so am more confused now... my tech has said it is really difficult to do what I want with the reloading of my stuff on the refurb... and would I be able to reinstall my CS6 suite as I don't have discs as it was a download and it is no longer supported... gah! and the subscription for CC is $25 per month per piece ie: ai, ps. indesign $75 per month which is outrageous... and will it even open CS6 files ... I can't seem to get anyone to answer questions.... do I just give up and stop doing anything at all
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replacing dying 2010 27in iMac ... need to be able to use CS6 help?
- Thread starter Josephinestar
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Was your download of CS 6 from Adobe? I purchased Photoshop Elements 8 as a download from Adobe and still use it. I find it is all I need to color correct, retouch, etc. of images for my business. When my hard drive crashed I could not find the download on my backup drive to reinstall so I signed into the Adobe web site where it was listed as a purtchase, but could not find it. I used their support chat who sent me a link to download it. I believe if you purchased it online they should provide you a link to retrieve it.
But I also believe that Adobe CS6 - along with your other apps, your mail, etc - should migrate to your new computer if you use the OS X migration tool.
But I also believe that Adobe CS6 - along with your other apps, your mail, etc - should migrate to your new computer if you use the OS X migration tool.
thanks for that... I really didn't think it could be that hard.. I did find my discs for my CS suite but I think the new OS won't run it. I am going to have a go at perhaps the Affinity programs as an alternative to the Adobe as they should rethink being such greedy buggers and slugging people to subscribe monthly. cheers again for the help.
I would suspect the black screen of death is related to your aging AMD GPU. The 27" iMac 2010 is very versatile and mine is still hopping along quite well. Lots of these 2009 to 2011 iMac have these problems and there is even a thread on upgrading the dead GPU here : 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade, that covers all those iMacs.
Both the nVidia K1100M and the AMD WX4130 are ~$90. You will have a near brand new machine that run Catalina or even Big Sur, but of course you can still run CS6 in native High Sierra.
The iMac 2010, once opened up, requires only unscrewing 4 screws for changing the GPU.
There are videos in YouTube to do all these stuff.
Your iMac can still serve you for some years to come.
Time Machine restore or use of the Migration Assistant sourcing from a Time Machine drive would be able to restore 3rd party apps as well..
MacOS Mojave should run 32-bit apps like the CS Suite – if you choose a Mac originally released in 2018, it should be able run Mojave too.
CS6 does not run very well (poor performance) under Mojave and is not recommended by Adobe. Certain parts of the suite are unstable or do not fully function with Mohave.
If this helps
I have 2 late MacBook airs 2010 running Mojave (dosdude patch) and CS4 (from high sierra) but i have the Adobe dvds. I ran Mojave on the spare mbair which was already on the drive by a time machine back up.
If you have a time machine back up of CS6 from the iMac, you should be able to restore any other iMac or mac mini and use your sc6
If not, sorry
I have 2 late MacBook airs 2010 running Mojave (dosdude patch) and CS4 (from high sierra) but i have the Adobe dvds. I ran Mojave on the spare mbair which was already on the drive by a time machine back up.
If you have a time machine back up of CS6 from the iMac, you should be able to restore any other iMac or mac mini and use your sc6
If not, sorry
Hate to say it, but I think you're getting bad advice... not here... but from your "tech". Who is this "tech" telling you this and that? Don't assume they are giving you good information. Any idiot can be a "tech", yourself included. Our advice is based off of what you provide, if you leave something out, our advice is skewed. So even our offerings can be bad advice if we don't know the whole story.
The key thing you are after is this:
A machine capable of running the old Adobe CS6 suite. It runs best under High Sierra. So you don't want a machine that doesn't run High Sierra. Mojave is still possible but honestly not a plus in your case for a number of reasons.
The next key thing you are after is cost:
You don't explicitly state what your maximum budget is to resolve you current situation. If you are really that strapped for money... I mean really strapped, there may be no solution that you can afford. We can't offer options without knowing your upper limit. Only you know that number.
Keep in mind, switching to different software other than what you are used to comes at a price (price of the software, learning curve to adjust to it, hurdles to undergo trying to convert formats, etc). Some people make such adjustments easily... for others it's like trying to learn Latin overnight. What impact will such a transition have on you? Is this software used primarily as a hobby or required for your livelihood? Down time impacts the bottom line.
So first, make a choice, it's the toughest one... Are you willing to up and learn entirely new software that may or may not import work you have done in the past? Yes or no.
The last key thing is what you are currently using now:
Tell us exactly what your existing hardware space is. What computer, make/model, what OS you are running, RAM, GPU, storage (size), peripherals that you have attached to it (make/model) and how it is attached (USB, Firewire, et al).
If we know your budget, your choice about abandoning CS6 cold turkey, and what you currently have now... we can give you constructive advice.
P.S. If someone is offering to charge you $90 (above the cost of the machine) to install Mojave on a used machine before you purchase it... you are almost certainly paying more than you should for the machine itself. Don't buy anything from them.
Here is an example of my current setup (for OP to see what kind of info we would like to see):
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon R9 290X 3GB
3 Internal 1TB SATA HDD
1 Internal 4TB SATA HDD
27" Apple LED Cinema Display
Apple keyboard (USB)
Logitech M705 Marathon Mouse (Wireless/USB dongle)
HP LaserJet P2035n Printer (Ethernet)
Mojave Version 10.14.6
The key thing you are after is this:
A machine capable of running the old Adobe CS6 suite. It runs best under High Sierra. So you don't want a machine that doesn't run High Sierra. Mojave is still possible but honestly not a plus in your case for a number of reasons.
The next key thing you are after is cost:
You don't explicitly state what your maximum budget is to resolve you current situation. If you are really that strapped for money... I mean really strapped, there may be no solution that you can afford. We can't offer options without knowing your upper limit. Only you know that number.
Keep in mind, switching to different software other than what you are used to comes at a price (price of the software, learning curve to adjust to it, hurdles to undergo trying to convert formats, etc). Some people make such adjustments easily... for others it's like trying to learn Latin overnight. What impact will such a transition have on you? Is this software used primarily as a hobby or required for your livelihood? Down time impacts the bottom line.
So first, make a choice, it's the toughest one... Are you willing to up and learn entirely new software that may or may not import work you have done in the past? Yes or no.
The last key thing is what you are currently using now:
Tell us exactly what your existing hardware space is. What computer, make/model, what OS you are running, RAM, GPU, storage (size), peripherals that you have attached to it (make/model) and how it is attached (USB, Firewire, et al).
If we know your budget, your choice about abandoning CS6 cold turkey, and what you currently have now... we can give you constructive advice.
P.S. If someone is offering to charge you $90 (above the cost of the machine) to install Mojave on a used machine before you purchase it... you are almost certainly paying more than you should for the machine itself. Don't buy anything from them.
Here is an example of my current setup (for OP to see what kind of info we would like to see):
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon R9 290X 3GB
3 Internal 1TB SATA HDD
1 Internal 4TB SATA HDD
27" Apple LED Cinema Display
Apple keyboard (USB)
Logitech M705 Marathon Mouse (Wireless/USB dongle)
HP LaserJet P2035n Printer (Ethernet)
Mojave Version 10.14.6
thanks... I decided to go with the Catalina that was on it and try some new software... unfortunately right now I am wrestling with the migration of stuff from old mac.. thought I was doing ok but it feels like 1 step forward 2 back. I am interested that you have the 2010. that is what I had. iMac 2010 27" but the screen just kept going black on boot up and stayed that way.. it would come good for about 2 seconds and then black again. it was still functioning ok. Everyone I spoke to said it was just the age and they did it at that age and nothing could be done. My partner is looking at taking it on as a usable machine which he will hook up to his as his mail has crashed ...
and I am sorry for lack of details but if you did notice at the very beginning of this thread I did say .. not a geek... I am not really able to confidently give you lots of specs .. what I had was a 2010 27in iMac that had had an extra 4gb ram put in to help it along. it worked fine for me... now I have refurbed 2103 intel Quadcorei53.2GHZ/ 16GBRAm 512 SSD (NEW) and it is running OS Catalina... and I was doing ok getting things migrated onto it and looking at what software choices I would make but now I have this issue with Mail not wanting play nice. It is telling me that I have run out of application memory which is ludicrous. I have followed along a couple of fixes I have found but so far no good. it worked yesterday, I had access to mail but did a second lot transfering to get photographs onto iPhotos and it took out the mail .. sigh.. so again please forgive lack of experience... I use my mac for part time graphic work... it is not my main job anymore. I am happy to learn or try to learn a new program if it proves compatible with my files as I think adobe and their ridiculous costly subscription software sucks. cheers and thanks for your patience.
I don't know how extensive your use of Photoshop is, but it may be worth trying Photoshop Elements, the latest version is Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021. It is free to download and use for 30 days, so you can figure out if it is sufficient for your needs. It is normally $99, but a couple times a year it is on sale for $79. It is not a subscription, so no yearly fee. I have been using Photoshop Elements 8 for a number of years.
I went to Affinity for Photo/Illustration/Publishing.
If Adobe will not work to figure out an HONEST pay per use method, then they are dead to me. Adobe knows how often I launch each of their applications. If they billed me $5 each day I used an application from the Creative Suite, I'd spend way less than I would on their annual subscription.
You cannot be the MASTERS of the Creative Cloud, and then not have sophisticated pay per use metering. I'm not buying it.
If Adobe will not work to figure out an HONEST pay per use method, then they are dead to me. Adobe knows how often I launch each of their applications. If they billed me $5 each day I used an application from the Creative Suite, I'd spend way less than I would on their annual subscription.
You cannot be the MASTERS of the Creative Cloud, and then not have sophisticated pay per use metering. I'm not buying it.
I would say the 2010 is fixable. I have a 2011 that has been repeatedly disassembled for various upgrades and cleaning over the years. By the way it runs affinity great 
thanks Nathan .. have already taken the leap and gone with the refurb. I just couldn't find anyone interested in working on the older one. My partner is going to try and Frankenstein with his as it is still working just can't see anything but his has mail issues so he is going to try and use it. I am happy with what I got and also jumped and bought affinity as they had software on sale so now am going to be doing a crash course in figuring it all out. while I am here any thoughts on security? was wondering about getting something .. do I need it? have just received my first very unpleasant graphic porn email which the spam will now pick up but that is a first and has never happened before.I would say the 2010 is fixable. I have a 2011 that has been repeatedly disassembled for various upgrades and cleaning over the years. By the way it runs affinity great
Does anyone run extra security and if so do you have a preference?
Oh I so agree with you. I just don't see how this subscription based pricing can be sustainable long term and I desperately hope it bites them in the arse for being such greed driven monsters. I think I will like the affinity once I get my head around it and I love that I got it on Sale. The new process in itunes is the same it is driving me bonkus. I just want to buy something but you can't even search for something, it just keeps offering you the option of the free 3 month trial to take over your life... pft no thanks. I mean they must think everyone lives on $150,000.oo a year. sorry not even an iddy biddy bit of that.
thanks but photoshop is really the least of my concern... I mean I do use it but am more about illustrator and indesign. I have clients I create illustrator files for to use for laser cutting. I was editing an art newsletter etc.. so photoshop was part of that but not my main thing as I am not a photographer but a painter and illo person.
I agree wholeheartedly on subscription software... it's a boon for the software company it's a bane for the end user. Sorry, but you could spend X for the software and run it for a decade easily and have spent 1/100th the cost in the end over that of a subscription.
Sadly these tech companies are becoming behemoths these days... taking over so much of our lives... and to think back in the day they thought Ma Bell (Bell Telephone) was a threat to society... Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple... these guys are 10,000 times worse at manipulation and they are seen as Saints.
What a world we live in.