Mac Discussion

I used Time Machine to restore my dead imac to a new one, but when I start up CS3 I get a message saying that "licensing for this product has stopped working". I have called Adobe 5 times now and none of their fixes have worked. Apparently this is a common enough problem that they have created a little licensing repair tool. Has anyone else had this happen and if so, how did you get it to work? I have uninstalled and reinstalled the program, run their tool, etc.

One clue is that there is supposed to be Flexnet folder here: Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet folder

But I don't have this folder.

I lost Adobe Suite 3. Adopted my daughter's MBPro. Backed up to external. Did clean install of OSX. Ran Migration Assistant and now the Adobe programs ask for Serial No. which I do not have. Worked fine till I backed up. I am not a crook.

Have
a
H A P P Y
day!

CS3 is the worst piece of sh!t around thanks to the dumbass DRM cr@p.

The only reliable solution to any and all CS3 problems is to de-authorize (if possible), uninstall the entire suite, run the CS3 Clean Script at (the secret) level 3, reinstall the suite and re-authorize it.

If you've made several attempts to reinstall and re-authorize then you've probably exhausted the permitted number of authorizations for your serial number and will need a new serial number from Adobe which will probably involve several hours of arguing with a barely-understandable Indian guy who calls himself "Mike."

CS3Clean Script:
[www.adobe.com]

lol, you are correct about the Indian help. I've been able to understand about 50% of the ones I get. Another frustration is I have to re-explain the whole problem every time I call and they don't listen very well.

I have only used this registration number once. I have uninstalled and reinstalled but when I click on the PS icon to start the app it gives me the license error message. At no point do I get a chance to insert my license number.

When I called this weekend they said tech support would call me Monday, but they never did. I just want my money back, or they should give me CS4 if that's the only way out of this mess.



The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CS3 is the worst piece of sh!t around thanks to
> the dumbass DRM cr@p.
>
> The only reliable solution to any and all CS3
> problems is to de-authorize (if possible),
> uninstall the entire suite, run the CS3 Clean
> Script at (the secret) level 3, reinstall the
> suite and re-authorize it.
>
> If you've made several attempts to reinstall and
> re-authorize then you've probably exhausted the
> permitted number of authorizations for your serial
> number and will need a new serial number from
> Adobe which will probably involve several hours of
> arguing with a barely-understandable Indian guy
> who calls himself "Mike."
>
> CS3Clean Script:
>

> I have uninstalled and reinstalled but...

Did you use the CS3Clean Script at level 3?

I'm not sure. I ran some script Adobe had me download which opened a terminal window. It said to hit "0" the third time through if it didn't work previously. Is this what you mean?



The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I have uninstalled and reinstalled but...
>
> Did you use the CS3Clean Script at level 3?

I should point out that Apple gave me a new iMac last week to replace one whose video card/motherboard fried when I was playing warcraft (there appears to be a connection). I migrated my old user account to the new imac via time machine. I'm sure this messed up the licensing for CS3. Also, in the fixes posted, there is talk of removing a FLEXnet folder which is supposed to be in the library/prefences folder. It is not there on my computer.


fez Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not sure. I ran some script Adobe had me
> download which opened a terminal window. It said
> to hit "0" the third time through if it didn't
> work previously. Is this what you mean?
>
>
>
> The Black Adder Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > > I have uninstalled and reinstalled
> but...
> >
> > Did you use the CS3Clean Script at level 3?
>
>
>

I don't know what it was they had you do.

The options you'd be given when running the CS3Clean Script are "1" or "2" with "3" being a hidden option.

I suggest that you try following the routine that I described above. The link that I gave you leads to a page where you can download the CS3Clean Script.

When you get to the step where you should run the script, remember to enter "3" instead of "1" or "2" at the prompt. (Without the quote-marks.)

...

Level 1 removes all CS3 Adobe applications except Acrobat.

Level 2 removes all Adobe applications including Acrobat.

Level 3 removes all Adobe products and shared components.

Level 4 "Slash and burn" - don't use this option.

I think the tool that they had you run was their license-repair tool.

That almost never works.

Yes, you're right. I'll look for this other tool you mention and give it a go tonight.

thx for your help!


The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the tool that they had you run was their
> license-repair tool.
>
> That almost never works.

Well I tried the tool and ran it at level 3. But when I start up Photoshop it gives me the same message about licensing having stopped working. ARg! What can I do at this point?






fez Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Yes, you're right. I'll look for this other
> tool you mention and give it a go tonight.
>
> thx for your help!
>
>
> The Black Adder Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I think the tool that they had you run was
> their
> > license-repair tool.
> >
> > That almost never works.
>
>
>

Do you have the original disks the software came on? Because at this stage it's your only chance.

TM is not the best choice for migrating apps; CCC or SD do a much superior job.

I bought this online from adobe and downloaded it so I never get a disk. Geez. I would hope Adobe would either refund my money or maybe let me download PS CS4 (if that will work).



PW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do you have the original disks the software came
> on? Because at this stage it's your only chance.
>
> TM is not the best choice for migrating apps; CCC
> or SD do a much superior job.

They're not going to refund squat and they don't give their software away either. Try calling them, explaining that your internal hard drive and backup were both lost, that foolishly you didn't backup the downloaded installer and that you need to download CS3 again or you need a backup physical disk so you can continue to enjoy their software.

> I bought this online from adobe and downloaded it so I never get a disk.

When you put Photoshop back on that HD, did you actually run the installer that you downloaded or did you just copy the application from your backup?

Adobe gave me a link to download a new version of PS. I ran that using the installer.




The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I bought this online from adobe and
> downloaded it so I never get a disk.
>
> When you put Photoshop back on that HD, did you
> actually run the installer that you downloaded or
> did you just copy the application from your
> backup?

What is the exact message that it gives you now when you try to run/serialize Photoshop?

It doesn't get to the point where I can insert my serial number. When I try to open the app it says:

"Licensing for the product has stopped working.

You cannot use this product at this time. You must repair the problem by uninstalling and then reinstalling this product or contacting your IT administrator or Adobe customer support for help."





The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is the exact message that it gives you now
> when you try to run/serialize Photoshop?

One last thing to try...

It's not something that I would ordinarily recommend, but it has worked to get CS3 running on Macs where it otherwise would not.

Make sure that your backup is up to date.
Uninstall Photoshop.
Run the cleaning script at level 3.
Enable the root account on that Mac.
Restart the Mac and log in as root.
Install Photoshop and try to serialize it.
Restart and log in under your normal admin account.
Disable the root account.

How to enable root:
[support.apple.com]

Tried this and same thing. What a difficult problem! I can't understand how Adobe can't fix this as they wrote the code that causes the problems. Weird.

Adobe sent me a second follow-up email asking how my problem is going. But they do not inlcude an email address that I can respond to! At one point during all of this I did manage to find an email address on their support page but could not last night. It's like I'm in a Kafka-Adobe universe.




The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One last thing to try...
>
> It's not something that I would ordinarily
> recommend, but it has worked to get CS3 running on
> Macs where it otherwise would not.
>
> Make sure that your backup is up to date.
> Uninstall Photoshop.
> Run the cleaning script at level 3.
> Enable the root account on that Mac.
> Restart the Mac and log in as root.
> Install Photoshop and try to serialize it.
> Restart and log in under your normal admin
> account.
> Disable the root account.
>
> How to enable root:
>

Man, that's the whole troubleshooting list.

There's a "fix" involving changing permissions on the Adobe folder in /Library/Application Support, but the root trick covers that.

The only thing that I can suggest at this point -- other than asking for a refund and maybe contacting the BBB and state Attorney General's office when they refuse -- is to post your problem on Adobe's forums with a link back to this thread so they can see what you've tried.

Maybe someone there can come up with something.

[forums.adobe.com]



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 10/29/09 01:18PM by The Black Adder.

Thanks for all your help BA. I will do this too.....


The Black Adder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Man, that's the whole troubleshooting list.
>
> There's a "fix" involving changing permissions on
> the Adobe folder in /Library/Application Support,
> but the root trick covers that.
>
> The only thing that I can suggest at this point --
> other than asking for a refund and maybe
> contacting the BBB and state Attorney General's
> office when they refuse -- is to post your problem
> on Adobe's forums with a link back to this thread
> so they can see what you've tried.
>
> Maybe someone there can come up with something.
>
>
>
>
>
> Edited 1 times. Last edit at 10/29/09 01:18PM by
> The Black Adder.

Adobe "Customer Support" is absolutely horrible. I will never purchase anything from them again.