View Full Version : Adobe CS 5.5: how many computers can I install this on?


Bill Edmunds
August 16th, 2011, 12:28 PM
Adobe's FAQ is very vague about installing the software on more than one system. It says:

"The software license agreement accompanying your product may entitle you to install and activate the software on two systems with certain restrictions. The product license agreement for suite editions does not allow you to install the individual components of a single suite edition across multiple computers. Read the software license agreement for more information. Subscription editions follow the same license agreement terms."

What does this mean if I buy the suite? That I can install it on one computer only, or that I can install Premiere on two systems but the rest of the stuff on one?

Greg Fiske
August 16th, 2011, 12:58 PM
Normally its for two installs, a desktop and associated laptop.

Pete Bauer
August 16th, 2011, 01:03 PM
You can activate it on two systems at any given time, ostensibly your main editing box and your laptop. You can actually install it on any number of systems but can't use a copy that isn't activated; you'd have to deactivate one system to activate another to stay within the limit of two activations at one time.

One caution...I can't swear to this, but I recall reading at one point that the total number of activation/deactivation cycles is limited to something like 20. That's plenty to handle computer upgrades, hardware failures, or laptop theft situations, but would prevent people from regularly bouncing around from computer to computer to circumvent the licensing restrictions that the activation enforces.

FWIW, I did have an unrecoverable HDD failure before I'd done a system image so lost one of my activations with it. I called Adobe tech support, gave the fellow that answered the product info, and had my second activation reinstated less than 10 minutes after my decision to call. So don't lose those product keys!

Here's the link to the page for all the Adobe End User License Agreements:
http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/