I am having trouble installing Fireworks 3.

We recently began having major trouble with our family computer. It got so bad that we basically had to wipe out everything and get a whole new hard drive. So, of course, I have to go back and install all of the programs that were lost.

I bought Fireworks 3 off of Ebay about two years ago. I had it installed on the computer and everything worked fine. It was running on Windows XP (which is what we still have). Tonight I decided to re-install it on the computer. It’s one of the last things that I have yet to install.

When I put in the disk, it ran the install program like usual. But when I got to the “enter product serial number” screen, I had a problem. It said that the serial number I entered was not valid. It said to enter the sereal number that is printed on the customer support card. There is a card that came with the program that basically talks about how you can get free customer service by registering so I assume that would be the customer support card. The same number that is printed on that card is also printed on the sleeve that the CD is in. I tried entering it about five different ways (with spaces, no spaces, with dashes, capital and lower case). Why is it saying the number is not valid? Is there a different number that I should be using, and if so, where is it? The version that I got is an “educational version”. The auction said that since it is an educational version, it could only be sold to someone who is attending college or works in the educational business. Since I was/am in college, and my mother teaches at a college, I assumed it would be alright to get the educational version. I don’t know if that has anything to do with why it won’t install, but I had no trouble installing it the first time.

Any suggestions?

I wonder if it’s a time-sensitive install key? Try setting your computer clock back about two years and see if that makes any difference. It’s a long shot, but it’s all I got.

Take a look at these …

Troubleshooting Dreamweaver and Fireworks serial numbers

Serial number not accepted

If all else fails, call Macromedia Tech support.

Thanks so much! One of those links recommended leaving out the first three letters of the sereal number (FWW) and that seemed to work.