Service Note

What's covered

What is activation?

• Activate and CS3, Acrobat 8, or older versions

Common causes of activation problems

• You have already activated on the authorized number of computers
• You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed)
• You get an error message when you try to activate Acrobat 9 on a Dell computer
• Your computer has undergone a major reconfiguration
• Your computer can’t connect to the activation site because of proxy problems
• Your computer is behind a firewall that blocks access to the activation site
• Error 93:-12 "Activation Unsuccessful" (CS2, Production Studio 1)
• Error: "Your computer's configuration appears to have changed" (Acrobat 7 and CS2)

STILL NEED HELP? If an agent is available for live chat, a Chat Now button appears to the top right. Otherwise, try our other support resources. Have your serial number ready. If you can't locate your serial number, see "Find a product serial number" (tn_15290). If your serial number doesn't work, see "Cannot install software, or serial number doesn't work" (cpsid_51791) 

What is activation? 

Activation is a mandatory process that associates the products you buy from Adobe with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect Adobe against unauthorized use and copying of its software. Activation entitles you to use your product on a primary computer and a secondary one, although not at the same time. If you attempt to install the product on a third computer without first deactivating it on another computer, you see an alert. 

• In  Acrobat 9 and CS 4 products, activation occurs silently in the background the first time the application detects an Internet connection. 

Note: If you are experiencing problems downloading Flash Player, go to the Flash Player support page.

• In Acrobat 8, CS 3, and earlier products, you choose the method of activation (Internet or phone). The license information is sent to Adobe through the method you select. After the license is verified, the product is activated and available for use. For instructions, see Activate CS3, Acrobat 8, or older versions.

Activation is not related to registration, an optional process. For more information, see "Adobe product registration FAQ."

Important: Adobe Systems does not gather, transmit, or use personal information about you during activation, other than your IP address.

Activate and CS3, Acrobat 8, or older versions

Activate over the Internet

When you first open or install your software, the Activation wizard appears.

1. Click the Activate Now button.
2. When you see the Activation Successful message, click the Next button.

Activate by telephone

Although it is faster to activate over the Internet, you can activate by phone.

1. When you call, be at your computer.
2. Have the activation number provided in the Activation screen ready to give to the Adobe representative. The representative will then give you an activation authorization code.

Common causes of activation problems 

You have already activated the product on the authorized number of computers 

If you have reached the limit of authorized activations, you can deactivate the product on one computer and reactivate on another. Alternatively, you can purchase another license.

You need an Internet connection to deactivate, and you cannot cancel the process after you start it.

Deactivate (Acrobat 9 and CS4 products) 

After you activate an Adobe product, the Deactivate option appears in the Help menu. Use this option to deactivate your product when you uninstall it. If the Deactivate option is dimmed, see You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed). 

Transfer activation (Acrobat 8, CS3, and earlier products)

You can transfer activation of your Adobe software from your original computer to a new computer. After you install the software on your new computer, you are asked to reactivate the software. At this time, uninstall the software from your older computer to comply with the license agreement. The uninstaller asks whether to transfer the activation, so that activation is available for another installation on another computer using the same serial number. 

1. From the Help menu, choose Deactivate to start the Deactivation wizard.
2. If you want to activate on another computer, select Erase My Serial Number From This Computer.
3. When you see the Deactivation Successful message, click the Exit button.

In most circumstances, this activation proceeds smoothly. Some older versions of Adobe software do not enable activation transfer. If you are using software that does not enable transfer, start a chat session from the main activation page.

Note: In a product suite, deactivation applies to all suite components. You can’t run any of the components until you reactivate. You can deactivate a product 20 times.

Buy another license

To go to the Adobe store, click "Buy a serial number for Creative Suite 4 [product] online." To enter a new serial number, click "I have a different serial number for this product and I am ready to enter and activate it now."

You cannot deactivate because the Deactivate option is unavailable (dimmed)

The option Help > Deactivate can be dimmed for the following reasons:

• You are trying to deactivate Acrobat 9 and it is part of the suite. Try to deactivate from another product in the suite.
• Your company purchased the product under a volume licensing agreement. In this case, the serial number is not associated with an activation count. The Deactivate option is not applicable, and you don’t need to deactivate.
• The activation failed (silently). Because the software was never activated, you can’t deactivate.

If you can’t resolve the problem, start a chat session from the main activation page.

You get an error message when you try to activate Acrobat 9 on a Dell computer

You sometimes see one of these two error messages when you try to activate Acrobat 9 Standard on a Dell computer running Windows. The message incorrectly claims that you have exceeded the activation count.

• "Sorry... Our records still indicate that this serial number has been used to set up and activate Acrobat Standard on 2 other machines, which is the maximum allowed..."
• "Excuse the interruption, but... Our records indicate that this serial number has been used to set up and activate Acrobat Standard on 2 other machines, which is the maximum allowed..."

Solution

Use the serial number that came with the Acrobat 9 Standard DVD media included with your Dell machine.

1. If you see the dialog box that begins with "Sorry...," click the Back button.
2. If you see the dialog box that begins with "Excuse the interruption but...," select the radio button "I have a different serial number for this product and I am ready to enter and activate it now." Then click Next.
3. Enter the serial number on the back of the Acrobat Standard DVD case.
4. Click Next. The activation should succeed.

Your computer has undergone a major reconfiguration

Crashes, minor reformatting, backups, and the like generally have no effect. Major changes, such as system upgrades or replacement of the hard drive, can cause activation problems. If you are denied activation after such a change, start a chat from the main activation page.

Your computer can’t connect to the activation site because of proxy problems

During the activation process, Adobe Creative Suite 4 uses a port to connect to the activation site at http://activate.adobe.com. The software uses this connection to confirm that the maximum number of activations has not been reached.

To determine whether you can connect to this site, “ping” the activation server:

Windows XP

1.Click Start > Run.

2.Type cmd in the Open box and then press Enter.

3.At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.

Windows Vista

1.Click Start, type cmd in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.

2.At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.

Mac OS

1.From the desktop, choose Go > Utilities.

2.Double-click Terminal.

3.At the prompt, type ping activate.adobe.com and press Enter.

You have access if this test returns the following string: activate.adobe.com (192.150.14.67.) (Ignore the other information returned.) 

If this test fails, configure proxy settings for Internet access in Network System Preferences. If you need assistance with this task, contact your Internet Service Provider or IT Administrator.

Your computer is behind a firewall that blocks access to the activation site 

Retail copies of Adobe Creative Suite 4 use TCP port 80 to activate. To complete activation successfully, configure software or hardware-based firewalls to use this port. Contact the software or hardware firewall manufacturer for configuration information or contact your IT Administrator.

 Error 93:-12: "Activation Unsuccessful" (CS2, Production Studio 1)

An "Activation Unsuccessful" screen appears with error code 93:-12 in the lower-left corner when you attempt to activate Creative Suite 2 (CS2) Standard or Premium, or Production Studio (1.0) over the Internet. Manual activation also fails.

Solution

Verify that you have installed the product with the serial number that came with the product.

If this solution does not solve the problem, contact Adobe Customer Service. They must send a file to correct the problem.

Error: "Your computer's configuration appears to have changed" (Acrobat 7, CS2)

When you start Acrobat 7 or an Adobe Creative Suite 2 product you see the error message, "Your computer's configuration appears to have changed since the time this product was activated. To continue using this product, please click OK to activate it again for your new system configuration, or click Cancel to exit." This problem is due to a RAID drive.

Solution

1. Download the Adobe License Management Patch 2.70.
2. Extract the contents of 270_patch.zip.
   
   Note: There are several ways to extract the contents, depending on the installed software. For Microsoft Windows,  double-click 270_patch.zip and drag the 270_patch folder to your desktop. For other extraction software, please refer to your software documentation for information.
    
3. Double-click almupd.
4. Start Acrobat 7 or the Adobe Creative Suite 2 product.