Installing CS4 on new laptop

[Veralisa]

When installing PS CS4 as an upgrade on a new laptop, do I also install CS and CS2 prior?
Thanks.

[friiskiwi]

When you upgrade a product, you usually loose the registration of the model you upgraded from. So if you upgraded from CS2 you won't be able to use CS2 any more. But if you had a working copy of CS2 and CS, you should still be able to use CS. I find that you can install Photoshop on 2 computers for each license. Hope this is of help.

[Chain]

You shouldn't have to install CS or CS2 before installing the CS4 upgrade. The "upgrade" is just the license type; the installation is the full independent program. It will however ask for the serial key to the version you are upgrading from (to prove that you have it).

[Veralisa]

Thanks for answering friiskiwi & Chain...It (CS4) came in the mail today and I'm hoping to have it up & running before CS5 debuts. I'm a bit of a technophobe and tend to put off doing things like this for fear of...what, I do not know. I'll let you know how I do.

PS:friiskiwi, your scanned rose done in blue was so nice. There's a name for the art that's done in blueprint style, right off the bat can't think of it, but it's an old fashioned style in Early American art.

[friiskiwi]

Hi Veralisa
You are welcome, and Chain is quite right, you don't have to uninstall CS 2 or de-register it, you can run both at the same time if you wish, and have enough diskspace.
You will find quite a few changes from CS2, but it's just brilliant. Have fun, and the installation should give you any problems.
Glad you liked the rose, it's called Cyanotype. I found the instructions in a book, and I'm sure I copied them, but seem to have lost them for the time being.

[TommyO]

Veralisa,
Another option (and often a preference) is to unauthorize your previous version first. This allows you to install it on another PC later, give it away, whatever. Then uninstall it to ensure there are no leftovers. Then install your new version.

Before uninstalling, you should think about saving any presets, actions, brushes, etc. The default is for these to save themselves in standard Adobe folders. They can be easily moved. Many people like to always move them to a personal folder, then create shortcuts to point to them from the Adobe folders. This way you stand less of a chance of loosing them; then you can just move/copy the shortcuts as you upgrade.