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• • June 15, 2010 at 12:51 am #56044
    Roland

    Member

    It seems that shortly after installing CS5 last month something went wrong with my computer and I can no longer use Windows Update. Windows Defender and Security Essentials both give errors when I try to update them, as does Google Chrome. It comes down to me being pretty much forced to try to re-install next weekend, which brings me to my question: how long do you keep old versions of your software installed for backward-compatibility?

    I found I never used CS2 after upgrading to CS3. I also didn't touch CS3 after I'd upgraded to CS4, but I did need InDesign CS4 once when InDesign CS5 failed to open an old file. So now I'm seriously doubting if I should or shouldn't install CS4 before I install CS5 after I'm done getting Windows running again.

    None of my files get shared, so I don't need backward-compatibility because of that, but I would in case of another old file not wanting to open in CS5. Or could I install CS4 after I've installed CS5, should it become necessary?

  • June 15, 2010 at 3:39 am #56046
    Tom Pardy

    Member

    I have CS, CS2, CS3 and CS4 installed on my machine. Unlike you, I have clients who only have CS2 (for example) and so documents from them that need me to work on them need to be opened in the appropriate version. Thank heavens (or whoever) for Rorohiko’s Soxy. It makes opening the appropriate version very simple. I have no connection with Rorohiko other than being a satisfied customer.

    I did find at one stage, when I needed to replace my hard drive and so needed to reinstall all sorts of things, that CS4 needed to have CS3 already there, CS3 needed to have CS2 and so on. Each had been purchased as an upgrade and so needed to have either the actual software on board or, alternatively, the serial number. I’m just glad I hung onto the original packages! It is something to bear in mind when you are contemplating deleting stuff from your hard drive.

    So far, so good, but lately I have struck a frustrating problem and have no idea what to do about it . . .

    When I try to launch CS2, it asks me for my serial number. When I type in the serial number (copied carefully and accurately from the original DVD cover) it rejects it as an invalid serial number. Aaargh! Where do I go from here? Because I don’t live in the USA, to contact Adobe (even if I dial the local number for Adobe) I must do it during USA West Coast business hours. For me that means at some awful hour in the middle of the night!

    But, until I get it sorted, I can’t do any work for clients tat are still using CS2. So why don’t they upgrade? I guess for the same reason that I haven’t yet upgraded to CS5 — it costs more to upgrade than it is (currently) worth to me.

  • June 15, 2010 at 3:59 am #56047
    Roland

    Member

    If you bought your copy of CS2 locally, and not from the US, you can call the local customer service. Perhaps it is a valid code but it's been activated without prior deactivation too many times? If you call Adobe they'll want to know why but shouldn't make a big deal out of giving you more activations.

  • June 15, 2010 at 4:15 am #56048
    Colin Flashman

    Member

    CS3 is old? i'm still running it at work! everyone else but me has CS4 in the office, and will probably get CS5 :(

    in my situation we need to keep a range of software both mac and windows to ensure that we can not only open but output the files customers send us. we also need to keep the software for legacy reasons (for example, a reprint of a 10 year old book with minor alterations).

  • June 15, 2010 at 11:24 pm #56067
    Roland

    Member

    I guess I'm lucky not having to share my files with anyone. The only times I send out native files, they're Illustrator files and are saved as (very old) CS1 files so the folks in China can do whatever it is they do with them to print packaging. They don't like PDFs for some reason…

    Anyway, I think I'll install CS4 and 5 both just to be sure.

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