Reacquiring License: How long do I wait?

[SilvenMike]

Hi folks,

Earlier this week I upgraded my system to Windows Vista. In the process, I managed to blow away a few--ok, all--of my applications and have been reinstalling them one by one. I've downloaded HeroLab 1.1 but as a demo. Following the instructions in the License FAQs, I opened the program, went to the License menu, and requested my license be resent to my e-mail address. That was two days ago and I've yet to get the license mailed to me.

About how long before I should start worrying about my license?

[sppeterson]

I think they'll be slow right now. From the Front Page:

18-Mar-2007 Lone Wolf Attending Games Expo
From 3/18 to 3/24, the Lone Wolf staff will be attending the Games Expo tradeshow in Las Vegas. While we're at the show, our ability to respond to customer inquiries will be impacted. We'll make every effort to address support emails and other issues in a timely fashion, but we would greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this week.

[Giddoen]

Almost the same issue, I reinstalled after system crash took HDD, I emailed tech support and a tech told me all was ok. I just tried and still get error I am out of licenses'!? I just e-mailed back so we shall see!

I have faith,

Giddoen

[SilvenMike]

I guess if I want to be a jedi I must learn patience. Hoping for a return to power next week.

[rob]

At 07:56 AM 3/22/2007, you wrote:

Hi folks,

Earlier this week I upgraded my system to Windows Vista. In the process, I managed to blow away a few--ok, all--of my applications and have been reinstalling them one by one. I've downloaded HeroLab 1.1 but as a demo. Following the instructions in the License FAQs, I opened the program, went to the License menu, and requested my license be resent to my e-mail address. That was two days ago and I've yet to get the license mailed to me.

About how long before I should start worrying about my license?

That mechanism is 100% automated. You should have received you license almost immediately, since the email containing your license is queued for sending before the webpage returns saying that it's complete.

Have you checked your spam folder? Also, please note that most email providers have their own spam filtering that must be configured separately from whatever email program you are using, so it's possible the email got intercepted there instead.

Just to be safe, I checked our server logs. On the 20th, I see an email sent from our server to your email address. Obviously, I don't know the content, but we were at the show, so the only emails sent during the week were sent automatically by the server. So it must be the license email you requested. The logs show the message as successfully delivered to your email provider, so if it has gone missing, it did so after successfully reaching your email provider. That screams spam filter to me....

[rob]

At 10:58 PM 3/22/2007, you wrote:

Almost the same issue, I reinstalled after system crash took HDD, I emailed tech support and a tech told me all was ok. I just tried and still get error I am out of licenses'!? I just e-mailed back so we shall see!

What do you mean by "still get error I am out of licenses"? What is the actual error message you're getting?

It's likely Nancy (support) has already handled this for you. However, please be as detailed and as accurate as possible in reporting problems to us. If we're given the exact text of errors and the exact conditions leading up to the error, we can usually figure things out. If we have to interpret phrases, we have to ask for clarification and it takes longer to get users up and running again. The goal is to get users up and running as fast as possible. However, we're only able to work with the information we receive, so the more information provided, the more likely we'll get users running on the first try. :-)

[SilvenMike]

Originally Posted by rob

Have you checked your spam folder? Also, please note that most email providers have their own spam filtering that must be configured separately from whatever email program you are using, so it's possible the email got intercepted there instead.

Well, I found it buried 900 spam messages down (and one of about 150 spams from 3/20). SHould have thought to look there.

HOWEVER, the program won't accept it. It's telling me that the license can't be reused for 120 days after activation, and 6 months haven't past yet since the initial install. I'm kinda screwed for now unless there's a way around it?

[rob]

At 07:58 PM 3/26/2007, you wrote:

rob wrote:
Have you checked your spam folder? Also, please note that most email providers have their own spam filtering that must be configured separately from whatever email program you are using, so it's possible the email got intercepted there instead.
Well, I found it buried 900 spam messages down (and one of about 150 spams from 3/20). SHould have thought to look there.

HOWEVER, the program won't accept it. It's telling me that the license can't be reused for 120 days after activation, and 6 months haven't past yet since the initial install. I'm kinda screwed for now unless there's a way around it?

Ah! That's because you've "changed computers" as far as Hero Lab is concerned. Basically, the license mechanism allows the license to be re-assigned on a newly configured system once every 4 months (i.e. 120 days from the initial activation or the last change). The average user upgrades or re-installs the operating system once every 18-24 months, so our system provides for about 5-6 times the norm. However, sometimes exceptional situations arise, and we can readily take care of things on this end when that happens.

The controls are an attempt at a balance between user convenience and protection against users sharing their licenses with all their friends. We'll never be able to find the "perfect" balance, since every user will be different, and it's rare that users make changes in less than the four-month period. We use the controls as a means to police against abuses.

I was able to locate your license and modify it so that you can immediately re-activate it on the system with the newly installed operating system. If this happens again in the future, please send an email to support@wolflair.com with a quick explanation of the problem, and we can get things sorted out quickly for you. That's usually the fastest solution, unless you happen to get lucky and have me checking the forum shortly after your post. :-)

Hope this helps,
Rob

[SilvenMike]

It better not happen again inside that time frame!

Thanks for all you help Rob.