Upgrading CS3 to CS4 - activation question

I have a licensed copy of CS3 and am thinking of buying an upgrade to CS4. My questions are -
* will I get a new serial no. with CS4?
* if so, when I install CS4 can I de-activate CS3 and activate it on a different Mac? i.e. have one Mac with CS3 and another with CS4.
Regards,
Phil

Yes, you'll get a new serial number but keep in mind you will still only
have on license. While you can install and activate on two machines you
can't use them both at the same time, legally.
Bob

Similar Messages

  • Upgrade CS3 to CS4

    I would like to upgrade my PPr CS3 to CS4 and because I’m located in Australia, Adobe suggests buying it and downloading the upgrades from Australian web site where updates cost $200 more than what it cost in USA. Even in New Zealand which is in the same region cost $100 less then Australia. Can someone tell me if it’s any differences between the regions or can I buy the upgrades and download it in USA or New Zealand and use it in Australia?

    Interesting issue.
    Cost of CS3 MC to CS4 MC on US Site: $US899 Download
    Cost of CS3 MC to CS4 MC on AU Site: $AU1,655 Download (excluding 10% GST)
    Approximate current exchange rate: $1USD = $1.08AUD ($899US = $974AUD)
    Any comment Dennis?
    MP

  • PS CS3 installed CS4 trial question

    I have PS CS3 Extended installed and would like to know if I can install the trial of PS CS4 Extended at the same time? In running XP and would naturally use a different installation folder.
    Thanks.

    The only issue (not so much of an issue) that I have come across is that photoshop uses photoshop.exe to open the program. You cant use PS CS3 and PS CS4 at the same time. Sometimes I forget that CS3 or CS4 is open and when I go to open the other, the one that is open pops up instead.
    As John said PS is a standalone application.
    -Rilla

  • Problem activation upgrade CS3 to CS4

    I had a problem with my pc. I deactivate PRO4 and put it out of my PC.
    Later a restal CS3 and regist. sucses. I restal the upgrade CS4 but the pc dont accept no longer the serialnumber. (Legal upgrade version)

    This is a user to user forum, with the space provided by Adobe, not Adobe support... you need Adobe support for serial number issues
    Adobe contact information - http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html
    Adobe Knowledgebase http://www.adobe.com/support/
    Help for Download & Install & Setup & Activation http://forums.adobe.com/community/download_install_setup
    Next link has a "Chat Now" button near the bottom
    http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-deactivation-products.html

  • Upgrade CS3 TO CS4 - Serial Number Not Recognised - HELP!

    Hi there,
    From what I have been reading, there seems to ba a few people who are having problems upgrading to CS4 from CS3. Well, I'm afraid I'm another to add to the list. Can anyone help me in my plight?
    My O.S is Windows XP Pro (SP3) and my computer has more than enough nuts and bolts inside it to run NASA never mind CS4! My anti virus is AVG 8.5 and my firewall is Zone Alarm, both of which were disabled during the attempted install.
    I purchased the upgrade from the Adobe store (at £165) and had the box delivered - great so-far!
    However, when I came to install the upgrade, and after putting in the correct CS4 serial, a window opened to inform me that the system-profile search, failed to find the CS3 in the defaul location - and believe me it's there! I followed the on-screen instructions, typing-in the serial number of my (leagally-bought) CS3; to my horror, it told me that the serial number was 'not a valid copy' when it clearly is!!
    I have successfully installed the CS4 Upgrade only on a 30 day trial basis but still cannot register as it then tells me that BOTH my serial numbers are invalid. Suffice to say that the 30 day trial version was later uninstalled and I am now back to square-one and £165 poorer!
    I have opened a case with Adobe but after over a week have still had no reply. Phoning customer support in the UK was also a no-no as their office hours (9-5 Mon to Fri) are not compatible with me as I cannot be next to my machine during these times (Unless I take a day off!) My next option is to phone the States but hey - it's only money!!
    My question is therefore - can anyone help or make suggestions as to how I can resolve this issue. A point to note that after buying and installing CS3 I notice in the headline (once the programme is running) it is labelled 'CS3 EXTENDED'  yet this is not written on the box - is this normal? The CS4 Upgrade was the same so it looks like I am trying to install a like-for-like product.
    Thanks in anticipation.
    Smudge

    What's the point though of issuing upgrades that don't upgrade?
    Well, once it was pretty easy. There was only one full-version of PS. Back then, there were variations with terms like "Lite," and "LE," and these were basically bundled with scanners, etc. They were the precursors to PSElements. For a bit, there were only two PS and PSE. The "upgrade" was either the full-version upgraded to the next version, or the full-version from PSE. Then "Extended" was introduced, and now there are two full-versions. Each will have their own upgrade path, so some care needs to be exercised. Extended basically offers more video capabilities over the "regular."
    Upgrade paths have also changed, and can come into play, when one uses a stand-alone to upgrade to a "suite." Once, one could upgrade separate programs directly, but with suites, things get a tad more complicated. Though I've had straight PS versions since 2.5, once I went to the Production Stuido suite with PrPro, AE and Audition, I could no longer use my PS license to JUST upgrade PS to PS-Extended. I would have to do the full suite, and now there are several flavors of the Video suites, with one including upgrades for all of my old Macromedia Studio suite. I follow this stuff fairly closely, and have to admit that I am confused, and the Adobe site (good in many other ways) does not cover the various suites and how to get to each from where one is, as well as it could. However, a chart of all possibilities and what is in each suite might fill four screens.
    Then, you have to factor in that many resellers do not furnish all the necessary info on what is needed to qualify for specific upgrades. Once, when there were fewer resellers, one had to give the S/N for their existing product, and then this was matched up to the requirements of the upgrade. Now, there are just too many resellers to do that - or Adobe has become a bit more, um-m, "relaxed."
    Over the decades, I have found Adobe Customer Support (not necessarily Technical Support) to be quite good and accommodating, when I did have any problem. In the past, they did all that they could to keep me satisfied, and did a good job of it.
    Good luck, and please report how it goes,
    Hunt

  • Upgrading CS3 to CS4 suite and keeping some CS3 apps

    I have CS3 Design Premium and am upgrading to Elearning Suite. Can I keep Illustrator/InDesign CS3 which are not included in the Elearning Suite?

    The CS4 installer doesn't touch anything in CS3 with the possible exception of Acrobat. So, to answer your question, yes, you can keep the old CS3 apps installed.
    Bob

  • CS2 upgrade - CS3 or CS4?

    I have CS2 Premium and Studio 8 (they came together). It includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Version Cue, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Contribute and Flashpaper.
    Is it more cost effective to upgrade to CS4 (my MacBook Pro can handle it ... )or is CS3 good enough? AND can I still upgrade from CS2 to CS3?
    I'm a working pro and will probably go to 4 eventually, but just trying to spread the cost!
    My gear: MacBook Pro 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 250Gb HD, OS X 10.5.6

    Neil and all: The Apple Store does not sell any CS3 software and immediately stopped selling it upon receipt of Adobe's new suite of applications. Furthermore, Apple sells all applications and hardware and software for full MSRP -- you get no discount on anything, save whatever Apple (only) has on sale.
    I note one thing here among the protests:
    i Nobody has mentioned any reasons for upgrading to CS4 on a Mac other than "it's current and you might get burned if you buy shady software from a shady vendor."
    i Nobody has offered the original poster any specific advantages of CS4 over CS3 applications, save "it might cost more to upgrade to CS5 from CS3."
    Frankly, everyone writing software today is hard-pressed to get applications out that work well. Adding a 64-bit operating system to the mix increases the workload. My hat's off to these programmers.
    Some upgrades back, Adobe released the healing brush for Photoshop. That was very much worth the upgrade. The tighter integration between Adobe applications in CS3 was a good improvement. But when improvements are "evolutionary" and not "revolutionary" in terms of my workflow, I tend to be a late-adopter or I wait a whole version to upgrade.
    Has anyone tried CS4 on a G4? How about a G4 running at 1GHz?
    I know what Marrin's running and she's set for CS4 or CS5, as she has eight cores running like a bat out of hades and probably still has room to upgrade her RAM. But even with a dual quad-core Mac Pro, there is a performance hit that occurs after an upgrade while one is learning the new ways of working.
    I like to call that "the fritter factor," where a certain amount of productivity is reduced because you are "frittering" away valuable time trying to figure out the new workflows that have been introduced due to the upgrade.
    I don't plan to upgrade, for example, to Microsoft's latest Office suite. I know the suite of applications I have and they work just fine, thanks. Microsoft would love for me to "upgrade" to a version that now lacks Visual Basic for Applications and I don't have the time to rewrite my macros in Applescript (assuming that works for the new Microsoft suite).
    The upgrade to Adobe's CS4 is considerably more costly than $7 monthly. And I have not been convinced that it will run at all well on my Macintosh. I also have no idea what the "fritter factor" is versus the suite I all ready have.
    Perhaps the Apple salesman needs an education. He certainly was not trying to (as he was unable to) sell me CS3. But, as he works for Apple and not Adobe, he is not required to be a walking advertorial for Adobe. He was speaking from his own experience in using the Adobe suite of applications on his own computer in his personal time. I found it interesting that he made his comment and I reported it to my friend.
    As to 64-bit applications, it is known that they can work on larger projects through the use of more system RAM for those projects. But, since data arrives in 64-bit chunks, processing can happen up to twice as fast as 32-bit processing because the data words are twice as large. Adobe is to be praised for rewriting one application in the suite, as the task is difficult. But I don't use Vista. I have a Mac.

  • CS4 activation question

    Hi, I'm trying to get the serial number of my boss' installation of Adobe CS4 for the record. I don't have the CD. With CS3, I can deactivate the software without deleting the serial number and then open InDesign and get the activation number when it prompts to reactivate.
    This doesn't seem to work in CS4. When I launch InDesign, it seems to be reactivating invisibly in the background so I never get to see the number.
    Is this a feature of CS4 or something weird with this installation only?
    Thanks!

    That's how it works and why it's vitally important to register your software.
    Just log into your account and all of your serial numbers will be there.
    Bob

  • Upgrade CS3 TO CS4 - Serial Number Not Recognised. Anyone else have this problem?

    yesterday myself and a co-worker spent $200 on the InDesign CS4 "upgrade" that neither of us can install because it will not recognize our VALID serial numbers for our InDesign CS3. has anyone had this issue and resolved it?
    i was on the phone with adobe support yesterday for over and hour only to be told that i would have to call them back when they found out what the problem was.

    Are you trying to upgrade the Creative Suite to Indesign? If you bought the suite, you must upgrade the suite. You can't upgrade individual parts of the suite.
    i was on the phone with adobe support yesterday for over and hour only to be told that i would have to call them back when they found out what the problem was.
    How are you supposed to know when they find out what the problem is? I think I would want to call them back and be politely insistent.
    Ken

  • Can't find where to upgrade CS3 to CS4

    Hi,
    I have Windows XP, sp3.  CS3 has been on my laptop for years.  I started to work with a new company that put CS4 on my main computer, and I think you can put the same unit on a laptop also, no?  I would like to enter the CS4 serial number to upgrade but I can't find a place to do it.  Please tell me how to upgrade to CS4; I don't want CS5 yet.
    Thank you!

    Hi,
    Sorry if it was unclear, I'll try to explain better.
    I have CS3 (legitimately) on my laptop.
    I started working at a company that installed CS4 on my desktop computer.
    I understand that I can install an Adobe product on both a desktop and a
    laptop.
    Can't I put the serial number into my existing CS3 to upgrade to CS4 or do I
    really have to install the disks? 
    I'm worried that I'll have to remove CS3 before installing CS4 and I don't
    want to do that in case something goes wrong, then I'll have nothing.
    Thank you!

  • Is it time to upgrade from CS3 to CS4?

    I currently use CS3 but have a version of CS4.  I edit full HD XD CAM EX and Cineform 25p.   The reason I have not yet switched to CS4 is because I am waiting for the bugs to be worked out.  I am now checking in to see how things have moved forward on that end.  Is it worth it to upgrade or should I stick with CS3 for now?    

    I currently use CS3 but have a version of CS4.
    What is stopping you from trying it out? CS3 and CS4 can peacefully coexist on the same system. Given your decisiveness shown in the past, only you can decide and you have the means to make a decision. OTOH, I would not be surprised I you only make your decision when CS5 has been on the market for over a year.
    Your question has about the same value as someone saying:
    "I have a Beamer 530 from 2004 and a Beamer 530 from 2009. Should I be driving the 2009 version?"

  • End of Upgrade Cycle for CS3 and CS4... Really Adobe?

    As if business wasn't bad enough now I see there will be no upgrade paths past december for CS3 and 4 users. Is this how Adobe plans to keep users away from stopping their upgrades and reducing the number of machines they run Adobe products on? I understand Adobe is not a non-profit and has has to turn a revenue, but the geniuses at Marketing here have made a huge mistake by basically telling their customers that what they have so far will be worth zilch in comes 2013. That arbitrary deadline, is not consider some people who on the east coast are now cash strapped as anyone having to choose between home repairs and other such marvelous stuff and upgrading to CS6 guess what they'll choose. And for the lucky ones not heavily affected by the storms, they will donate to help their community before they will spend money to upgrade perfectly good software.
    It wasn't enough that the upgrade path wasn't much of a discount, but in the current economy every penny counts! The choice of stopping support for CS3 and CS4 in my personal opinion an ill-advised move. I personally went from 3 to 4 within a short amount of time... then when 5 came out my budget didn't allow so I needed to wait. The new CS6 isn't direly needed so I decided I'd have to loose some additional "upgrade power" because money need to be directed elsewhere now... but the news that I'd loose all the upgrade power and would have kept on upgrading for nothing it's just ridiculous... and if that's the treatment a customer will have to expect from now on I think I'll use what I have and move to alternatives stopping to personally support Adobe products an rely on licensed copies at work instead. Perhaps Adobe hasn't notices we aren't exactly doing that great in US between the current economical situation, the various setbacks experienced across the country and for the fact that in this particular business most work is often being outsourced out of US these days... I am sure you will have a huge market on the countries where the outsourced work is being sent... as far as I am concerned comes 12/31/2013 I will no longer be an Adobe customer as Adobe is forcing me out of the upgrade cycle and I won't plan to re-enter anytime soon in the coming future... lesson learnt.
    Thank you for your time (if any of the marketing gurus will have cared to read this far without laughing and discounting with a "screw those old customers, they should've upgraded earlier" which was basically the content of the email I got this week... pasted below)
    Cheers,
    tfbkny
    Content of email received from Adobe saying last chance to upgrade now or what you got will be worthless in less than a couple months.
    Dear Creative Suite customer:
    We want to make sure you're aware of an important change to Adobe's upgrade policy that may affect you.
    Beginning January 1, 2013, only Creative Suite customers with licenses for CS5 or CS5.5 versions will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.
    Due to this change, we will only continue offering CS3 and CS4 customers like you special upgrade pricing through December 31, 2012.*
    * Owners of CS3 and CS4 individual products and suite editions will be eligible to receive upgrade pricing to CS6 until December 31, 2012. After that date, only customers on CS5 or CS5.5 will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.

    Adobe doesn't care, they don't have to. I like Phsotoshop and have been using it professionally for 20 years, but lets face it, I wouldnt mind some really good competition from another source. It didnt use to be the only game in town, and doesnt have to remain so.
    I could brainstorm how I would want competing software to look like. Pshop is not the easiest workflow possible. Illustrator is clearly deficient to even CorelDraw, and certainly Freehand. I've been meaning to reconnect with CorelDraw. It did some cool things.
    Google Chrome is pulling a lot of manoevers software wise and I hope they try to go a little deeper and give Adobe a run for their money on the one program they feel justifies unbelievable gouging. Go investigate Ableton Live if you want to see what a company that cares about its customers is doing, ADOBE. Audition is a JOKE compared to Ableton Live. Thank God we're not powned on the audio side by these suits.
    The idea that a company would peddle buggy software, which CS4 was..., although some of that was Apple's fault, is bad, the upgrade prices were ridiculous, and this is the end of the road for me currently. The idea that a company would actively
    push away customers is pretty incredible. "But I sent you an email!" Whoops, you gotta pay $1900 for production premium CS6! HAHAHAHAHA. Time for a YT video with my old hard copy box. Sounds like a good idea.
    There are too many options on the motion graphics side, and I'll keep a static machine to run Pshop and AE CS4.
    The masters of the universe will have theit way, and the rest must bow to their ambivalent greed. At least that's the way they think. It would seem that Adobe and Apple really, really want some upstarts to come up. Maybe $360 for a year to figure out an exit might work. It will be interesting to see if this hits earnings. VERY interesting.

  • Upgrade from Photoshop CS3 to CS4 - PNG alpha lost???

    I use Photoshop for all of my graphics in Final Cut Pro.  I have been using Photoshop CS3 for a long time, creating .png titles with alpha's with no problem.  I just upgraded to Photoshop CS4 and now my .png files don't have alpha channels.  What happened and how do I fix it?
    Thanks,
    John

    I am creating High Def Graphics (1920x1080) for use within Final Cut Pro.  I am talking about the transparency.  What do you mean by a swf?  Are you talking Flash?  I'm not sure that would work.  Sorry for the confusion.
    John

  • Upgrade Photoshop CS3 to CS4: preparations?

    Hi,
    I just purchased Photoshop CS4 upgrade. I have CS3 installed. Do I have to uninstall Photoshop CS3 before I can install CS4 or can I just install CS4 over CS3? Since this is an upgrade version, does it require CS3 to be present?
    Thanks in advance!

    The upgrade does require either CS3 to be installed or the serial number from CS3.
    You can install both CS3 and Cs4 on the same system. They are wholly independent.
    Whether or not you uninstall CS3 is your choice. But if you do, be certain to save any custom actions, brushes, styles, etc., first.

  • Anyone upgrade to Snow Leopard and runs CS3 or CS4?

    Hi all. I'm looking to upgrade my Mac from tiger to snow leopard, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any problems beforehand. Has anyone upgraded to Snow Leopard? Have you had any problems running CS3 or CS4 since?
    Thanks.

    Works fine for me on a 2008 unibody MBP. Only a couple bugs that I can live -- neither affect workflow or CS4 functionality.
    A) As with Leopard, some programs have an issue with closing. About half the time when you close Ai or Dw the program closes fine -- then it tells you it crashed. A bit annoying, but I just go ahead and send the error report, dosent affect much, although if you've changed any preferences they might get lost. Adobe's prob gotten several hundred crash reports from me on that one :∫
    B) Occasionally when you switch from one app to another and you try to go back it only will switch only when you click the icon on the bottom -- otherwise the app you want will just switch back to the other app -- I think it's a snow leopard bug, but seems to affect Flash and AE. Very rarely however.
    I've been using Snow Leopard w/ CS4 since release day for prob 14 hours a day 6 days a week and these are my observations.
    Go for it dude, you'll love 10.6 -- Use CCC before that way if it's not functioning properly you can aways go back.
    It should be noted, I have not tested any third party plug-ins yet. After Effects by itself 9.0.2 has no issues that I can tell.

Maybe you are looking for