Just when you think you've heard the stupidest question ever...

I come along and ask this:

Do you need to keep CS2 and LR 1.1 on your PC if you've upgraded to CS3 and LR 2.0? I'd like to clear them out if not needed but with the luck I've had with CS2 and LR 1.1, I'm afraid doing so will unleash some prehistoric virus on my computer.

Thanks for humoring me.

Doesn't seem like a dumb question to me! I always wondered why Photoshop upgrades didn't clean up the old version, remove it from your program lists, etc.

I guess there might be some reason to keep old versions, but I haven't thought of it!

For PS at least, if you don't have any plug-ins that only run under the older versions, then it's safe to remove the old version.

I don't use LR, so hopefully someone else can answer that for you.

Bret,
I had the same concerns about going from LR 1.4 to 2.0. I downloaded and installed 2.0, then said a little prayer and un-installed LR 1.4. That was last week and so far absolutely no glitches.

Jim

I'll second Jim's results. I uninstalled 1.4 and 2.0 keeps working right along.

Craig has good advice. The biggest thing to watch out for is that you might have to re-install any third party plugins as well as any actions that you've saved or acquired (things like luminosity masks, etc.) . I would backup the "Presets" and "Plug-Ins" files from your previous versions before deleting them.

I seem to remember that when I installed LR 2, it un-installed 1.4? CS is different

Thanks for the answers, folks. I'll un-install the previous versions and hope for the best.

I think PS works best if you clean out the previous version before install of the new one, I think I still had the beta running and the final version didnt like it. As said it would be great if Adobe would have the new version do the cleanup for you!

I've kept CS2 on a separate internal hard drive partition after installing CS3. CS3 does not have ImageReady as part of the package anymore, and I depend on ImageReady for my website, so I was forced to keep CS2 or else take the time and energy to learn Dreamweaver, which I have heard has a learning curve similar to Photoshop. I have had zero problems keeping them both, although some webpages built in CS2 can have text that CS3 doesn't handle without coverting to current styles, it still isn't a problem.

The only reason you would need the older version on your PC is if for some reason you have to reinstall the new version. If it's an upgrade version, adobe searches for authorized past versions. If it doesn't find one, the new version most likely wont install. Just keep a copy of your old disk handy if the situation arises.

Jack

Thanks, Jack. Unfortunately I've lost my original copy of PS CS2. So, I guess I'll keep it installed on my PC.