Giveaway of the Day Forums » Installation and activation problems

1. Paali
   Member

   Hi. I used this site a lot in the past, and now I came back, but I can't get any of the downloads to activate!

   This is not an "install-then-activate" vs "activate-then-install" problem. I follow the instructions in the readme file exactly. My problem is that I can't activate AT ALL, regardless if it's before or after the installation. I have the same problem with the latest offers where the activation and setup are in the same file (and the serial is provided in the readme.txt).

   Whenever I try to activate (that be before or after the installation) a window pops up trying to connect to the internet. My firewall asks me if I want to give this program access, and I allow it. The program tries to connect, but every time I get the same error message: "Activation module failed to connect to giveawayoftheday.com. Software activation is not possible at the moment. Please try again later or check your firewall settings".

   I have tried again later several times, but with no luck. My firewall settings are fine, I've allowed other programs access without any problems. Also with my firewall deactivated I get the same error message. I have also installed many freeware alternatives (because the giveaways have not been working), so the setup is not the problem. But now that the activation and setup are the same file I cannot do anything, because the program cannot connect to this site.

   I am running XP Home SP2, not Vista. And I've had the same problem with every single giveaway for the last two weeks! I have read several threads with people having the same problem, but there never seems to be a solution. Is there anyone who knows what the problem is? And better, how to fix it?
   Thank you for any help!

   Posted 7 months ago #

2. TT07
   Member

   just open internet explorer and go file--> uncheck option work offline. now run activation module. it will run fine. thats it!!!

   Posted 7 months ago #

3. Paali
   Member

   I'm not sure if you meant that as a joke. Of course I have not checked the work offline option in internet explorer! (If I had, how would I have been able to download the giveaway in the first place).
   Thanks, but I'm sorry, that's not it...

   Posted 7 months ago #

4. Paali
   Member

   I guess there is no one who knows what the problem is. I guess I'll just continue being unable to activate any of the giveaways and look for helpful alternatives offered by people that I actually can install...

   Posted 6 months ago #

5. BuBBy
   Administrator

   Did you check that you do not have a proxy specified in the Internet Connection options or using other software that would connect to the internet via proxy. Some users have found running Activate through a certain proxy servers can give the error message you mentioned.

   Posted 6 months ago # | Login to Send PM

6. BillW50
   Member

   Sorry Paali for your trouble. The problem for others to tell you what is wrong is because we would have to be there. I do know sometimes this error pops up because GAOTD servers are down sometimes. Or they are very busy at the moment and are ignoring your request. But I don't think that is your problem either.

   You can run netstat in a command prompt while you are trying to activate a program. That might tell you what is up. And careful about posting any of your results, as some things might be personal information that only you should know about. Like don't post your IP address or anything.

   I don't know what GAOTD IP address is for activating, maybe somebody knows. Or I could find out through netstat myself (or through AnVir Task Manager). And once known, you could try PING that address (command prompt again). And that should tell you if the problem is external or not.

   Also how do you connect to the Internet? Through DSL, cable, dialup, or what? Also do you have a router connected that you go through? Is this at home or work?

   Posted 6 months ago #

7. BuBBy
   Administrator

   Actually - I just went back and had a look - the actual error message that user fixed removing proxy settings related to a "bad key" where the server received a bad key from the client - or the client got back an invalid response.

   As Bill points out - the tricky thing with this is we don't have all the info needed to trouble shoot activation problems, the error messages are vague, and the PTB with the answers are keeping mum.

   Software activation is not possible at the moment. Please try again later

   Can also mean the server is down, busy, or "misbehaving". The PTB have been doing a lot of work on the servers over the past week - but a consistent server problem should affect everyone, and not single out one person for such "special treatment".

   Posted 6 months ago # | Login to Send PM

8. BillW50
   Member

   I believe the following is the IP address which the activation goes through on port 80. So try pinging this on a computer that won't activate.

   C:\>ping 208.109.86.65

   And you should get something like this:

   Reply from 208.109.86.65: bytes=32 time=121ms TTL=55
   Reply from 208.109.86.65: bytes=32 time=120ms TTL=55
   Reply from 208.109.86.65: bytes=32 time=120ms TTL=55
   Reply from 208.109.86.65: bytes=32 time=122ms TTL=55

   Ping statistics for 208.109.86.65:
   Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
   Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
   Minimum = 120ms, Maximum = 122ms, Average = 120ms

   Posted 6 months ago #

9. BillW50
   Member

   Forget that last ping thing. As all that will tell ya is if GAOTD servers are busy or down.

   Another thing to check is your browsers security. Like try IE and set it for medium security and then give that a shot with the activation or in some cases the setup.exe. And thanks BuBBy for your input. ;)

   Posted 6 months ago #

10. emperor
    Member

    Paali, did you install Defense Wall a while back when it was given away? If you did then you may need to allow the activation program to run as a trusted program. I found it prevented me getting some of the recent Microsoft updates because it prevented the Windows Genuine Disadvantage Validation tool running until I set Internet Explorer to run as a trusted program. Just a thought - no other thoughts if you didn't install it.

    Posted 6 months ago #

11. Paali
    Member

    Thanks for the replies!

    BuBBy: I doubt that the server is down every single time I try to activate. And it doesn't seem like I have the problem with the specified proxy. But thanks!

    emperor: I haven't had a chance to install any software from GAOTD =) So Defense Wall is not what's causing the problem. But thanks!

    BillW50: I tried running netstat, but couldn't find any messages indicating something is wrong with my connection. I also pinged the iP, and got a response, so it's not because the site is down. I am connected to the internet through DSL, using a wireless router at home. I thought about the router perhaps blocking, but I've never experienced that happening any other time. I also tried lowering the security, but with the same (bad)result. Although I have a feeling it might be a problem with the IE security settings, I have no idea what.

    Another thing I thought about, I don't live in the US. Don't know if that matters, but some sites only allow specified access to certain countries.
    Thanks again for your inputs!

    Posted 6 months ago #

12. BillW50
    Member

    Yes Paali, the IE security settings effect all of Windows Internet Security, not just the IE browser. If you can, unplug the Ethernet cable from the DSL modem that goes to the router (you can't do this if the DSL modem and the router is in the same box) and connect it straight into your computer. This will bypass your router. Of course if it now works you have to look at why your router is blocking it. If it still doesn't, back to square one.

    Posted 6 months ago #

13. twopennies
    Member

    Paali, I can't activate on my laptop w/32 bit Vista basic either. However, my daughter's computer and neighbor's computer have xp pro and they had no trouble activating. Might be a Vista compatibility issue. I tried run as administrator and it still won't activate.

    Posted 6 months ago #

14. Paali
    Member

    BillW50, I'll try bypassing the router later on today and tell you how it went...

    twopennies, perhaps it is a Vista compatibility issue aswell, but I am running XP Home, so it's not that in my case. But thanks.

    Posted 6 months ago #

15. Paali
    Member

    I bypassed the wireless router, but still could not activate. Although I still have to go through the DSL modem. I believe that works as a regular router as well..
    So, I guess we're back to square one again...

    Posted 6 months ago #

16. BillW50
    Member

    Oh Paali, the DSL modem has connections for more than one computer or has wireless ability? If yes to any of them, then it does sport a router two.

    I would take another look at running Netstat when troubleshooting this. Like try it with the /A switch as well. Remember it only reports what it finds when you run it. So if there isn't any activating trying at that moment, it won't be listed there. If you want to get fancy, you can do this:

    c:\> Netstat /a 1

    This will check it once a second. But it might display so fast you can't see what you are looking for. Thus you can do it this way.

    c:\> Netstat /a 1 c:\netstat.txt

    To stop it in both cases, type CTRL-C and that will stop the checking. And all of the data in this latter case will be written in a file called netstat.txt.

    Posted 6 months ago #

17. terrabyte
    Member

    I have the same problem.
    I`ve tried to shot down my firewall,tried another broadband connection but nothing helps.
    I`ve tried another computer on my DSL line, and it works OK. So the problem is related to my computer, and not to firewall, GAOTD server etc. I use Norman Internet protection as virus control. Can this be the problem? Anyone have a good idea?

    Posted 6 months ago #

18. THKLOTTWIZ
    Member

    Paali..for the past 2 wks I cannot get things here at the site to activate either....I have noticed it's been since windows did their monthly updates that I have been having activation problems and it's really starting to annoy me why I can't get the games to activate. I do not know technical stuff to fix it other wise I'd go and figure out which download of the updates changed the settings for these games to activate.
    Anyways, I'm just venting now and I'm getting annoyed with it. I hope the giveaway site can figure out the fix for it.

    Posted 6 months ago #

19. kalon
    Member

    I came here with the same problem. Earlier today, I had to go into outlook to retrieve an old email. I use thunderbird now, so I didn't want my emails downloaded to outlook and checked work offline... As soon as I saw your post, I unchecked it and the progam immediately activated. Thanks TT07!

    Posted 6 months ago #

20. Paali
    Member

    Sorry for the late reply. But I went away for the holiday, which means that I'm away from my computer now and can't do anything until January. And yes, Bill, we have a router two =) But I'll update you on the situation then, thanks for the patience by the way!

    terrabyte, I also have Norman. But I tried activating on a different computer with the same firewall and internet protection, and that worked just fine. So Norman does not seem to be the poblem. Difference was, the computer where it worked was running Windows 2000, not XP like me.

    THKLOTTWIZ, I've been having the problem for at least a month now, but it still might be a windows update thing, but different ones I guess. Although it would be hard to figure out which.

    It seems like a lot of people get the same error message, but for a lot of different reasons. Which makes the cause in each case even harder to point out. Anyway, happy holidays everyone! Hope we'll figure out what's causing us so much trouble in the new year!

    Posted 6 months ago #

21. Face
    Member

    Paali

    Don't feel bad - I've had this same problem for about 6 months now (also running XP SP2! Can't tell you how to fix it yet (still working on it, though), but can tell you how to get around it. Go into Safe Mode to download GOTD and GGOTD software. Don't remember how I stumbled onto this solution, but it works! Keep in mind, though:

    1. There is no sound in Safe Mode
    2. The little icons at the bottom right (can't believe I can't think what they're called - must be time to start drinking! - Will edit if I can think of it!)
    3. A lot of games won't run at all in Safe Mode, so you may have to d/l, activate and
    install - then go back into Reg Mode to test out games
    4. You should also check Help -> About in Reg Mode to be sure you are properly activated on both GOTD and GGOTD
    5. All this takes a bit more time - so don't wait until the last minute to start downloading

    Hope this helps everybody with this problem while we all continue our search for the solution - Remember: The TRUTH is out there ...

    Posted 6 months ago #

22. ArneN
    Member

    hi!

    Sorry for mistakes but my english is not very good.
    I had the same problem as discribed but only with my new notebook (WinXP SP2) not with my old PC (Win2000). The firewall is not the problem. The first time i downloaded something from giveaway there were no problems, but the second time. So the notebook is new i thought about it what i changed during these downloads. The only difference was that i installed and used Firefox instead of IE. Tryed to download by IE and i could install the programm without problems. My problem is fixed, yours too?

    Posted 5 months ago #

23. terrabyte
    Member

    I found a solution that works for me :-)
    I`ve open the Internet Options box under the Tools menu, and then click on lan settings in connections tab. In the lan settings box, I clicked on the top box to let IE automatically detect the correct settings.
    I now can activate programs

    Posted 4 months ago #

24. Paali
    Member

    I WAS ABLE TO REGISTER!

    Now here comes the bad part; I have no idea why!
    BillW50, I think that means we can dismiss the firewall in the router as the issue.

    Face, I didn't try to register in safe mode. If it works then it must be a third party program that disrupts the registration for some reason.

    ArneN, I have been using IE7 all along, so it can't be the same problem.

    terrabyte, I thought about that myself when I couldn't register, and had checked that box, but still couldn't register.

    It might be a good thing to list up things people can try when they run into this error message. I've seen that in some cases it's simply to uncheck the work offline option in IE, or what terrabyte wrote above.
    But in my case, these things did not solve my problem, and I've also found out that the firewall was not the problem. That goes for both the one I have installed (Norman) and the one in the router.

    To why it worked for me this time I have two theories:
    - Today's offer (Reezaa) was a special case. To test this I will try to register tomorrow's giveaway and see if it works as well.
    - Microsoft recently released some larger IE7 updates. This is the first time I've tried to register anything from GOTD since then and it might have worked because of the updates.

    Any other thoughts? It could be interesting to hear if anyone else has experienced the same, or it's just in my case that it works now.

    Posted 4 months ago #

25. Paali
    Member

    Update:
    I just tried to register today's game (Pirate Stories: Kit & Ellis) and it worked as well! So it seems like it's not only today's GOTD (Reezaa) offer that worked, but I'll still try tomorrow's to confirm.

    But it would be very helpful to know it GOTD has changed anything regarding the registration procedure lately. Are there any mods or GOTD "people" who can help us answer that?

    Posted 4 months ago #

26. BuBBy
    Administrator

    I'm not aware of any changes - and I probably go through the process each day more times than most. The most common problems are

    IE Work Offline - is checked,
    User has some type of proxy installed or connecting via proxy server
    firewall, router, modem or ISP blocking or filtering the connection.
    on Vista - selected Activates need "run as Admin" (to update HKLM)

    possible but less likely - antivirus with netfiltering setup.
    ISP has you connecting via a silent proxy.

    Posted 4 months ago # | Login to Send PM

27. goodgotd
    Member

    just for the heck of it, flushing the browser caches and wiping offline content might be of use.

    I certainly haven't noticed any differences, same wrapper, acts the same way. In my experience hardware (ok. 'purpose built' broadband gateways) routers and firewalls take messing with personally to muck up basic connections like gaotd. If there's a failure it's usually more widespread.

    *Software* firewalls, however, go unstable and start blocking for no reason- though usually the internet stays put, the rest of a lan gets blocked.

    And though I'm sure all involved have terabytes of drive space, if there isn't room (especially for large games, yadda yadda) to unwrap the program into the temp dir, ka-runch.

    OTOH, since the software does use parts of IE, m$ messing with ie7 sounds right too.

    Posted 4 months ago #

28. Paali
    Member

    Hooray, it worked today as well! :D
    So it seems like my problem is mysteriously fixed!

    Posted 4 months ago #

29. BuBBy
    Administrator

    Paali, any hints?

    I suspect if I ask what you changed - the answer will be either "nothing" or "everything".

    anyway glad you got a positive result - however it happened.

    Posted 4 months ago # | Login to Send PM

30. Paali
    Member

    Hi Bubby. I still suspect that the reason it worked was because of the IE7 update. That's why I wanted to know of any of the others that recieved the same error message also got it to work after installing the updates.

    When it comes to more trivial things I did, I can list them up if it somehow might help.
    - I added GOTD to my favorites in IE, I read somewhere on the forum that it might help.
    - I changed my unzipping program from WinRAR to 7zip. But i tried using WinRAR today, and it still worked.
    - I've installed a bunch of freeware programs (since I couldn't install from GOTD), but the only program that deals with the web is "HTTrack Website Copier", and I can't see how that could effect the register process.
    - Other than that I've done the regular updating to my Norman firewall and virus protection. But I know that's not the problem because I couldn't register even if I turned off the firewall.
    - I uninstalled Real player and Quicktime player from my system, and I ran CCleaner and Revo uninstaller to clean up my system. There might have been a bug there somewhere that was removed..?

    Oh, I came to think of one more thing. I have installed Hotspot Shield, which masks my IP and creates a virtual private network. It might have changed something, but I have not been using it when I register.

    Other than that I can't think of anything, but it would be nice to hear from someone with the same issues if the IE updates did the trick...

    Posted 4 months ago #

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