Cannot find CS3 Web Premium disks - do I have to go illegal ?

Question

Hi Folks
I walked into B&H NY, bought an upgrade to CS3 Web Premium (from CS2 suite), and took it back home. Before insatlling it I emailed myself the license keys.
Now, several new computers and several old computer deactivations and crashes later, I needed to reinstall, could not find the original disks so downloaded PS from the Adobe site.
Photoshop CS3 won't recognize my CS3 Web Premium serial !
Adobe support says I need to reinstall the whole suite. There is no download for Web Premium.
I'm seriously angry. I am thinking of dumping the whole activation crap and downloading a pirate version, or even regressing to a pirate version of CS1.
I don't feel comfortable stealing, but although Adobe has confirmed that my serial number is valid they cannot offer me a way to get what I paid for working again.
Edmund

Answer 1

Edmund,
On behalf of Adobe ...
(1) I assume that what you are telling us is that you lost the original disk for your upgrade copy of CS3 Web Premium but you do have the serial number (
not keys).
(2) You also didn't bother to register the CS3 product.
(3) Please call
Adobe Customer Support (not
Adobe Technical Support!) and advise them of the situation of your lost disks. You may be asked to provide some proof of purchase, such as a receipt from B&H showing the item in question. (Note that B&H is closed this week for Passover, but should be open again on Monday!) As Bob Levine indicated, Customer Support should be able to supply you with replacement media for a shipping and handling fee. If you have any problems with the representative you are speaking with, please ask to speak with a Customer Support supervisor and make sure they give you a "case number." If you still have problems, please contact me off-forum directly and I'll see what I can do to assist from Adobe San Jose.
(4) For better or worse, the individual Adobe products have different installers and serial numbers than the suites. That's why you cannot install a downloaded trial copy of Photoshop 10 using a CS3 serial number.
(5) It will certainly not help your case if you start threatening to use pirated software when discussing your problem with Adobe Customer Support. The fact is that YOU lost your disks; Adobe did not cause that problem. But Adobe can make replacement disks available to you if you cooperate. In the future, please register your product ASAP upon initial product installation. You don't have to mail anything in; the product can self register via the internet - all you need to do is provide minimal contact information. One of the main reasons for the registration process is to assist customers when disks are lost, upgrades are required, etc.
- Dov