I purchased Photoshop CS3 several years ago, but have lost the installation disc along with the activation key. I never registered the product on adobe's website. I do have 2 machines that I have activated the software on previously. In addition, I have a backed up copy of my photoshop folder from "Program Files" in Windows. Is there any way to retrieve the activation key from my backed up folder? Or can Adobe check based on my MAC address and find the key based on the 2 computers that have successfully activated previously?
It's now 2020. As an update, CS3 activation servers are gone. And Adobe ended access to activation-free installers and replacement serial numbers. Customer Care agents cannot help with this matter. CS3 is officially dead.
If you have the machines the software was activated on and they are working you should be able to extract the Product ID which is different to activation. Your post is slightly confusing as you talk about a MAC address by which I'm guessing you mean the unique ID of the network card in your computer rather than a Mac computer? So I'll assume your on Windows as you have a Windows backup.
It will produce a list of serial numbers for most of the software on your PC. If you have a Mac you need the commercial version which is not free. If your CS3 was bought as an update to CS2 then this will not work as you'll also require the serial for CS2 -the upgrade qualifying product.
Honestly, I think Adobe is running a scam on all us. We had older versions that worked perfectly fine. They disabled those versions to force us to subscribe. I've "chatted" with help numerous times to solve the problem,,and nothing. My latest error after downloading their install folder "Photoshop CS3 can't be installed because of a conflict with Photoshop CS3".
I have CS3 and i still have my serial number. My problem is my hard disc crash and i do not have the chance to uninstall my CS3, now i just want to start my CS3 with my new hard disk. Could you answer me what i have to do at coeurd...@cgocable.ca
There are no longer Adobe Activation Servers to Activate CS3. If you missed Adobe download offer for old CS3 user for an CS3 installer that does not require Activation. You miss the boat the download is no longer available. You may want to consider buying a Photoshop Elements version. It will have RAW support for new camera models and most of the features found in CS3.
The problem is the CS3 is no longer supported and can no longer be activated. You did pay for it and it broke and can not be fixed there is no support for CS3 its dead. You lost your activation credentials in the crash.
I'm glad it worked for you. A reminder that CS3 was designed for the OS that was current when it was released years ago. It's a 32 bit program and the new MacOS 10.15 will not allow 32 bit programs to run. Windows is usually more generous, but they may follow suit.
Hello, If you purchase a copy of 2020 Elements it is inexpensive and a pretty good substitute. There is no subscrition fee as well. My old CS3 cost a fotrune when it came out, compared to Elements 2020 which is under $100. There are some new elements on 2020 that I like better than my CS3. I was angry when I could not transfer CS3 to my new computer, but my anger was diminished when I began playing with the new program. Give it a try. Once you do, you will begrudgingly agree that it is better.
Elements is pretty nice. It has many upgrades from CS3. Once you get the hang of it, you will probably like it better. I do. I hate (HATE) change, but sometimes change is good. Elements 2020 (if you use the "Professional" settings) works and feels the same as CS3. Good luck, hold on to what you have for as long as you can! Also know that there is a good substitute for under $100. No subscription fee. You can buy the subscription plan and have all the bells and whistles. I didn't.
Hi Maryama, If you are trying to move your cs3 license to a windows 10 you cannot. It has been killed. We all thought we owned our copies of CS3, however Adobe disagreed. They have made it impossible to renew or even use your copy of CS3. If you can leave it on your computer and not upgrade or update it you can still use it. Any change or try to move and it will not be able to be used. It just runs a loop that states you have to license your copy. There is no recovery for that. I bought a copy of Photoshop [Elements] 2020, it is nice. I would recommend it. It is a stupid situation, I'm sorry for our loss. I loved my CS3 and would not have changed anything.
I agree! It is very stupid and regardless if they "own" the software or not we should not have to buy something new if what we have works fine for us! I don't need updates/upgrades( I never did them anyway). I spent a lot of money on it when I bought it and never even used all the bells and whistles for my photography business. Makes me crazy to even have to spend $100 for elements when what I have works for me just fine!
That is the point. If it is working "just fine" on a PC now it will continue to work. It is only when you change something e.g. upgrade your hardware, operating system etc that you require a new install and at that point CS3 will not activate.
There are three parts to a system. Hardware (PC/Cameras etc), operating system, applications. If you choose to freeze any in time then freeze all three and make sure your system is fully backed up so you don't need to re-install. Upgrading any of those three runs the risk of incompatibity or the inability to re-install. None of that is new, it's just the nature of a system.
ok so i see a new thread everyday asking about how to get photoshop, premier blah anything
heres the best way to do it
and also how to crack any of the keys or keygens that dont work anymore
adobe issued a patch that did this on sept 1st
so..
first off with adobe dont even bother with torrents
just make an account on the adobe site (google it but its probably just www.adobe.com)
and then you can download trials of all any program!
you wont get caught for this cause for all they know your just trying the program out
or you bought a copy and need to reinstall and lost your disc so you need to download it from them
this way is better then torrents to cause you know nothing is gonna be corrupted
so now you need a keygen
torrent it
google your product cs3 keygen
bleh
it dosent really matter how you get it
there pretty easy to find
so anyway like almost every keygen is using the old keys
which adobe now made not work
so you can set your clock back to before sept 1st theres some way to do it like that
but it got annoying so this is how to make any key you find work with it
so first off just install your product as a trial and then follow these steps.
1) First off, delete C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe PCD\cache\cache.db
2) Then run any of the CS3 programs. Click Accept to continue, and then when you get to the screen that says enter your serial (or go under tools or somewhere and clik register it dosent always pop up) enter one from a keygen dosent matter if it didnt work before. NOW BEFORE clicking next, you'll notice that you have a NEW cache.db file in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe PCD\cache
6) Now, as soon as you click continue, make the cache.db file read only again, and LEAVE IT THAT WAY to prevent a possible reoccurrence or Adobe trying to send the patch through again disguised as an "update".
Remember that if you need to reinstall the serials of any CS3 product which was working prior to the creation since you have created a new cache.db file you must temporarily uncheck the read only properties box for the cache.db.
i had the above problems with photoshop and prem pro cs3 until i managed to download a cracked .exe file managed to get 1 for each of the programs and haven't had any problems since. You can also install updates but then you have to copy the cracked exe file back in again and it all works.
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