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Windows 8.1 update

S

SeeleyOne

Well-known member
The new Windows 8.1 update does not get along with Hero Lab. Unfortunately it resets whatever it is that Hero Lab uses to identify the computer. Just wanted to let everyone know so that if they have gaming this weekend they can avoid updating until after gaming so they don't have to wait a few days to be able to use the software they've invested a couple hundred $$ into.
 
SeeleyOne, thanks for the heads up! I'm going to get into our support system and authorize everyone's license for early reassignment that have reached out to us so far regarding the 8.1 update. I am going to keep an eye on our system throughout the weekend.
 
SeeleyOne said:
The new Windows 8.1 update does not get along with Hero Lab. Unfortunately it resets whatever it is that Hero Lab uses to identify the computer. Just wanted to let everyone know so that if they have gaming this weekend they can avoid updating until after gaming so they don't have to wait a few days to be able to use the software they've invested a couple hundred $$ into.
Click to expand...

SeeleyOne, just to confirm - you didn't reinstall Hero Lab after updating to Windows 8.1, correct? You just started Hero Lab after updating and it told you that you had to reactivate?

Edit: Also, both of you updated from Windows 8, correct? Not an earlier version of Windows?
 
Right, I went from Windows 8 to 8.1, using the Windows Store update. The laptop is a secondary license and not my primary one, if that makes a difference.
 
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After updating from Windows 8 (or 8.1 Preview in my case), all programs are removed from the registry (and program files if you had Hero Lab installed there). Thus, when launching HL it asks if you want to purchase, activate your license or run in demo mode.

As I'll be switching hard drives soon I'm waiting to activate until I've installed those too.
 
Colen said:
SeeleyOne, just to confirm - you didn't reinstall Hero Lab after updating to Windows 8.1, correct? You just started Hero Lab after updating and it told you that you had to reactivate?

Edit: Also, both of you updated from Windows 8, correct? Not an earlier version of Windows?
Click to expand...
My naughty brother edited my post a bit more that I realized. I typed one, and handed it over to him to make sure that I said what he wanted it to say, and he sounds a bit more frustrated than I was.

Of course, it was his computer that it was on, so that might explain it. :) He upgraded to the more recent Windows 8 version this last week, Tuesday or Thursday or whatever day it was. We get to his house to game and two of the players had not printed out their characters. He tried to run Hero Lab and it would not work.

I am thinking that the license is too new, as it was a third license that I bought so that we can use it at his house (we get two at start, and can buy two more). I have it on two machines at my house, but both are desktops (mine and The Kids computer, which both still run Windows 7). I think that I bought that new license on the 21st or so of last month.

The new Windows 8 update screwed with several things on his computer, Hero Lab was just one of them. It was an annoying time to find that out. Personally to me Windows 8 appears to be a downgrade, not an upgrade.

I handle most of the updates at my house, and then we use his while gaming at his house. In most cases this would not really be an issue, but it was just a factor of timing (and Windows 8 being infamously stupid again).
 
SeeleyOne, don't apologize. Your post tipped me off to a larger problem and allowed me to provide quicker support to other users in the same situation. It's quite possible your post allowed some users to be able to use Hero Lab for a game this past weekend that might not have been able to otherwise (we don't usually process early license reactivation requests over the weekend). Even though it appears to have been an error on Microsoft's side, having someone's Hero Lab go kaput before a game would still be frustrating. So on behalf of all of those people - thank you. :)
 
Ya, I was hit with that as well, just sitting down to game Sunday and oh oh, Demo mode! Luckily, I just reactivated my license and it was fine after that.

Window 8 fresh install then Hero Labs (last year), then 8.1 upgrade today. No other hardware changes, so 8.1 was enough to trigger HL anti-piracy mechanism. I have to check the Surface Pro now that I think of it, probably same issue there.

Would it be technically possible to change your policy to go into Demo mode AFTER, say, 7 days? You know, to give us a "grace" period and time for you guys to reactivate the license on your end since it's usually manual work?
 
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All I can say is that I updated my Windows 8 laptop to 8.1 on Thursday and used Hero Lab in our Savage Worlds game Sunday with no issues whatsoever.

So whatever the issue is, it's hardly universal.

I'm quite happy with the Windows 8.1 update.
 
Ok, I'm dealing with lock ups (freezes) and nothing saving that I've been working on. Windows 81, brand new ASUS Ultrabook.
But the lock ups might be the fact I had HL running on the screen 4-8 hours. (I have family issues going on that I get pulled away a lot)
 
I had Hero Lab running steady for six hours Sunday playing Pathfinder without a crash or freeze (well, from Hero Lab, the browser crashed once but didn't affect anything else). On the other hand, that was pretty steady play, so I didn't have any chance of having issues with the laptop going into standby/sleep or anything like that.
 
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