License reassignment problem

[CeaDawg]

This one is for HL in general. I tend to work on NPCs when I've got time away from an internet connection. Since patch release with the first of the source book bundles came out I've been having to reactivate HL frequently, usually between 5 and 7 start ups without an internet connection. These reactivations have not been associated with updates or patches. I've checked my system for hard drive issues, virii, and related platform issues that might cause this behavior and have found none. That leaves me with the program. I tried uninstalling it and reinstalling it over the weekend. This did not make a difference.

[Mathias]

CeaDawg, do you have HL installed on more than one computer?

If so, on each copy, go to the Help menu, choose "About Hero Lab", and look at the license number that's listed on that. What normally causes the problem you're describing is when someone uses the same license number for more than one computer, meaning that each time one of them is used, HL thinks you're trying to move that license to another computer.

To use HL on multiple computers, go to the License menu, choose "Obtain Secondary License" and follow those instructions. That will get you a free secondary license number that you can use on one of your computers, so that you can use your primary license number on only one of your computers. (That option is also where you can purchase the 3rd and 4th license numbers that are an option for HL).

[CeaDawg]

Have it on 4 machines, each with their own lic. no. (that was one of the things I checked first) only the machine that had the original installation on it is having this issue. HL has been reinstalled on it a total of 4 times now, but it is also the only machine that goes out and about and away from internet connections when the program is in use. The only time the reactivation issue is popping up is when I've had to start up HL multiple times without going back to someplace with internet. This would be something along the lines of:

At home in early morning with Home WLAN - s/u HL, work awhile, s/d HL
At park mid morning, no internet - s/u HL work awhile, s/d HL, change battery, s/u HL, work awhile, s/d HL
at some eatery w/o WiFi - s/u HL, HL may or may not insist on reactivation
if reactivation required - s/d HL go home reactivate
if reactivation not required - work awhile, s/d HL, go some place else

If my day carries me out and about to more location changes that do not have internet access, the more likely I am to run into the reactivation issue. The worst that this has happened so far is 3 reactivations in 1 day, not counting the one for the HL update that afternoon. That was while dming for Games Day here.

However, HL was installed on another machine with this license for a bit while this machine was in for repairs. The machine that it was installed on temporarily had HL uninstalled when I got this one back, but recently had HL reinstalled on it with it's own license. It's not showing this License number when I start it up on that machine. It's possible that this lic. number is still imbedded in the system registry on it after the temporary installation was removed, but I'm not sure how to go about running a search for it other than taking a couple of days to review each entry in the sys reg

[Mathias]

I'm afraid if it's not the obvious issue, I'm not going to be able to figure it out, so I've moved this part of the thread into the Hero Lab forum, where someone more familiar with the licensing mechanism will see it.

[rob]

The only thing I can think of is that you have some sort of security software running that is quietly deleting or "cleaning" (aka corrupting) the license key file that Hero Lab relies upon.

If this file is missing or corrupted, Hero Lab will require that you reactivate your license so it can retrieve a valid key file again. So something is apparently mucking with the file in the background. It's usually a well-intended but mis-guided security product that is being a bit *too* helpful in keeping you safe.

The next time you reactivate, go to the folder where Hero Lab stores its data. You can get there from within Hero Lab via the Tools menu if you select Explore Folders and then Program Data Folder. Save the file "HLKey.lic" onto a memory stick (it's tiny).

At some point later, but before you relaunch Hero Lab, go look at the file on your computer again. Has it been deleted? If so, that's the problem. If it's still in place, is it still an exact match of the file on your memory stick? If not, there's your problem.

If you keep that file on a memory stick, you can reactivate Hero Lab *without* needing to access the internet. Just copy the proper file back into place and restart Hero Lab. Note that you will need to update the key file whenever a new release of Hero Lab comes out, since it changes with each version. You will also need to update it when you purchase new add-on packages. Just snapshot it after completing the normal license reactivation and you'll be good to go.

Hope this helps!

[CeaDawg]

I'll look into this, but it seems like the situation involving the corruption or removal would also happen when I have access to the internet. We'll see.

[Colen]

These are all long shots, but...

Are you doing any sort of system restore on your machine, or restoring stuff from a USB key on the main hard drive between runs, or anything unusual like that?

Are you using the same user account all the time, or different user accounts depending on where you are for some reason? For example, a network account when you're at home, and a local account when you're out and about? That shouldn't affect things, but it's possible there's something screwy with those...

The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the folder with the license keyfile in it, as Rob suggests. Hopefully you can catch something red-handed (e.g. "I looked in the folder, ran program X, then looked in the folder again and the keyfile was gone!") and solve the mystery.