Giveaway of the Day Forums » Installation and activation problems

31. Bigun
    Member

    I have complained about this problem several times in the past. Over the past three or four weeks I have run into this problem no less than twice a week. Please look closely at tonight's error message regarding activation of the main "giveaway" - not "game". I concede that the server/s may be one and the same.

    "activation module failed to connect to Gamegiveaway...software activation is not possible at the moment".

    I did a clean boot of my computer before trying to activate the Giveaway offer. No Anti-Virus program (no firewall - no proxy - no luck - no fooling)is running. Eventually, without making any changes to my computer, activation of the software takes place (except when the 24-hour time limit is over). The time of day makes no difference. I have complained a number of times and on occasion I received an acknowledgment from Lee.

    This is a server problem. The Giveaway folks recognized this several months ago and said that they were going to move off the server being used.

    I is a pain checking back over and over during the day - while leaving my computer unprotected. I have missed the time limit three times since Christmas. I believe that we all know that the problem has a rather simple solution. Move to another server.

    Thank you for providing this forum - I sincerely mean that. It helps burn off a little of the stored up frustration. Please widen the scope of forum functions.

    Posted 7 months ago #

32. goodgotd
    Member

    Err... actually, trying to match my experience with these posts, I'd like to ask: what are the troubled member's *ISP's*?

    General locations, maybe? I'm west coast USA.

    My reason for doubting the server (and it's the site's ip- ping www.giveawayoftheday.com to get the number) is that I have had exactly 6 days in the last 5 months that I haven't had immediate connection and authorization for both the gaotd and ggaotd.

    I download and 'light up' both every day, regardless of what they are- and one of those days my dsl (centurytel.net) was down, another was the infamous '504 error' day, and the third I was installing a new router with buggy firmware that made all internet activity a bad gamble.

    Could there be any other factors in common?

    I'm behind a gateway/router and have been for 7 years, I've activated off 3 of my 4 computers on the lan, from win98 and win2000, never shut down antivirus, etc., so you would think I'd have at least some hiccups. I've even killed most 'unneeded' services on wink.

    I admit I'm conservative one way- all my machines have fixed IP's, uPnP and DHCP are both off.

    maybe install wireshark and try to see where it bounces? TCPview doesn't record packets, but it shows connections well.

    Posted 7 months ago #

33. Paali
    Member

    Hi Bigun.
    From what you write: "Over the past three or four weeks I have run into this problem no less than twice a week." I doubt it's the same problem, and therefore does not present with the same solution (probably). The problem me and others have experiences is being unable to connect at ALL times with EVERY giveaway, not just periodic problems.
    Also, is the error message you quoted the complete one? Because in my case it also contained "...Please try again later or check your firewall settings"; indicating it might be a local problem, something I suspect it was.

    goodgotd, My location is Norway (north Europe) by the way.
    And I tried today's giveaway; no problems. But as I said, I don't believe it's the same problem although we seem to recieve a similar error message. I have not experienced any problems since "I" got it to work about a week ago!

    Posted 7 months ago #

34. goodgotd
    Member

    yup, I'd call norway rather north, considering IIRC about 70 miles or so north of here is a sign proclaiming the location of the 45th parallel.

    I wonder how a person can tell if an ISP uses a transparent proxy? I'd suggest port blocking, except last time I captured packets the gaotd wrapper seemed to be using http on port 80.

    @Bigun- have you checked your MTU and such? maybe packet fragmentation could disrupt the authentication...

    On another note, a dsl/cable modem doesn't need wireless or more than one rj-45 to have a router. a friend of mine got a motorola netopia 2210 from at&t, (they didn't even say it wasn't dialup!) and though the ts idiots insist there's no router or firewall inside, he had his gigabit switch plugged into it and had different lan ip's assigned to his computers.

    After not being able to get access to the port settings, I coached him through setting it to bridge (dumb) mode and adding a user-configurable gateway after it.

    Posted 7 months ago #

35. Paali
    Member

    If port 80 was blocked you wouldn't be able to du much on the Internet...
    There is another thread about this subject started a year ago, something I ran across trying to figure out my own problem:
    http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/92?replies=100
    They didn't come to any final conclusions, but seemed to sort out a few things about the IPS and proxy stuff (I don't really know much about it myself).

    Posted 7 months ago #

36. Bigun
    Member

    My post was long winded so it it could be easy to miss my statements:

    "Eventually, without making any changes to my computer, activation of the software takes place (except when the 24-hour time limit is over)."

    and

    "I did a clean boot of my computer before trying to activate the Giveaway offer. No Anti-Virus program (no firewall - no proxy - no luck - no fooling)is running."

    The problem that I am talking about is reproducible. It occurs the same way every time it pops its head up.

    In an effort to keep my post from being way too long, I did not mention several facts.

    One fact that I did not mention is that when this problem has occurred, I pulled the two computers that I have on a home network and attached each directly to my cable modem. During the time interval that I was not able to get through to the gamegiveaway.......com server I left both computers off of my network. I kept trying to connect. As soon as one computer connected I tried the other. Both computers could then get through to the GGOTD server. I then connected the computers back on the network. The re-networked machines were then tried to connect to the GGOTD server - and both connected just fine.

    Several points. I did not go through all of the steps that I listed above each time that I had a server problem. But, I did go through the complete set of steps at least four of the times that I did run into the problem. The only reason I took all of that time to fool with a download of questionable worth to me was to beat the machine. And by-thunder I planed on beating the machine.

    I did use a packet sniffer that I often use to troubleshoot packet amateur radio communication program on one occasion. I have not taken the time to see the information that I captured using the packet sniffer with a GOTD offer. I will make an effort to look at the data the packet sniffer captured.

    Folks, I can absolutely guarantee that the problem I have encountered with GOTD offers discussed above is NOT caused by a local problem. I am sure that I have gone much deeper in to this problem area than anyone else. Likewise I have waisted a lot more time than the rest of you. I disabled my web browser add-ons, downloaded from each of the two servers listed on the GOTD website, and on, and on, and on. I will do it no more. AMEN

    Posted 7 months ago #

37. goldeneagle
    Member

    Paali; how about a rookie suggestion? My pc is similar to yours (Win XP SP2 IE 7(junk) /dial up/ closest thing to a firewall is Spybot S&D), I' ve been coming to GOTD for 2 weeks. I tried 12 downloads and with the exception of one- with a lot of work, all gave me an instant FAILED KEY message before getting to installation. I too tried several things seen here, but if you also use dial up maybe this will help? I use PeoplePC ISP and it has an acceleration program that supposedly makes internet surfing faster. When I was going thru the taskbar shutting off every icon I possibly could (R- clicking icons next to the clock)I also deactivated web acceleration (oh, and unchecked where my ISP uses a proxy to connect- like BuBBy suggested)and PRESTO!!!no more frustration! Since then I' ve downloaded several to test and all installed easily (just like the other half of the commenters here who rant and rave how great stuff is) : )...see, I'm smiling now. Good luck.

    Posted 7 months ago #

38. Paali
    Member

    Hi goldeneagle!
    Thanks for your tip, but I don't have a dialup connection, I have broadband. But Since I installed some updates for IE7 I have had no activation problems, although I'm still trying to get confirmation from someone else that that's what did it.

    Posted 6 months ago #

39. Bigun
    Member

    SIALKOTEE from 30 May 2008 GOTD download for "Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate".

    Sialkotee, the problem connecting to the GOTD Activation Server that you mention is likely to keep you frustrated for a long time. I have participated in several forum threads on the same topic. I do not recall any one finding a solution to the problem.

    I have had the same problem and gotten the same error message when trying to download six or more GOTD offers. Each problem download occurred when the GOTD instructions called for running the activation program as the first step in the chain of installation of a daily "giveaway". A small number of other Gaveawayoftheday regulars have reported having the same problem that you and I are having. To the best of my knowledge no one has posted a solution to the problem and the GOTD team has been silent concerning the existence of any such problem.

    I have used the packet sniffer "WireShark" with two of my failed installations. In each case "Wireshark" showed that my GOTD sign on name did not exist on the GOTD server - so further activity with the Server was blocked. Trying to activate the program using a different name failed to work.

    I hope that you are able to locate a solution to the problem you are having - and that you post the solution that worked for you here on the forum.

    Bigun

    Posted 4 months ago #

40. ziwjawk
    Member

    This is getting ridiculous and has started occurring within the last two days with absolutely no changes to my system, I have reviewed completely to assure that.

    I downloaded Bubble Odyssey, both from original and mirror, for twenty-three hours I got cannot connect try again later. This night I downloaded both SwiftCompare and Theseus and the Minotaur and am getting exactly the same results.

    Obviously I -can- connect to GOTD else how would I know what to download and how. I have seen comments from others who have installed with no problems, yet I cannot.

    I am running Vista HP, 2G ram, TB HD, dialup which tonight gives me 26.4 (I am in the middle of a national forest). If it is a speed requirement please let me know so I stop trying.

    I have connected to GOTD within seconds of getting the error message, and have been connected -while- getting the error message, so that is not the problem.

    It may become necessary to remove your activation module from the setup. If I do so I will not post the method. I would rather not go through the work but I am quite capable of doing so, forty years in assembler language on many machines. It's more work than I care to do now however I have kept the downloads.

    Posted 4 months ago #

41. ziwjawk
    Member

    This is getting ridiculous and has started occurring within the last two days with absolutely no changes to my system, I have reviewed completely to assure that.

    I downloaded Bubble Odyssey, both from original and mirror, for twenty-three hours I got cannot connect try again later. This night I downloaded both SwiftCompare and Theseus and the Minotaur and am getting exactly the same results.

    Obviously I -can- connect to GOTD else how would I know what to download and how. I have seen comments from others who have installed with no problems, yet I cannot.

    I am running Vista HP, 2G ram, TB HD, dialup which tonight gives me 26.4 (I am in the middle of a national forest). If it is a speed requirement please let me know so I stop trying.

    I have connected to GOTD within seconds of getting the error message, and have been connected -while- getting the error message, so that is not the problem.

    It may become necessary to remove your activation module from the setup. If I do so I will not post the method. I would rather not go through the work but I am quite capable of doing so, forty years in assembler language on many machines. It's more work than I care to do now however I have kept the downloads.

    Posted 4 months ago #

42. Bigun
    Member

    ziwjawk
    I agree on all points,

    When I first started having the problem many months ago the problem was intermittent. That changed to 100% when the sequence was
    download
    activate
    setup

    To the best of my knowledge I have never has a problem connecting to the GOTD or GGOTD servers nor have I ever had a problem downloading the daily offering. My problem has always been an inability to connect to the GOTD-Activation server (this may not be the correct name of the server but it is close.).

    When GOTD started having runs of Activation first then program setup downloads, I moved away from the GOTD website to another daily giveaway site. I check the GOTD site frequently now and rarely attempt installation of a program that has an activation module when unzipped. Most of the time I delete the folder and move on.

    I hope that you will post your results of any efforts you make if you continue to try to activate a download when the activation precedes the program installation.

    Have you tried using a packet sniffer during the activation process? When I have done so I get a long series of connections to the activation server followed by a rejection due to an "unknown name". Finally I get disconnected and the error message that you are familiar with. This tells me that the server is not too busy to accept my connection.

    I have checked every reasonable suggestion that others have made to try to solve the problem. I have two computers and both are blocked from establishing a connection with the activation server. I have never used a proxy connection. My ISP is Comcast.net. I do not use an anti-virus, anti-spyware, or firewall during my activation attempts. I use clean boots rather than just turning these applications off.

    Posted 4 months ago #

43. Bigun
    Member

    Several months ago Member Paali, claimed his activation problem was suddenly solved. He attributed the solution to a Microsoft update for IE7. I have kept IE7 updated and none of the updates have helped me. I recently updated Windows XP Pro to SP3. The activation problem continues with the occasional test runs that I make.

    Paali, are you out there? Are you still problem free? I hope so.

    Posted 4 months ago #

44. CountryBoy
    Member

    This problem has been an issue for me also for some time now. My wife and I both run Windows XP sp2 home edition. Mine is currently working after I unticked the work offline in outlook, this was not the problem with the wifes. Still working on hers.
    I use Opera, she uses IE7 and we both use the same dial-up connection (all that's available out here in the country). Her IE is all upto date and still won't activate. Downloads are not a problem. We both have Norton, do the windows updates except for SP3 which is mostly the updates since SP2 was issued anyways. I've been working on hers for a month or more and still can't find a reason.

    Bigun, it would appear to me that Paali problem was not in the updates or at least it didn't work with the wifes computer.

    I've also done a lot of the other suggestions already. Shutdown Norton, disable firewall, put giveaway in favorites and allowed sites, security set to min. all to no availe.
    I'll check back here if I've found anything and to check if anyone else has.

    Posted 4 months ago #

45. Paali
    Member

    Hi Bigun. I am still out here, and I am still problem free =) Earlier in this thread I listed what changes I made before I was able to activate again (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/2103#post-19016). One of them was the IE7 updates, but I was never sure so I tried to get it confirmed by someone. To this point I don't see anyone else being helped by that. Although it's important to diagnose the problem itself. From what you've written earlier you experience problems now and then. Is that still the case?

    In my case I failed to activate EVERY SINGLE Giveaway. So this was a consistent problem. But since it worked I have never experienced any problems. Now, we might have eliminated the updates to be the solution in my case, but only if the problem occurs from the same reason. But I would suggest looking over the other things I listed and see if any of them help.

    Hi CountryBoy. I believe you might be right about the updates not being what solved my problem. It was just a suspicion I had, that I was trying to get confirmed. I never did any major changes in any security or proxy settings. And I eliminated the firewall, both on my computer and in the router, as causing the problem. As I said above, it might be worth wile to look into the other changes I made and see if any of them has any affect.

    I would love to help, I know how frustrating and time consuming this can be, so don't hesitate to ask if there is any additional information that could be of help.

    Posted 4 months ago #

46. Bigun
    Member

    Paali: Thank you for checking in. I am more than just a little curious on how did you know we re-opened this old thread and that I mentioned your alias (name)in my post last night.

    I am delighted that you are still problem free - I am sure you are as well. Your story holds hope for the rest of us.

    Paali you asked several questions that I will answer. The problem that I was having connecting to the activation server quickly changed from an intermittent problem to a problem that I experienced 100% of the time.

    Over a long period of time I have written hundreds if not thousands or words on all of the things that I tried and why I am sure that my problem is not local but it is caused a the server level.

    At this point I say little and monitor the posts on the forum. This problem is big enough that it should be investigated. I can not understand why Slava and the webmaster have not investigated the activation dilemma.

    Posted 4 months ago #

47. Bigun
    Member

    Sorry CountryBoy. Glad that you checked in. Keep coming back.

    Posted 4 months ago #

48. CountryBoy
    Member

    Paali: I'll try the wifes computer again this afternoon after checking some more changes since hers is a constant problem.

    Bigun: Mine I'm sure is a local problem since one computer activates perfectly and the other fails everytime.

    Posted 4 months ago #

49. Paali
    Member

    Bigun: Hehe, I've been monitoring this thread, and others, ever since I started it, in order to get a solution to the problem. So I guess it was just a coincidence that I saw it. I thought that it might be an external problem too, since I didn't do anything I could think of that would allow me to activate again. But I was assured that GOTD had not changed anything in their end.

    As for trying to come up with a solution (it might be a complete shot in the dark, but perhaps worth looking into) I did install and uninstall some softeware that are internet related, in addition to cleaning up my system.
    I removed Real player and quicktime player (both are used to stream media files, and might have been blocking some port. I don't think it's likely, but at least that's one thing I changed).
    I also installed a software that's called Hotspot shield (http://anchorfree.com/downloads/hotspot-shield/). It's a program that creates a VPN (virtual private network) when you are online. I never run it while activating, but it does have something to do with the IP and other network configurations.
    Also, I cleaned up files in my system and the registry with CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller. It might have been some old corrupt file belonging to a program that interfered.

    I would never think any of these things would affect the activation, but since they are changes I did before it worked, it might be worth looking into. At least we can confirm that it does NOT help =)

    Posted 4 months ago #

50. Paali
    Member

    CountryBoy: Let us know what you discover.

    Posted 4 months ago #

51. CountryBoy
    Member

    Just tried the wifes computer and still no luck. Mine- no problem.

    Posted 4 months ago #

52. Bigun
    Member

    CountryBoy: Is the problem on your Wife's computer with all activation schemes (activation: before, during, manually adding the registration information after)?

    I am having several computer problems at the moment (last 2 days) so it is not fair for me to evaluate anything until it get that cleared up.

    I wonder if the (my activation) problem originated in my registry and disturbed some type of identification code (Microsoft Smart Card?) and that is why the the activation server fails to identify me as illegitimate.

    Is there any way to post a screen shot. I would like to be able to show what I am getting?

    Posted 4 months ago #

53. scubaguy
    Member

    Bigun
    To many posts to read what the problem is,I just saw in your last post you said,"Is there any way to post a screen shot. I would like to be able to show what I am getting?".If your OS is XP use one of the many free screencapture programs.If you have Vista you should have a program called Snippets.
    Snap a pic.using one of these programs and upload the pic. to a free photo sharing site such as PhotoBucket.

    http://tutorials.photobucket.com/

    Then post the link to the screencapture,from PhotoBucket here in this thread.

    It would look like this one that I had posted some time back when I had a problem to show other members.

    EXAMPLE
    http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh174/scubaguy/General-Album/Capture.gif

    Posted 4 months ago #

54. CountryBoy
    Member

    Bigun: Only the ones where the activation and install are the same. I'm sure I'm getting the same message that Paali was getting.

    "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."

    That's the complete box that comes up right after clicking the setup.exe.
    I haven't tried to remove realplayer or quicktime as Paali said he did, kind of dread the thought of downloading them again to reinstall.
    She does download games from RealArcade and activates them with no problem, but those are paid.

    Posted 4 months ago #

55. ziwjawk
    Member

    Good day all.

    Here is an odd circumstance I encountered which seems, for now, to get around the registration problems. As mentioned previously I am using Vista HP, no SP it failed miserably, on a 1.6gHz with 2G ram, TB hd, slow dialup. I do not use IE rather Firefox unlezss required, IE is version 7.

    At first I thought this was a difference between a separate activation module and one built into setup (which actually seems to do nothing other than allow setup to continue) as that is when it started. Further experimentation showed no difference.

    I found by the fact that the activation passed absolutely no traffic during its attempt, that it works thru the browser, not the connection. Apparently Firefox is not an acceptable browser for this process. At a later time I accidentally had IE running, some other process had initiated it unknown to me, when I again attempted activation. Mirabile Dictu it worked. Since then I have found that having IE running in the background while trying to activate allows it to function (and also kicks you into the GOTD site). So it -must- work thru IE, not the system set default browser.

    Don't know how many this may help, I hope it is something taken into consideration by the GOTD developers. At least enough to make a note in the 'readme' that IE must be accessible during activation.

    Cordially,

    Mike

    Posted 4 months ago #

56. hotdoge3
    Member

    close IE & Firefox work OK, set DNS to Auto, then go to Command Promp > " ipconfig /flushdns " you get back it flush ok.

    Posted 4 months ago #

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