Photoshop CS2 help

Wondering if any other members have had a similar situation and how it was handled:
We have two desktop PCs, both with Photoshop CS. I just bought the upgrade to CS2, loaded it on one computer and activated.
We have now decided to replace that computer with a brand new machine.
Here's where my confusion starts:
I understand that in CS2 under Help there's a Transfer Activation option. I have not used this (and right now I am not near the machine so I can't see what might happen) yet, but am wondering if anyone has, and whether not having the new machine yet makes any difference. Does the activation just sort of hang in the ether zone until you tell it to activate once a new machine is fired up?
I didn't want to load/activate CS2 on the second machine until I figured this out since Adobe only allows two activations.
Here's the second part of the dilemma: Will I have to load Photoshop from scratch on the new machine. That is, load PS7, which was our first full version, then CS upgrade, then CS2 upgrade, activating each? Or do I load PS7, then CS2?
Any help, preferably in the form of step-by-step tips, would be much appreciated.

cheers,
jim

My understanding is that you can have the software loaded on as many machines as you like, but only two can be activated at once. Indeed, I believe Adobe encourage this as a form of flexibility - if you have access to multiple machines, I believe you can move the activations around to suit.


I believe that when you Transfer Activation, the activation key is removed and the 'credit' (if you like) is returned to the activation server. You can either reactivate the same machine, or activate a new machine. I'd Transfer Activation at the last possible moment, then activate the new machine as soon as you install.

I've only done a Transfer Activation once - on Acrobat 7.0 Professional - and I then didn't reinstall the software on the intended machine. It's sat in the cupboard uninstalled. I may sell that copy of Acrobat (with the appropriate Adobe paperwork) rather than reinstall it. My workstation and laptop have Creative Suite 2 Premium installed and activated on them, which includes Acrobat 7.0 Professional - one copy, as I'm the only CS2 user.


I believe that if you don't Transfer Activation, the activation remains on the machine - you can reinstall the software and it will be activated. I think you have to do something pretty drastic (reformat the hard disk) to lose the activation.

If you are unsure how to proceed, contact Adobe - I believe they offer free support for activation issues. I had no problem getting free support in the UK when I reported a bug in Illustrator CS2.

David

David ... thanks for the advice ... I had thought that's what might happen, but needed to know for sure.

cheers,
jim

The thing to do is make sure you Transfer Activation before uninstalling. If you don't, you have to reinstall the software to get at the Transfer Activation feature.

Once you've used Transfer Activation, the software is immediately deactivated - you don't get a new 30 day "grace period", even if you didn't use the original one. You can run the software to confirm deactivation before uninstalling.


I don't know if the serial number hangs around in the registry (on Windows) or similar - be careful if you're disposing of the machine that the serial number isn't left hanging around.

David

Thanks again, David. On that last issue, we are keeping the older computer and using it to expand our network.

cheers,
jim