The following content was officially published on Adobe's website after the activation server for Macromedia branded products was disabled. It is archived here for historical preservation. You may also find a snapshot of the original page on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine: Adobe: Error, "Unable to Activate" in Macromedia legacy products.
Adobe disabled the activation server for several Macromedia branded products:
- Captivate (version 1.0)
- Contribute (version 2.0 and 3.0)
- Flash Paper (version 2.0)
- FreeHand MX
- Director MX 2004
- Dreamweaver MX 2004
- Fireworks MX 2004
- Flash MX 2004
- Macromedia Studio MX 2004
If you install these products, the activation fails and give an error:
The software was unable to activate due to network problems. Please check your Internet connection and try again.
If this condition persists, please try again later or activate by telephone.
(•) Try connecting again
( ) Activate over telephone
Follow these steps to correct the error:
- Select the "Activate over telephone" option to toggle your screen temporarily. On the next screen, click "You can also activate over the Internet" link at the bottom to return to the Enter Your Serial Number screen.
- When prompted, enter a new serial number.
Select the appropriate serial number from the list below and enter it in the serial number field. Remember this serial number for future reference.
| Product | Platform | Serial Number |
|---|---|---|
| Captivate 1.0 | Win | CAD100-56042-68297-35422 |
| Contribute 2.0 | Mac | CTD200-58042-60375-59091 |
| Contribute 2.0 | Win | CTD200-58042-60375-59091 |
| Contribute 3.0 | Mac | CTD300-57733-52324-08489 |
| Contribute 3.0 | Win | CTD300-57733-52324-08489 |
| FlashPaper 2.0 | Win | FPD200-52016-69247-71242 |
| Director MX 2004 | Win | DRD100-50836-87264-59396 |
| Director MX 2004 | Mac | DRD100-50836-87264-59396 |
| Dreamweaver MX 2004 | Mac | DWD700-56626-60325-58074 |
| Dreamweaver MX 2004 | Win | DWD700-56626-60325-58074 |
| Fireworks MX 2004 | Mac | FWD700-59515-38218-96725 |
| Fireworks MX 2004 | Win | FWD700-59515-38218-96725 |
| Flash MX 2004 | Mac | FLD700-59705-99286-82099 |
| Flash MX 2004 | Win | FLD700-59705-99286-82099 |
| Freehand MX | Mac | FHD110-58402-67227-68568 |
| Freehand MX | Win | FHD110-58402-67227-68568 |
| Macromedia Studio MX 2004 | Win | WSD700-53923-79263-98262 |
| Macromedia Studio MX 2004 | Mac | WSD700-53923-79263-98262 |