Giveaway of the Day Forums » Installation and activation problems

1. WeAreWatching
   Member

   It's been over a year since I last used this website as a software resource, and now all the memories of the problems experienced (by myself & almost every other member of this forum at the time) have all came flooding back to me...

   I installed PixExpose & ran through the activation process... When I started the application I was greeted with a "Trial Mode" notice!

   Ok, that 1 was a couple of days ago, but since I'm currently only accessing the net via a wifi connection, this is the first chance I've had to post about it (and no, it's not an issue caused by the wifi connection or the router, I did the exact same thing with a game less than a couple of minutes later & it runs fine in its full, licensed form).

   Judging by the comments made on the main site very few people have had this same issue (possibly because they still use XP as opposed to Vista), and the one's I've had time to read don't offer a clear solution to this issue. So... Is there one? Or am I going to have to uninstall it & lose out because of shoddy digital workmanship?

   Posted 8 months ago #

2. Mike
   Member

   For vista it's better when installing programs to right click the installer (and activate.exe if available) and chose run as administrator. For some it's necessary to run activate.exe on all user accounts.
   And seeing that the giveaway period for PixExpose is long gone you can no longer activate it with this site(you have to go and buy it).
   I didn't follow the comments for that program but if this issue isn't widespread then chances are that this is on your side, not the site's. So hope for others to come out and report the same problem. :)

   Posted 8 months ago #

3. WeAreWatching
   Member

   If it's on my side then it must also be on the side of the others (whether they be many or few), and the chances of all having the exact same system settings are lower than us all winning our country's national lottery AND the euro millions all at the same time. Either way it's a grim reminder as to why I've avoided using it for so long. As good a concept as it seems, the execution of it is appallingly poor!

   Posted 8 months ago #

4. GMMan
   Member

   Do you still have the package you've downloaded from GOTD? Open the readme.txt that came with it and you'll find the activation codes. Try that there. As apposed to someone from the comments said, you are actually able to unlock the program if you've installed it in time. That's probably why a checksum is included with the code, as the software doesn't connect to the Internet to check if the code is valid. (I've personally tried it myself, as I had a free key for helping translate and that I was going to use my new key in the program.) If you haven't installed it, you could try downloading the original setup from PixExpose's website; however, it's not guaranteed that the key will work correctly (probably all of the giveaway's setups are patched so that it'll accept GOTD's license keys). If you've lost the readme..... then tough luck.

   Posted 8 months ago #

5. BuBBy
   Administrator

   Having a key in the readme is no guarantee that you can register/activate after the giveaway has expired. More and more often giveaways are also requiring validation on the developers own database servers (over the internet) where they check the license keys when the software is first installed.

   If seems a trend that they provide a code that is valid only for 24 hours and then the code gets locked out as soon as the giveaway is over. You should always install AND activate AND run the software to test it before the giveaway is over. Leaving the "run and test" step until the following day can be a big mistake.

   I've been caught out 2 or 3 times like this, myself. (Don't always assume that "install then activate" is all you need to do, to be able to use the software in the future - it could still be a trial).

   Posted 8 months ago # | Login to Send PM

6. copmom
   Member

   Mines installed / activated, and running just fine here with WinXP SP2.

   Posted 8 months ago #

7. WeAreWatching
   Member

   BuBBy, this may sound naive, but would it not make sense for the people who run GAOTD (and GGAOTD, for that matter) to KNOW what their visitors are downloading??? Otherwise they're just turning a blind eye to fraud (claiming it's a full licensed version when it's really only a trial, demo, shareware or anything other than a fully working, licensed, will never expire version is fraud)!

   And GMMan, yes, the installed files are still on my hard drive, I've tried manually inputting the Unlock Code, Identifier Code & Check Sum but have the same results as most others, the program closes down, and when re-opened it's in the exact same state (minus 1 run).

   Posted 8 months ago #

8. BuBBy
   Administrator

   There is no fraud - the codes to run the software are provided by the developers or distributors. The software is tested that it can install, but to expect the GOTD team to have used each function in each program and played through every level of each game every day to ensure the software is bug free is quite unrealistic and impractical.

   The GOTD team do an amazing job with the shoestring staff that they have - especially if you consider that GOTD and GGOTD are not the only projects their time has to cover.

   To date, I have never seen a giveaway that was left as a "trial" that could not be activated or licensed. Perhaps 4 or 5 times (due to human error) there has been a problem with a code which very quickly is made apparent - and the GOTD team either submit a new download, or when the problem was with the supplied code (by the developers) and could not be resolved in time, GOTD have pulled the download altogether and at short notice, found a replacement.

   I would estimate there could be 5,000 to 20,000 downloads for a giveaway - and if 10 or 50 of those people have a problem getting it working on their PC - determining who or what the problem lies with isn't too difficult.

   I'm not running PixExpose, as it isn't a program I have a need for - and as the giveaway has expired it is not something I can now download to test (and somehow work out why it doesn't register on your computer, by trying the same on my computer).

   Perhaps the program disables installation/activation outside of the giveaway period - which is explained in the conditions before you download the software - that all Giveaways must be installed and activated BEFORE the giveaway expires.

   The fact that the majority of users are still running the full licensed version, and that activation worked for them - obviously should show that the problem isn't with the GOTD download or the program. (If the program works for everyone else, but not for you - you can't claim that GOTD fraudulently distributes trials or demos... The problem you are having, is yours...

   Sorry.

   Posted 8 months ago # | Login to Send PM

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.