Keys and activation question
 

I've been offered to buy the CS3 bundle for a "Too good to be true" price...
I'm assured that the product is legit, that i can download any patches, and I can even register it if i want...
The seller says he's moved on to CS4.

Question:
Since there was an obvious Serial Key, and activation required prior to my possible purchase, would it need to be deactivated at his end, or would i be left with a set of useless discs??

I'll check out the Adobe site next, but figured this would be a better place to start..

Thx...

Yes, it would need to be deactivated at his end.

I've wondered about this too....

For example, if the seller used his ownership of CS3 to get a reduced price upgrade to CS4, then would Adobe agree to reauthorize that copy of CS3 again, even if he does deauthorize it? Do they allow both versions to keep running?

Hey Graham.......That's what's killing me..

I had asked him the same question, (upgrading for a reduced cost for current users), but the reasoning was "I didn't keep the receipt"...Yeah right..

I'm starting to smell a flounder...

I have just upgraded from Premiere/Encore CS2 to the new CS4 combination package. I used the Encore CS2 serial number to activate the CS4 package, and this is OK. This means that my Premiere CS2 serial is effectively "free". Even so I am having doubts about disposing of it, just in case I subsequently find Adobe will no longer accept an Encore serial for activating a Premiere Pro upgrade package.

Why and for what reason would you use the Encore CS2 serial number to activate CS4??
Just curious...

Also, did you uninstall the CS2 package, or can you simply install CS3/4 in addition to your old suite??

For upgrades, you need a s/n from your prior version to confirm you are eligible for the upgrade. Officially, you should be able to install the new version with or without the earlier version -- although some of us have had problems when doing an upgrade on the same partition.

So, Peter, does the old version remain able to be re-installed and re-authorised on a new machine, once the new version is up and running? Or only on the original machine? Or not at all?

Cricket, cricket ...

All Peter (and I) want to know is whether an old version of CS3, that has used to get a qualify for a CS4 upgrade, remains functional and authorizable.

Dozens of you must have been in this situation ... is this some sort of Secret Squirrel Club thing?

Hardly a secret squirrel thing. Took me no more than 10 seconds to go to yahoo.com and keyword "Adobe Licensing Agreement" and thereby find the Premire Pro Licensing Agreement. Here's the link (see especially para 4.6):

http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/...80623_1026.pdf

Short answer to selling the old version and keeping the upgrade: No.

Short answer to being able to use the old version yourself: Yes, it'll work. How long Adobe continues to honor old s/n and activation of outdated versions, I don't know...guessing probably at least a few years past upgrade time.

Thanks for you time fellas....

But the seller showed up with a jewel case, and a single DVD that said "Adobe CS3 MASTER COLLECTION"....
I wasn't buying it, and couldn't be convinced that the Suite could fit on a single disk....

Of course it was too good to be true..

The idea is that the old Premiere CS2 can still be used as its activation has been turned off. I have a Matrox RTX100 card which I no longer use, and I assume that I could sell it for far more with a valid copy of Premiere than selling just the card.

The problem is that I am nervous of Adobe's attitude, and worry that they may change the rules so that I can no longer use the Encore CS2 serial to activate the Premiere CS4 upgrade package. I always use the item on the Help Menu to turn off the activation before un-installing any Adobe item.

I removed the CS2 package (Premiere, Encore, Photoshop, and Audition) and used a reg cleaner and manual clean up of remaining folders. I then installed the CS4 package, followed by my new Matrox RTX2 card. Premiere called for a valid serial number (either Premiere or Encore) during the installation. I then re-installed audition and Photoshop CS2. I now have both versions of Bridge, but I had to install the Photoshop help files manually. This was done mainly to ensure that the Matrox drivers would install cleanly, rather than because I was worried about problems with the Adobe software.

I have always removed old versions of Premiere, etc, before installing the new. You are asked for a valid serial number for a full copy of an earlier version once you enter the serial for the upgrade copy. The only exception to this of which I am aware is Encore CS2 upgraded from Encore 1.5 - in this case Encore 1.5 has to be installed on the system, and activated, for the upgrade serial to be accepted. You can remove the 1.5 version once the upgrade is up and running.