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Photoshop Elements 2 (free?)
Dunnroamin
Posts: 2,437 Forum Member
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I've recently had to invest in a new PC, following the demise of my XP machine, which contained Photoshop Elements 2. It came on a "give away" disc with one of the many PC monthly magazines. I've had a new computer assembled, and was advised that Windows 7 was a better OS than Win 8. Unfortunately, I was told, it had not been possible to transfer everything from the defunct machine onto the Win 7 hard drive, PS Elements 2 being one of the items missing, and I seem to have mislaid (or lost) the free CD, so can't install it onto my new pc. Naturally, I went onto Google to download it afresh from one of the many sites but couldn't distinguish the PS Elements 2 download from all the other "offers". These sites seem to deliberately surround PS with lots of other downloads just to confuse. One of the sites I opened was Cnet because, in the past, I have found it straight forward to download stuff, but this time, what I thought was the "free" PS2, turned out to be one of the chargeable PS Elements. I need this version of PS because I am used to it and haven't got an alternative programme to edit and "doctor" some photos I want to print. Can anyone suggest a website for the free version and how to separate it from all the other offers.
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Dang! I cannot remember the last time Adobe (apart from Reader & Flash) gave good stuff away for free. I guess you could try free alternatives such as Gimpshop (do not go near Gimp - you have been warned), Picasa, Paint.net, Picmonkey or there's the bare bones editions of Adobe Photoshop Express out there but be wary of the download source.
I have an original disk of Elements 2.0 and have made a copy for you, which I've tested in W7 and it works just the same as the original. PM me with your name and address and I'll post it to you for free.
i was thinking what is wrong with Gimp, it is flipping good.
A friend of mine who is a graphic designer uses Photoshop on her Mac and is not happy about the subscription. The problem is, Adobe know they got the market. she is looking at other software, but very little choice on the Mac, so she may be stuck with using her old version of Photoshop.
I can understand how Adobe sees it, you get a update every time the software is updated, but it does get expensive after a couple of years.
The only chance is maybe to find the magaine disk it came on, or try and buy that disk on Ebay.
Buying Elements itself on Ebay is also possible. I've seen Elements 3.0 for £6
^^^ That post gets a 10/10 from me and that is certainly a most gentlemanly thing to do, evil c.
Pixelmator £22.99 https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pixelmator/id407963104?mt=12&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
or
Serif Affinity Photo, https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/ currently free beta test eventually circa £35
cheers for that I will pass on the info, Not sure if anything can replace Photoshop for the professional to be honest and they know that.
There you have it, Gimp will do for most people, the only thing that annoyed me with Gimp was the separate windows on the desktop, now they can be combined.
For a Windows user looking for a legit free alternative, Paint.net is your best option IMO.
Thanks for your more than generous offer, and thanks to all others who offered suggestions. Glad to say I have tracked down the missing disc hiding away amongst other magazine cover giveaways. D.
My copy of PS2, as I think I said earlier, was supplied by one of the monthly computer magazines of a few years ago as a free offer. It has a code number, which I punched in after installing the programme. This was accepted, so I'm up and running. The only thing that seems not to be available, and I'm not sure why, is a reference to some sort of Help, but I'm not too bothered, because everything else seems to be OK
What happened next was the download links and keys got shared publicly and several tech sites blindly published articles claiming Adobe had made several products abandonware without actually asking Adobe for a statement.
In your case you have a product key from a legit source. The version you have may be limited in some way and the removal of help implies it is provided "as is". I've had a few old games that were provided in a similar way on cover disks.