I am running 10.5.5 on a MacBook Pro. I now have Photoshop CS3 on the MBP. My Photoshop CS4 upgrade DVD just showed up in the mail, and I can’t wait to use it.
I would like to install CS4, retain the preferences and presets from CS3 (Photoshop, Bridge, Camera Raw), and get rid of CS3 from my hard drive.
I was unable to find directions on the DVD, Adobe’s site, or the forum. I found references to the importance of uninstalling CS3 first before installing CS4 (installing CS4 first and then uninstalling CS3 supposedly would remove some support files required by CS4 and require the reinstallation of CS4).
But if I were to uninstall CS3 before installing CS4, how would the CS4 installer be able to find evidence of CS3 on my MBP, which I presume would be required for the upgrade to work? And, how would I be able to retain my preferences and presets from the Photoshop, Bridge, and Camera Raw in CS3?
I realize from reading some of the posts here that some people prefer to have both CS3 and CS4 on their computers, and others want to only have CS4. I am in the latter camp.
Thank you in advance for your help. I appreciate any advice or suggestions.
The upgrade is actually a full installer. If it does not find a previous copy installed, it will simply prompt you for the old serial number as well as the new one.
That was a very long post for such a simple question. 😀
Preference files are not transferable to new versions, as they are often not compatibles. You will have to re-set some, most ot all of your preferences, I’m not sure, as I kept CS3.
I found references to the importance of uninstalling CS3 first before installing CS4
No, not true. You can have either CS3 or CS4 installed. Or you can have both CS3 and CS4 installed. Or you can uninstall CS3 later. But, if you have CS4 on your system and then wish to install CS3, then you need to first uninstall CS4.
Thank you Neil and Ramón for your prompt responses.
Ramón, thanks for letting me know that I only need CS3’s serial number, not its physical installation, to upgrade to CS4. I wasn’t aware of that.
And let me just reconfirm with Neil: uninstalling CS3 after installing CS4 doesn’t mess up the CS4 installation, correct? Also, do I need to first deactivate CS3 before running the uninstaller?
I apologize if I seem to be overly careful. Just don’t want to waste people’s time answering unclear questions.
Nothing gets messed up as long as you use the CS3 uninstaller utility. And you don’t have to deactivate CS3 first, but it might make it a bit easier should you need to install it again on another machine.
Nothing gets messed up as long as use the CS3 uninstaller utility. And you don’t have to deactivate CS3 first, but it might make it a bit easier should you need to install it again on another machine.
Neil when CS3 came out you had to already have CS2 installed in order to have both CS3 and Cs2 installed side by side on a system.
I had to reinstall Premiere Pro and InDesign CS3 on my system which already had CS4 installed and there was no problem doing the install.
Having written that it may be due to the fact that I installed CS 4 Master Collection and not CS 4 Creative Suites Design Premium although I cannot imagine why that would make a difference, as in the past having CS 3 installed prevented CS 2 from being installed whether it cam from Design Premium or the Production Premium installers.
So I think it is not longer necessary to uninstall one in order to install the other. However I would think CS 3 and CS 2 would still have that problem al though I have not tried it.
Neil when CS3 came out you had to already have CS2 installed in order to have both CS3 and Cs2 installed side by side on a system
As I understand, in general, any earlier version still wanted needs to be installed first. And there’s no need to uninstall an earlier version when installing a later Adobe product version.
InDesign and PremierePro CS 3 was installed on top of CS 4 with no problems at all.
They work fine as well. So the problem has been fixed, the installers for CS 4 have been improved greatly, you should have noticed that when installing CS4.
The installer has been improved greatly I know it for a fact.
Buko should not have to uninstall if running 10.5.5 on a MacPro though I have not heard the issue with a G5 but I do not have to uninstall CS 4 in order to install CS 3 and no one should have to as far as I know.
You should read the many irate messages on John Nack’s blog left as comments to the installer issue, John Nack himself has expressed privately some choice words about the guys responsible for the installers that he can’t say in public.
He asked them to write as guests on his blog, and there has been a flood of messages. John has characterized the installer as "a huge embarrassment to all of us".
I have the Master Collection installed Buko and the screen shot clearly indicates that I have ID and PPro CS 4 installed and CS 3 versions of those apps installed as well I assure you I did not have to uninstall anything to make this work and it was flawless.
There may be issues that some users have but this new installer is not the problem, I assure you also that if my system can handle this flawlessly then there should be no problem for anyone else as long as their system is up to date and running reasonable well.
I am now going to get my CS 3 Design Premium disk and install PS CS3 over the CS4 install.
And I really have a system that gets battered by some very strange behaving software, but that is something I do and allow deliberately.
It now appears I either logged in as a different user , did an archival reinstall of my system before install the CS programs or the installer will only allow you a one time install and you have either install everything or you have to install all the CS3 programs you intend with that one install.
That would mean I have uninstall the one of the programs of CS3 I have installed and reinstall that and photoshop CS3 at the same time.
Though CS4 install is much more robust there should be a way to install the last version as well. Eventually there will be no disk or even a download but there has to be a formula and reasonable policy for uses who need to use the current as well as the older version of Adobe software.
However no matter how or why this eventually manifest itself it does and I think it should not.
Wade I have CS, CS2, CS3 all coexisting just fine on my G5. All apps had to be installed in the order of the version released. Except CS you can install that anytime.