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-   -   Adobe CS2 and backing up (https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313)

swampy 04-29-2005 12:37 PM

Adobe CS2 and backing up
 
I have been trying to get help on the Adobe Forums regarding doing cloned backups of my hard drive that include the Adobe Creative Suite 2. Adobe has implemented a new activation procedure for the Macintosh CS2 programs that apparently identifies the HARD DRIVE (NOT the computer serial/id number) to which the applications have been installed at the time of activation and registration. Apparently there is also a provision to "deactivate" a CS2 installation as well. Kinda like authorizing/deauthorizing iTunes.

I haven't installed CS2 yet, but my concern is that in moving from Panther to Tiger, I know I will want to do a SuperDuper bootable clone of the new Tiger "archive and install" from my primary hard drive. (I will have a full Panther bootable clone on a different external drive.)

Adobe's licensing allows for two copies of CS2 to be installed (2 separate computers, but apparently not two separate drives), but they may not be used at the same time. Fine with me, but I anticipate working in both Tiger and Panter until I'm comfortable that Tiger is working okay and recognizing printers, fonts etc. I may have to delay to fully move to Tiger if certain tools and applications (Extensis Suitcase etc.) are not yet compliant with Tiger.

The only response I have received from the Adobe forums regarding this was a suggestion that I not clone the Adobe software, but instead deactivate the original installation delete it from the hard drive then reinstall it from CD. The problem with this is having to keep track of all the custom brushes, swatches, third party plug ins / filters, templates, presets, actions etc. that will need to be replaced for each application!!!

I'm not looking to circumvent copy protection or pirate copies of Adobe's software. I also know that there are going to be glitches, crashes and perhaps a desire to reformat or repartition my primary hard drive down the road, but even Apple strongly suggests that before installing a new OS or major software that you BACK UP EVERYTHING! Apple and third party developers offer tools to make this a fairly painless procedure.

And what if the hard drive crashes (unrecoverable) without me being able to deactivate the current copy of CS2??? I'm very uncomfortable with all this.

Anybody else anticipate problems down the road for backing up Adobe stuff?

swampy

dnanian 04-29-2005 12:42 PM

Hm. Well, if you use a Safety Clone and put Tiger on that (see my caveats about this elsewhere in the forum), the activation will likely be "OK", because it'll be on the original drive. I know this works with Macromedia's stuff, and it should work with Adobe too.

There's not much we can do other than complain to Adobe -- and other companies that do this kind of hardware-based lockdown -- that it's incredibly inconvenient for the user. Drives me nuts too.

I understand their concerns about piracy -- there are HUGE numbers of people pirating SuperDuper!, despite its reasonable cost -- but I just don't think this is a good way for them to go about dealing with it.

swampy 04-29-2005 01:03 PM

Dave

Trust me, I've complained. <grin>.

It just makes little sense to me that Adobe would attach the authorization to a hard drive. Hard drives fail, get replaced, reformatted. Geez. A computer's serial number/ID is more permanent.

I'm wondering if I could deactivate the CS2 applications, make a smart backup then reactivate the original. This in essence allows for cloning all the presets, brushes, third party filters etc (the application's "data"). as an unactivated copy. If I should ever need to clone back to the original hard drive, deactivate the original, perform the restore clone then reactivate the "cloned back" application. I just don't know if this would work, but it would be a heck of a lot easier than trying to round up all the applications' data and get it all put back in the right places within the applications.

Thanks for the reply.

swampy

dnanian 04-29-2005 04:24 PM

It should work, of course, but you'd still be activated when you re-activate... in other words, it doesn't really offer any advantage.

I think, when you restore, you're going to be able to re-activate, and if it doesn't let you, you'll be able to contact Adobe to get another activation. Annoying, but there it is until they change their stupid policy.


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