Lightroom 3
• New Lens Profile Support in Lightroom 3
• New Tethered Camera Support in Lightroom 3
• Lightroom 3 Online Help and Documentation
• Adobe Lightroom 3 General FAQ

Also out is an excellent in-depth series of free online Lightroom 3 video tutorials, approaching three hours in running time and produced by Adobe Lightroom expert Julieanne Kost. There are ten chapters with a range of topics and techniques covered:

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This is one of the most common questions we get, and the answer may pleasantly surprise you… The place to look to find the answer is the Software License Agreement, also called the EULA. This agreement governs the use of your Adobe product, and is translated into 28 languages within each document. It also covers some basics about product activation.

So, in general, how many systems can you install Adobe software on, including CS5? The answer for individuals (as opposed to businesses) in most cases is two. The catch is that both computers must be used only by you and the two systems cannot be used at the same time. This policy was designed so that you could run (say) Creative Suite at home on your desktop PC, as well as while travelling with your laptop. But the types of computers and their usage has blurred so much now that you can just pick any two you own and the product will install and properly activate on both. For CS5 the two machines must also be of the same operating system platform (Windows/Mac), because the software is licensed and delivered for use on a specific platform.

For example, here is the key text from the EULA for Photoshop CS5:

2.5 Portable or Home Computer Use. Subject to the important restrictions set forth in Section 2.6 [having to do with volume licensees], the primary user of the Computer on which the Software is installed … may install a second copy of the Software for his or her exclusive use on either a port­able Computer or a Computer located at his or her home, provided that the Software on the port­able or home Computer is not used at the same time as the Software on the primary Computer.

So there’s your answer for most current Adobe software, although we recommend confirming for your particular product or suite (including Creative Suite, Acrobat, Lightroom, Elements, etc.), and version (CS3, CS4, CS5).

If you need more than one computer running the software at the same time, you might want to take a look at the online discounts and maintenance simplification available through Adobe’s new Volume Licensing Store.

Adobe has just put out a couple of very helpful resources if you’re running into any issues downloading or installing CS5 products… If you’ve hit a snag, these are some of the first places you might look (after confirming CS5 system requirements for Windows or Mac):

Fix download issues with the Download Manager

CS5 software packages are quite large (the full Master Collection suite is ~5 GB), so Adobe uses the Akamai Download Manager to facilitate their download. If you’re having any trouble installing or running the Download Manager, see the FAQ for this topic. If nothing happens when you click the product’s trial download link, or a blank win­dow or coffee cup icon appears, or a “File not found,” “server not found,” “Windows cannot open this file,” or “add-on disabled” message appears, then see this page to solve your problem. There’s also more general download help.

[UPDATE (May 25th) – If you need to, you can bypass the Akamai Download Manager entirely by downloading your software using our new CS5 Direct Download Links.]

If it’s easier or if you prefer, you can order a trial DVD set for any of the CS5 suite editions: Design Premium, Web Premium, Production Premium, or Master Collection, and it will be delivered to your home or business… A DVD set can serve as your backup media if you choose to purchase at the end of 30 days, or you can have a full product box delivered to you when you purchase and simply use that serial number to convert the trial you already installed.

Fix installation issues with Creative Suite products

There are several good resources for solutions. The Adobe Support Advisor (ASA) can analyze your install logs and identify errors generated during unsuccessful Adobe Creative Suite 5, Creative Suite 4, or Creative Suite 3 product installations. The ASA provides information about documentation for these installation known issues, and it expedites the troubleshooting process by generating files that you can upload, if necessary, to an Adobe technical support agent.

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Last week there was an online Q&A session called “Ask a CS Pro,” where we got news on when CS5 would be released. The session with Adobe Evangelists Terry White, Greg Rewis, and Jason Levine lasted over an hour and there were a lot of other great questions address­ed. Here are some:

What other questions do you have about CS5? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll see if we can get them answered quickly for you.