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“How to Move Adobe CC or CS6 Between Computers, or PC to Mac”
How to Move Creative Cloud or CS6 from One Computer to Another
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Hi,
I’m planning to buy CS6 Design Standard Student version. However the shop offers a MAC OSX version only. So I was wondering if I still can switch the platform (since the newer CC is out) to be able to use it on a Windows machine.
Regarding your note: But perhaps the most important is you can’t cross-grade from an older version to the same prior version — you can only move to the latest perpetual version (the last one being CS6)
Do I understand you correctly that “an older version” in this case is CS5/5.5 and I will be able to switch the platform without upgrading to CC?
Thanks,
Denis
Hey Denis, Adobe stopped selling CS6 on their website last year, as it’s almost four years old now – but as far as we know, a crossgrade between operating systems when using CS6 is still possible… although you probably want to double-check with Adobe (live chat is usually fastest) to be sure.
Please post back if anything has changed – thanks!
PS – Here’s the link. It says:
I am an artist shopping for a used Mac Book Pro, probably, circa 2010 because of budget restraints. I have found some on the Internet for sale with CS6 installed. Is this lawful? What is the skinny on that? How would I guard against receiving stolen property? Are there any other cautions? i.e. Is it legal to buy CS6 or older versions used? How can I be sure that I have the correct security code?
Hey Melody, it’s very difficult, and you’re right to be cautious – see:
Why Never to Buy Used or Secondhand Adobe Software on eBay
I have two computers (laptop and desktop) I would like Photoshop to run on. I have a CC subscription, but how can I sync actions, workspaces etc between the two machines?
Good question Alan. Here’s the answer:
How to Sync Your Adobe CC Application Settings Using Creative Cloud
Where it says the feature has been removed…
After some Googling, I manually copied the preference file from one computer to the other, which seems to have worked, but it is pretty kludgy, and only works one way. I’m also not sure if I just got lucky, or if this could break something…
Yes, Adobe took it out of Photoshop of CC 2015.1 in December… Here is the reason why:
WHY was Sync Settings Removed in CC 2015.1?
As you hopefully discovered from link in our previous reply, there is still a way of exporting and importing workspaces in Photoshop using Edit > Presets > Migrate Presets.
In other words, learn how you can migrate presets, actions, plug-ins, preferences, and settings while upgrading to a new version of Photoshop or installing Photoshop on a different computer.
Alternatively, you can also now use the Libraries panel for syncing a variety of assets between computers (layer styles, text styles, colors, etc).
Hi, thanks for this article, it’s been a great help! However, I’m stuck at the point of having a free trial of Photoshop on my new laptop and the full, registered old version on my old machine: how do I change the freebie to the full version? I can’t find where to put the serial number. Thanks in advance!
Hi Chloe, which version(s) are we talking about? It’s different between CS and CC.
But normally the free Adobe trials will let you know where/when you need to sign in or to enter a serial number to activate the software.
@ProDesignTools
Oh dear, I bought my version of Photoshop in 2008, I guess I have no hope of getting it onto my Macbook Air then. Is there really nothing I can do? I didn’t see anything open up when I installed the free trial. Thanks for the quick reply!
What version of Photoshop is it then? (check the Help menu > About)
We do have many installers available here:
Adobe Software Direct Download Links
Note that the newest release of Photoshop CC (which is likely the free trial you have installed) is sold via subscription only and does not use serial numbers… See:
Adobe Gives Ongoing Discount for Photoshop + Lightroom CC Plan
Also, what version of Mac OS is your Macbook Air running? It may be that an old release of Photoshop is not supported on a newer Mac operating system, as well.
CS4 on 2008 MB Pro, El Capitan 10.11.1 on the MB Air – bit of a hardware leap for us! I wondered if it would be possible to bring the two machines closer in order to make the jump across to the new machine: if I updated PS on the Pro and installed an older trial version? Does that make sense?! I can’t see any other way and I really don’t want to have to buy the whole package again: it seems crazy.
I’m curious about the subscription: I only ever use PS, but I do use it on a daily basis: do you really think it makes sense to subscribe monthly? I hate the idea of an indefinite length of monthly payments, but ti seems the only option if I can’t upgrade on the new laptop.
Many thanks for your help, it is much appreciated!
Well, there’s simply no way you can run old Adobe software like CS4 on a new Mac computer – nor is there any way that you can run new Adobe software like CC 2015 on an old Mac computer from 2008…
So to run Photoshop on your Macbook Air with El Capitan, really the only way to go is with the latest-and-greatest version via the CC Photography Plan. See here for more details:
Adobe Gives Ongoing Discount for Photoshop + Lightroom CC Bundle
If it’s any consolation, to buy Photoshop used to cost $999 upfront plus $349 upgrades, and now you only have to pay $9.99/month for Photoshop CC with ongoing upgrades included, plus you get Lightroom too!
I have dual boot windows and linux. When I boot linux, I access the same windows partition via virtualbox (through a tricky disk mount). I have managed to trick windows into not asking for reactivation by setting the physical disk ID in the virtual MBR I have created. However Adobe CC (and Norton) are both smart enough to think the hardware has changed and say they are on trial mode. Do you know what hardware information Adobe CC is looking at to determine if it should deactivate?
No, sorry Howard – in terms of the details of your system configuration that the software assesses, understandably that is not something Adobe shares.
I want to transfer CS6 from my old desktop to my new one but didn’t deactivate the old adobe first before I switched. What can I do now?
Hello Bri, you could try reinstalling it on your old desktop and then deactivating it.
If that is not possible, then contacting Adobe to reset your activation count would be the only other option:
http://www.ContactAdobe.com/
Hope that helps!
@ProDesignTools
thank you for such a quick reply! helpful and appreciated, your customer support is better than adobe itself!
You bet Bri – glad to assist, and good luck with it!
My old Mac Pro 1,1 is rapidly running out of time due to OS Lion running out of support. I bought a used Mac Pro 5,1 on ebay. These two computers use the same SATA drives, so my plan is to deactivate the Adobe software on the old computer, then move the hard drive to the new (used) computer and reactivate the software.
The programs will all be already installed. Will this work?
Sounds like it should work actually Mark. It would effectively be like deactivating/uninstalling on one machine and then reinstalling/reactivating on another. Only it’s the same disk drive, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Keep yours crossed for me. (i’ll uncross them while I am working on the computer).
LOL. Sure, glad to help.
Please circle back when you’re done crossing them to let us know how it went!
I have a 2011 MacBook Pro and installed Adobe CS 5.5 back in late 2012. I just purchased a SSD to make my computer run faster and wonder if I deactivate my adobe license on my current hard drive, run Time Machine, install new SSD, run off of last Time Machine, then all the adobe CS 5.5 applications should still be there and when I start one of the (like PS), I just have to re-enter the serial number to re-activate?
Similar to Mark’s scenario above, it sounds like it should work. Again it would sort of be like deactivating/uninstalling on one machine and then reinstalling/reactivating on another. Only it’s a different disk drive, but that shouldn’t be an issue because you deactivated it first.
@ProDesignTools
It all went smoothly mostly.
Most Adobe products were OK but even though I logged out of the CC account on the old computer, when I logged back in on the new computer, the login screen insisted my computer was a 3rd device. I had to log into the account and delete my old computer from the users list. Had to do this a few times but it seems to have stabilized.
Having issues with my keychain but that’s another matter.
Good, thanks so much for the follow-up Mark! Not sure why that little issue but glad you could sort it out and get on your way.
I have the Adobe Suite on my old computer, I am purchasing a new computer that does not have the cd drive to install the programs onto this new computer. Can i download the suite from the adobe website and use my license number from the one that I ordered?
Yes Ericia, or you can simply use our large collection of Adobe Software Direct Download Links.
Dear All, I need your help. For adobe Illustrator, to transfer from One system to another system. Please help me.
Chirag Shah
Hello Chirag, did you read or follow the instructions given in the guide above?
If so, how far did you get, what step are you on, what issue or difficulty are you having?
What version of the Illustrator software do you have, and what type(s) of systems are you moving to/from?
Hey,
Sorry if this has been covered before.. I am trying to transfer Master Collection CS5 from my old Macbook Pro to my new Macbook 12″. I’ve followed the instructions and managed to download both Photoshop CS5 and Master Collection CS5 from you. But after the download finishes and I try and run the Install, it says “Install” is damaged and can’t be opened. You should eject the disk image.
Am i doing something wrong?
Hi Rosie, try the solution suggested here:
Solved: “‘Install’ is damaged and can’t be opened. You should eject the disk image.”
hey guys, I’m a student and I got a new computer but I can’t transfer my school’s prepaid redemption code to my new pc so I can use the adobe creative suite on my new mac… I had a surface pro 3 before.
Hey Daniel, try Adobe’s Redemption Code Help Page for students and teachers.
@Howard Elton
Would it meet your needs to migrate / re-install your Windows+CC configuration to be a VM guest, with Linux as your host OS?
AFAIK, all popular VM systems (VirtualBox, etc.) allow the Windows guests and Linux hosts to have shared directories. And perhaps that would side-step the problem of CC perceiving changes to OS in which it’s installed.
I purchased Adobe CS6 Master Collection and installed it on my Windows laptop a while back, the laptop subsequently broke and I then asked Adobe for a platform swap to a new Apple laptop. I have now sold my Apple laptop and gone back to using a Windows pc, please advise how I go about getting the CS6 back onto my new pc.
Sorry Antoinette, per Adobe’s terms: after swapping platforms or languages, you cannot cross back to your original platform or language version.
@ProDesignTools
Hi, what about this quote from your site “After swapping platforms or languages, you cannot cross back to your original platform or language version. No more than five total (lifetime) cross-platform or cross-language upgrades or swaps are allowed per customer, regardless of the product.” I honestly dont know how an ex-student who is looking for employment is supposed to be able to afford CC subs of R7000.00 (South Africa) per year. We paid a hell of a lot of money for the CS6 suite and the fact that the first laptop broke is through no fault of our own, surely Adobe can help us in some way, especially when you consider the 5 lifetime cross-platforms mentioned above.
Well, you certainly can still contact them about it to ask and see if they say anything different… We were just quoting the policy and rules stated on their website. Please let us know if you have any luck with it.
I just bought a MacBook Pro and installed my second license copy on this new machine.
Coincidentally, Adobe updated all of the CC, LR and PS software just in time.
Included in this new software is Adobe’s latest version of SCR@# YOU!
We are NO LONGER able to sync settings between machines!
Greetings Tom,
Please see our previous comments above for the explanation and solutions for that.
I’ve used my two installations for Elements 12, and need to get a new computer. You said the deactivation works for CC… will it work for PSE 12, too??
Welcome Jennifer,
The Creative Cloud applications will handle deactivation for you automatically, as described in the article… This is helpful for example you wish to install CC onto a third computer, but cannot easily deactivate the other(s).
For other Adobe programs like Elements, you would need to deactivate and reactivate each system manually (the steps for this are also outlined above).
In all cases, you are generally allowed to use Adobe software on up to two machines.
Hope that answers what you wanted to know!
Hi,
I have an adobe Suite which I got from my college. I am no more studying in that college, but I need to change my laptop. How do I transfer my softwares from my present mac book to new mac book pro. It’s not showing me the option of registration of the product. It will be a huge help.
Hey Swati, did you follow the software transfer instructions given in the article above? First you actually have to deactivate the software on the old machine, not register the new one (yet).
I am a computer tech, setting up a new computer for a client.
My client has had CS6 on his old windows 7 laptop, but the laptop Motherboard went bad. What he wants is to remove his drive from his old win 7 computer and use it as an external drive on his new win 10 computer. according to him, when he moved across the country, he lost all his discs and documentation for his CS6.
Is there some kind of patch to allow the CS6 installation on the win 7 32-bit hard drive to run on his win 10 64-bit computer?
No, sorry – the only way we know to make that work is to do a full reinstall of the software on the new system setup… You can still redownload CS6 here:
Original Adobe CS6 Direct Download Links for Windows and Mac OS