Photoshop CS2: Your Adobe Photoshop user name, organization, or serial number is missing or invalid.

DG
Posted By
Don_Gray
May 31, 2005
Views
11205
Replies
43
Status
Closed
I searched this PS CS topic:

<http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/326496.html>

And did the regedit procedure, the PS.sif file is in the Required folder and I set the Adobe LM Service is set to automatic, but I’m still getting the, "Your Adobe Photoshop user name, organization, or serial number is missing or invalid.
The application cannot continue and must now exit." error message. If I uninstall the program and reinstall it works fine, but if I don’t access Photoshop CS2 for some time (week or more, not sure) I then get this error code again and must uninstall and reinstall to get the program to open normally.

Has this been addressed since PS CS1?
Are other still having the problem with PS CS2?

Don

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ML
Michael Lougee
May 31, 2005
I got a similar message last night, after months of using CS2, on Windows XP, successfully for months. Darn Frustrating…

I haven’t (yet) done an uninstall/reinstall, partly because there might(must) be a better way, partly because I have the CS2 *upgrade* and I’m worried that if I uninstall, it’ll be dumb enough to think it shouldn’t install at all, because there’s no *previous* version on the disk, since I’ve unstalled everything. Then I’m even more stuck, perhaps.

ALso, I want to put this CS2 on a new second computer, but when I tried that, it asked where the "prior" version of PS was, since I now have the CS2 *upgrade* version. I never had PS on this new laptop (a Tecra M4 tablet, very nice… I’m looking forward to PS on a Tablet, using the pen a lot, etc). Anyone have ideas for this issue? Do I need to go back a few versions (maybe PS5 or 5) when there was a *full* version, not an upgrade?
BH
Bobby_Henderson
Jun 1, 2005
Just a dumb question: do you have any of the previous CDs?

I’m kind of a packrat I guess, having all my previous Photoshop (and other Adobe app) discs -even my old Photoshop 2.5 floppies. I had to keep them around since one version to the next seems more and more tricky in validating upgrades. Versions 3, 4 and 5 were easy. The 5 to 5.5 upgrade was tricky. And then my 5.5 to 6 disc wouldn’t work right. I had to load the version 4 CD to get 6 to validate the media. Wierd.
TW
Tom_w._Parker
Jun 2, 2005
Potential problem….
After purchasing CS upgrade…i sold my PS7 to cover some of the cost of the upgrade. What happens if i have to do a re-install. Since PS7 is gone will i have problems?
S
Sepen
Jun 2, 2005
You sure will – both legal and technical. Using one version to upgrade to the next means the second one is sort of an add-on to the first. You canΒ’t legally sell the first one…

YouΒ’ll have to contact Adobe if you ever need to reinstall and find out how sympathetic they are because you wonΒ’t be able to on your own n ow and they are under no real obligation to help you with this since you broke the license rules. πŸ™
I
ID._Awe
Jun 2, 2005
Nobody reads a EULA!
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 2, 2005
This is standard across the industry, an upgrade is an upgrade to a previous version, locking the new version to the previous license.

No responses yet to the original post?
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
…i sold my PS7 to cover some of the cost of the upgrade. What happens if i have to do a re-install. Since PS7 is gone will i have problems?

you’ll only have problems if ps7 was the full version. if it was an upgrade from a previous version you should be ok.

No responses yet to the original post?

have you tried to reinstall right over the previous installation?
BL
Bob Levine
Jun 2, 2005
you’ll only have problems if ps7 was the full version. if it was an upgrade from a previous version you should be ok.

Maybe not technical problems, but it’s still a clear violation of the EULA.

Bob
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 2, 2005
No, there is no option to reinstall over the original install, though there is the option to repair, but that doesn’t fix the problem. Uninstalling and reinstalling works.
I’m looking for a complete fix so I don’t need the work around of uninstalling and reinstalling.

Thanks,
Don
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
what do you mean "no option"? pop the disk in and run setup. select the same folder.

but it’s still a clear violation of the EULA.

I don’t see it as being so clear.
BL
Bob Levine
Jun 2, 2005
All upgrades become a part of the latest license. It’s quite clear, actually.

Bob
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 2, 2005
"what do you mean "no option"? pop the disk in and run setup. select the same folder."

Dave,
Do you have CS2?
Once the program is installed the only options to run from the setup disk are "repair" and "remove".

Don
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
hmm… haven’t tried it. yea, i have cs 2.
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 2, 2005
Just happened again and I reinstalled and used it yesterday. Guess I’d better find the official bug report form.
JJ
John Joslin
Jun 2, 2005
If you trade in your old Harley in part exchange for a new one, you wouldn’t expect to be able to sell it.

If you used your Version 7 to upgrade to a later version you have no right to sell it either.
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
If you used your Version 7 to upgrade to a later version you have no right to sell it either.

right… IF the version 7 was the full version.

if version say – 6 – was the full version and version 7 was an upgrade to 6 and you keep 6 but sell the version 7 upgrade, i don’t see a problem with that, as you can go from 6 directly to cs2 just as easily as you can go from 6 to 7 upgrade to cs upgrade to cs2 upgrade.
RM
Rick Moore
Jun 2, 2005
Dave, you can sell the media but it’s against the EULA, you definitely can’t transfer the license because you don’t have it anymore.



Rick Moore
Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects
www.bgkarchitects.com
BL
Bob Levine
Jun 2, 2005
Sorry, Dave.

You can’t do it, legally. Once you get a 7.0 upgrade you still only have one license. Now you get CS, you’re actually upgrading from 7.0 and now have a CS license. When you upgrade to CS2 you still only have one license. You can sell just a part of it.

Bob
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
bah!
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
When you upgrade to CS2 you still only have one license. You can’t sell just a part of it.

centered around the original full version. everything else is fluff.

dave (who has his full ver and all his upgrade disks. no you can’t have them. shoo. go away.)
BL
Bob Levine
Jun 2, 2005
Every upgrade license replaces the prior one.

Bob
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
see post #19. πŸ™‚
BL
Bob Levine
Jun 2, 2005
Nobody reads post 19. πŸ˜‰

Bob
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 2, 2005
heh!
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 3, 2005
I’ve had this same problem, "invalid or missing serial number," repeatedly. I’ve now had to completely uninstall then re-install CS2 four times in less than a month. Adobe customer service had me download a second copy of the upgrade but that didn’t fix the problem.

Has anyone found the solution to this problem?
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 3, 2005
I did send a bug report using the Adobe form so at least they are getting more feedback on the problem.

Don
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 5, 2005
I’m wondering if the fact that I always selected to never register on this machine that is problem. I think someone mentioned that above.
I did just register on this install so I’ll see if that is it.
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 5, 2005
It’s not registration, I registered the first time I installed CS2, and have registered again with each re-installation. I am now having to re-install the application for the sixth time – it would be nice if someone at Adobe would respond on this issue.
JJ
John Joslin
Jun 5, 2005
it would be nice if someone at Adobe would respond on this issue.

I don’t think they will here. This is a user to user forum.

I think registration is only needed once if it is stored on Adobe’s database.

Activation and Re-activation are something else.

All the people here with problems seem to have different symptoms, so it’s hard to recommend anything.

One poster has been using CS2 "for months", so I sincerely hope the others are not of that ilk!

Caveat Pirata
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 7, 2005
I spent an hour on the phone with Adobe tech support this afternoon and may have finally got an answer.

It may be as simple as the necessity to enter some text in the "Organization" slot along with your user name and serial number. But maybe not.

He was concerned that my spyware removal program was erasing my license – which sounds reasonable – but disabling the spyware application before reinstalling didn’t fix anything.

In the end I had to remove the folders in my PC registry that store the licensing info before re-installing. I am going to wait a few days to see if the problem really has been fixed; if it has I will identify the folders I had to remove – it doesn’t seem like a good idea to have you messing with the registry if this isn’t the right fix after all.
DG
Don_Gray
Jun 7, 2005
Yeah, Tim, I’d like to know if you found the fix.
I thought maybe since I hadn’t registered on this machine, maybe that was it. But, I have just discovered that the problem has now come up again. I’m not totally sure but think I should have entered information in the organization field before registering.
DA
Doug_Austin
Jun 8, 2005
I have the same problem–and have been advised by tech support to uninstall/re-install FOUR SEPARATE TIMES NOW! All to no avail. They are out of suggestions. Except for the NUCLEAR OPTION: format the hard drive and start from scratch. Here are particulars: I have a 2.1GHz Athlon processor, ASUS board, 1 gig RAM. The machine works great on everything else, including CS1. But CS2, when funcional (between these "missing user name" messages)runs very slowly. Simple cloning/healing brush steps lag behind, painting on layer masks also lags, virtually every operation is slow. Not so in CS1. I really can’t use it like this even if it didn’t keep failing to load. Adobe Tech support has no other options. I have a support doc (326496) that suggests a few alternatives, particularly reinstalling CS2 in a DIFFERENT folder, which I’ll try next time. So far, a big thumbs DOWN for CS2. Too buggy.
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 8, 2005
This is the solution that has so far worked for me:

Un-install PhotoshopCS2 without saving your preferences; there is a chance that your preference files have been corrupted. You may have to follow the steps in Adobe Technical Document 330507 (search for that number at the web site) to make sure you have completely removed the application. That document refers to the manual removal of Photoshop 8, but I was told you can apply it to CS2 (which is version 9). In my case there was still a PhotoshopCS2 entry when I opened the "Add/Remove" programs window even after I had uninstalled it. It was the following step that cleared it out and also stopped the error. (I did not do the steps in that tech document, by the way, only the following.)

Edit your PC registry with regedit and locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE. Click the "+" box next to "SOFTWARE" to list all its folders then delete the folder named "Macrovision" that you find there. It contains a subfolder "SafeCast" which contains a *.dat file which is supposed to record the PhotoshopCS2 license info. Make sure you delete the folder named "Macrovision" and NOT "Macromedia" (if you have that one, too). Close the regedit window.

Open Windows Explorer (or your whatever application you use to view and manage the folders on your hard drive). Look in "C:Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/Macrovision" and delete that "Macrovision" folder (along with all its contents and subfolders) as well. This was the location where my tech support person expected to find the licensing files but mine were only in the registry – I had no Macrovision folder in the "Application Data" folder.

Reboot Windows to reset the registry, then install Photoshop CS2 again. This time be sure to enter some text for "Organization" as well as your user name and serial number. Decline the Adobe web site registration (I had already registered and you probably have, too).

My CS2 has been loading fine ever since. However, this time around I cannot find any references to "Macrovision" or "SafeCast" anywhere in my registry or on my hard drive so I am concerned that things my not really be fixed after all. CS2 may simply think I am in the 30 day trial-use period (even though I entered my serial number and it accepted it) and will boot me out again in a month. I will let you know.

I hope this works for you.

One more note. My tech support person mentioned that installing CS2 on any drive besides C: can cause problems (although there is no problem in having your image files and scratch files on other drives). He also recommended disabling your anti-virus application before installation (you can turn it on again after installation is complete). I did not have to do that, though.
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Jun 9, 2005
I have both CS and CS2 installed on my D drive without any noticeable problems.
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 10, 2005
Update – I am getting the error about invalid SN again – my fix didn’t work after all. Back to tech support by telephone tomorrow morning.
AL
Andre_Lagounaris
Jun 10, 2005
Same message here. I re-installed CS(8) and it so far it is working fine. My question is: I installed the whole suite, so are the other apps going to do the same or is it only Photoshop?
Hope somebody find the CURE.
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 11, 2005
Next round. Today the tech support person said the problem was probably caused by licensing data bleeding through from a previous version of Photoshop. He had me do a Manual Removal of both CS (version 8) – Tech Document #330507 – and CS2 (version 9)- Tech Document #331405. In the process I discovered that in fact there was residue left over from version 7 as well as CS and CS2 still lurking on my hard drive and in my registry. After cleaning all that out I then re-installed CS2; this time he had me call customer support to "manually" unlock the application instead of using an already installed older version or the disk from an older version. I am up and running yet again – I hope for good. (Also, I disabled my Anti-virus and my Spyware before reinstalling CS2, just to be safe.)

A note on the where to install Photoshop: My previous post was not completely accurate. What the tech person told me was that installing the application on a removeable hard drive that gets disconnected and reconnected can cause problems – he didn’t say it had to be installed on drive C:.
TM
Tim_MacKay
Jun 11, 2005
I don’t know what that smiley face is doing there – it’s supposed to read version eight, not version smiley face. Is someone out there laughing at me? πŸ™‚
I
ID._Awe
Jun 11, 2005
πŸ˜‰
DM
dave_milbut
Jun 11, 2005
we’re not lauging at you, we’re laugh… hmm… well yea, i guess we’re laughing at you. πŸ˜‰

<kidding!>
U
undressedmonster
Jul 4, 2005
seems its been almost a month since anyone has tried anything to fi this.

Any news from those who have called adobe


undressedmonste
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D
deathdaemon
Jul 7, 2005
Well after a weekend and two days of wondering what the heck was goin on, heres the fix:

First off the problem can be caused by an error in the registry by bad sector, if thats the case you want to defrag or reformat. Now i you have a registry cleaning program like System Mechanic, or VCO SystemSuite, ETC you are deleting a key that the the cleaning program think photoshop does not need. You need to not, or protect thi registry key from being corrupted or deleted from these programs *[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion >Uninstall>{236BB7C4-4419-42FD-0409-1E257A25E34D}]
Now you can go ahead and turn the Adobe LM Service off or back t manual. This fixed my problem with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and my VCO SystemSuite Professional 6 deleting that key.

Edit: Also I did NOT notify Adobe on this, so whoever would b ablidged, please note my e-mail to them πŸ˜€ Thanks


deathdaemo
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M
mehboobalamgir
Sep 20, 2013
On Wednesday, June 1, 2005 4:36:19 AM UTC+5, Michael Lougee wrote:
I got a similar message last night, after months of using CS2, on Windows XP, successfully for months. Darn Frustrating…

I haven’t (yet) done an uninstall/reinstall, partly because there might(must) be a better way, partly because I have the CS2 *upgrade* and I’m worried that if I uninstall, it’ll be dumb enough to think it shouldn’t install at all, because there’s no *previous* version on the disk, since I’ve unstalled everything. Then I’m even more stuck, perhaps.

ALso, I want to put this CS2 on a new second computer, but when I tried that, it asked where the "prior" version of PS was, since I now have the CS2 *upgrade* version. I never had PS on this new laptop (a Tecra M4 tablet, very nice… I’m looking forward to PS on a Tablet, using the pen a lot, etc). Anyone have ideas for this issue? Do I need to go back a few versions (maybe PS5 or 5) when there was a *full* version, not an upgrade?

i need serial key

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