I suggest downloader orbit from http://www.orbitdownloader.com/
works well with IE.

If you still want it and have the key, the link posted at #177 still works fine - use a downloader program for faster download - ie multiple simultaneous connections.
I got the key before attempting the download myself.

Ray

i tried all day yesterday and all day today, and after about 3-4 hrs. it would get to about 80-85% downloaded, then it would say "this could not be downloaded" and i'd push the setup button all over again. its now 10 pm and I just pushed it again, even though I know I don't have time for it to download this time, even if it would. But i'm very disappointed; it sounds like a great program I would dearly love to have, as i'm preparing to move across country. I hope it is offered again someday. :(

Well, yes -- this is a large program, so thanks to Ashampoo and GGOTD for giving us a second day. :-)

With high-speed internet, Win XP, Chrome browser, download and install took almost 1.5 hours (you can go away and vacuum the house): download was professional - i.e. it reported what it was doing and percentage completion, and automatically downloaded Microsoft C++ Redistributable.

Registration was a little awkward: clicking on the pop-up opens a web page that asks you to log in to your Ashampoo account (?!), but hitting "Forgot Password?" generates an immediate auto. email to reset password that works to set a password (also immediately), so I registered for lifetime use - no problem.

After all that, I've barely looked at the program so far, but I'm looking forward to trying some new ideas for my house!

Thanks to Ashampoo and GGOTD for this!

For those that want to keep the program, Ashampoo Downloader downloads temp.exe to your Temp folder 1.01TB.

Guess I'm screwed on this one... Cannot seem to get a email reply. I have followed the directions and requested a PW change link several times now so I could then request the license key. Spam filter was not a problem either. Shame Ashampoo did/could not get their process together, or maybe that was the intent?

Oh well...

Had no problem downloading or installing. Took about 30-45 minutes, got the reg key with no problem.
I have DSL with no download caps!!

Ok It worked after 3.5 hours today. Nice program Thanks for the 2 day giveaway it was necessary for such a big file to get (955MB). my previous post was #171 last night at 11:45 pm. Persistence pays off!!

Whilst I appreciate GAOTD and Ashampoo giving another day to install, Ashampoo s installer is only giving me 1 per cent per hour and there is no way my internet connection would complete the download in time, so I have had to cancel . ( Despite it was eaten into my ISP imposed download limit ).

There must be a better way, and I agree with the comment , you should be able to register now and download via a torrent, or via a cloud file over say a week.

Anyone who manages to download and the file had turned out corrupted is going to be seriously cheesed off with Ashampoo .

It is a shame because I was looking forward to trying the prog.

Finally succeeded!!!!!!

Downloaded the “Ashampoo Downloader” 2MB.
Then downloaded the main program. Main download crashed once at beginning.

Then got License key via e-mail.

Thanks GOTD and Ashampoo!!

I am unable to activate Ashampoo Home Designer Pro 1.0.1 from GOTD website. . Can not obtain the L. key. Submitted my email about 3 or 4 times, but no reply about the L. key. What am I doing wrong?

waited a while till the registration finally loaded trough, now still waiting for my key. It's not listed in MyAshampoo either

I really want this. I've been trying to download it all day yesterday and now all day again today, no luck. Usually it sits stuck on "being loaded" and never shows any progress at all. One time today it downloaded 40% of the file and then an hour ago it gave the "cannot be downloaded" error. Since then it's back to sitting there making no progress at all. Ive now lost count of how many times I've attempted to download this.

Could the developer let the giveaway be downloaded directly from their webpage or some way that WORKS?

#192, harpo2448

The link I posted is indeed from the Ashampoo Downloader in the giveaway package.

If you suspect it for malware, you can verify by running the giveaway installer and check the connection url through any firewall or network monitoring tools..

Finally got it downloaded, installed & activated. Looks like a great program & while I haven't explored it yet I think I'm going to have fun with this. Thank you Ashampoo & GAOTD.

Dear Ashampoo & GOTD team,

I have tried several times since 29th, but still getting errors as follows:
Error: The setup files are corrupted. Please obtain a new copy of the program.

Same prob here. Been trying every 2 hrs since this started. Granted I am on dial-up, but should not still be receiving this same error. Any straight forward, simple, yet direct answer for this?
Thank you for such a wonderful site and truly helpful software from GAOTD, and information from the comments section.

Oh, yeah, to repeat what I think I read in prior user comments yesterday:

After successfully signing in to my Ashampoo account (new or not) to get the new user registration code, it appeared on-screen in the browser still at their website for immediate cut-and-paste into the waiting Home Designer registration code-entry box (as well as being e-mailed).

I.E, no waiting for the e-mail to appear or wondering if a spam filter nabbed it.

Seemed simple and worked well enough for me -- as always, I just read and followed the directions in the Readme.txt file that came in the downloaded GOTD ZIP file.

#177, "Aalin"

That link to directly download a copy of an installer from "downloadcluster.com" DOES appear to be an easier/more direct way to get a copy versus downloading the GOTD-provided ZIP file, then opening it, then running the extracted Setup.exe (and actually reading the included text file for straightforward directions) to initiate the actual installer download.

HOWEVER, what guarantee would a person have that the "direct-download" file is an official file from Ashampoo, and not a modified version loaded with malware? It's too big to upload to VirusTotal.com for checking.

Yesterday evening I downloaded starting from this GOTD page, registered at Ashampoo and activated OK. I am fortunate to have a good/basic cable modem connection (it is not "premium" speed) which apparently many do not.

And, yes, you set up an Ashampoo account with e-mail address and new password if you don't already have one from previously using any of their other products. Like many other companies' product registration forms, they ask for and would like you to enter your age, street address, etc.; however, I found those additional "customer profile" marketing details not necessary to successfully get an activation code.

I see nothing wrong with a company wanting the opportunity to market more of their products (typically at very low discounted prices) in exchange for giving you a fully-working copy of a title for free. If they don't try then typically they eventually go out of business altogether. (And then ADVERTISE/market what's left of their company itself "FOR SALE"!)

To opt out of e-mailed offers/update notifications/etc., simply log into your (new) Ashampoo account by clicking on the MyAshampoo link at the top of their home page, log in, then click on the "Settings" tab that appears and uncheck the appropriate boxes. It's a bit of a hassle but is simple.

Thanks Ashampoo and GOTD.

Unfortunately, being a moderately major application, it will take most of us a while before we could even begin to comment on the actual program itself -- a shame since it is often long after the daily offers have ended.

Acccordingly, as is often commented here, I strongly suspect that the overall user rating score is most often simply a popularity contest of either the title's name, the country of origin or the company's prior reputation, possibly the concept/purpose, certainly the price, ease of downloading/activating, or how "catchy" the features are presented as being indispensable; and rarely of how brilliantly executed (or not) it may actually turn out to be.

It would be nice if there were some means to get valid user impression and opinion feedback after actual product usage, say, after a week following installation or, better yet, 3-5 launch attempts of the title which would also prove it was installed on a working system.

Dear Ashampoo & GOTD team,

I have tried several times since 29th, but still getting errors as follows:
Error: The setup files are corrupted. Please obtain a new copy of the program.

re the log file generated if program is terminated - it is located in folder C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\My Documents\Ashampoo Home Designer Pro

I got the same error - may need reinstallation - look for file temp.exe about 1GB in size in a TEMP folder.

Ray

Downloaded and installed OK but cannot get the registration key, and am still waiting for the email. I have already signed up with Ashampoo with earlier giveaways but can't sign in. I've requested a password change, but haven't received that email either (and it's not in my spam folder). How long does it take to get the email from them anyone? More than a day?

In the "Share Your Ideas" box at the top of this page, it says that the license is for 40 DAYS ONLY. This seems to be confirmed in the comments.

So far there is no response in the comments regarding whether this is "FREE licensed software you’d have to buy otherwise!" or simply a trialware demo.

Ashampoo - where are you? Can you PLEASE clarify this. Thank you!

I have not been able to get the registration code.

Although it took a while to download, I installed the software and followed the instructions to get the registration code. After entering my email address it asked for a password. I didn't recall having an account so I initiated the "forgot password" process. Multiple attempts last night and this morning have been fruitless. An email to support yielded the "check the spam folder" and try again. Nothing in the spam filters and the response from support and all the other product advertisements make it to my inbox without issue.

Oh well, if I cannot get the password reset it appears the system will not allow me to create a new account . It looks like it may be a decent product.

Unfortunately I could not get this program to run. It kept crashing and giving me this pop up error “Fataler Fehler! Die Applikation wird beendet!” I would like to know since I installed the English language version why are the errors popping up in German or is it Dutch? So no matter whichever damned language that is WHY? is it in another language than the English Language I choose to install in.

I tried reinstalling the program using the Dutch language and the French Language options after English failed but I get the Same Error. ” Fataler Fehler! Die Applikation wird beendet!”

After wasting a lot of time and bandwidth. I am left frustrated and angry with GAOTD and At Ashampoo. this was a Epic fail. I have given this a thumbs down as it deserves. I can not tell you just how many others I will tell about this horrible experience but needless to say it will be a hell of a lot more than what I tell when I have a positive experiences with the Ashampoo company. .

I Uninstall-ed this program which has left me with a foul taste in my mouth plus I have to complain that it was a terrible waste of my limited monthly bandwidth cap.

I want my 1.8 GB back, I hate you right now GAOTD for your unplugging this software from your damned Server. You stopped hosting the file after I had already downloaded about 700MB of it. Forcing me to go to Ashampoo to get it where it did not even continue where my download left off. What a gigantic Cluster Puck this was!

I am so Not impressed. I am so very disappointed in both sites now. I expected better things from Ashampoo and all i have to say to GiveAwayOfTheDay is for shame on you. Shame on you GAOTD for stopping my File download 20 minutes from completion. Your Switching formats mid offer caused me and hundreds of other users like me to use up & waste more of our bandwidth.

Many others on here are like me their ISP gives them a monthly Cap limit. I Have a DL cap that keeps my monthly Internet bill at a affordable cost. Going over my monthly Cap can have some hefty penalties. I am sure there are many other users here that have something similar with their own ISP

So for now all I can say to you Ashampoo & to you GAOTD is to take this stinking Error Message

Fataler Fehler! Die Applikation wird beendet!

and shove it!!!

Sign ME One Pissed Off and Grumpy
Rick Frog

This is basically a repost of my Post currently at # 146. it was 160 something yesterday but it looks like some of the more negative comments have been deleted again.

this post is too correct my many spelling & punctuation mistakes and give a better understanding of what my problem was what I tried to solve it and give you all a break down on my thoughts at the time..

Unfortunately Rage anger and sarcasm are rarely translated well in the written word. this is the time where I wish I could post my review in video.. I think I could give the Angry man videos justice because of how mad this problem with this program made me. =P

Signed a less angry but still disappointed
Rick Frog

@181 Stanzibar:
as long as the download is not complete - which will take me approx. 4 days! - I cannot request a key. And then it will be too late.

STILL WAITING!!!!

D/L'd the program yesterday, still waiting for a
registration number. I've had to send a separate
email in the past requesting one, AGAIN!!!
This has ALSO been a problem with other downloads
from them.

COME ON ASHAMPOO-- QUIT TAKING SO LONG......

How can I download the bulk with DAP? It starts with Ashampoo Downloader automatically, how can I copy the link?
Thanks for your help!

My error came after downloading 880GB twice and 2 errors at around 550GB, what a waste of time and band width. Shame on ashampoo for not being prepared to handle such huge files and demand.

Addendum to comment 179: Had to enter email address and then log-in to Ashampoo to get serial (I have a log-in from previous Ashampoo ventures). It worked and program is now activated.

only yook me 20 minutes to download
had no issues requesting the key or using it
the only issue i have is that whenever i click help and then info the program crashes, not sure if it is just that button yet.
I am using windows 7

Downloaded the zip file last night. Installed this morning when I saw the offer was still active. Took about 45 minutes on a 3Mbps connection. It wants a license key to activate. Otherwise it's just a trial version.

Yes, an epic fail.
After all the hassle of obtaining the installer just like previously described by several users here, even from outside sources, I was finally given a key which shows as 'invalid' and another one which ends up as a trial key, that I finally got after creating another account just for the sake of fixing the 1st failed key.
Submitted a message to them via support page. Let's wait and see...
(first problem after 25+ successful AShampoo activations, so I'm amazed on why this is happening today!)

My comment hasn't made thru, so I'm trying again (it's a joke, right?).

Update: support sent me a generic answer, which didn't solved.

If anyone finding it difficult to download with ashampoo downloader,

Try this link

ashampoo.downloadcluster.com/public/ash/0167/ashampoo_home_designer_pro_1.0.1_12484.exe

This was a total waste of my time. I appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into this software given its size and I appreciate making it available.. But it is NOT available. It took 3 tries/hours to even get it to download. And then to get the key, I get stuck on a page "Congratulations! Your account is active now." But the next item is to complete profile and then get key. But nothing is clickable and no further progress is possible. But I gave my email to become "an active account" so I'm sure I'll get a bunch of junk email.

@91

The link will generate a key based on your computer so people don't use the link run the application to get the one that is made for your computer.

Almost 4 am now :( Still the Ashampoo Downloader fails to download anything

Managed to finish my download (hint: pass the advertised link to wget rather than downloading via a browser. Wget will restart d/l failures (of which I had many) and eventually get you a complete file.

However, what do you have to do to get a key>> I filled in the application form that pops up with my address and got nothing. Tried several other addresses and still got nothing. Does it take Ashampoo a few days to work through the backlog? - I was expecting an almost instant response.

i finally managed to download and install, at 2:30 the next day, all in all great program, wished it had other export formats but i`m really pleased with it :) so u get a couple of ads , for what their worth and their functionality i don`t mind. i have various other software from them and i`m happy with all of them especially burning studio :)

I started downloading at 9:15 pm. After getting only 588MB in 2.5 hours I got a file is corrupt message. I want this but I can't get 3 hours more of program in 15 minutes. Shame on you GOTD for thinking any of us could sucessfully download a file so big in a decent amount of time. It should be extended for 2 more days at this rate. Thanks Ashampoo for the offer but I hate to miss this but it's time for Bed.

look at all the bad comments, I will skip this giveaway due to how much trouble it looks like it's been.

Mostly because I can use the sims 3 with add ons to build a dream home no sense for this huge and very slow download lmao.

Dislike this now.

By 2AM EDT, my 5th try to download this program has resulted in the same error as the other 4 tries. "Setup files are corrupted. Please obtain a new copy of the program." Please advise.

From what I can see there is no import of any 3D objects other than what is provided with the program and you cannot export your project to any other software including CAD. It's a nice software for what it is, but not what I would be needing it for. Thanks anyway. :)

One main problem I've found so far is that when I go to the help section, though the text will change from german to english after a few seconds, the videos are still all in german.

Several times now I've tried to download this. Every time, Ashampoo Downloader just remains stuck at "being loaded," but the download never starts :(

Well, I may be blonde, but...
Program and downloader download fine now that I've changed the language to Nederlands... But, it still downloads in English.

Sooooo, rustrating! After a number of tries, I still can't even get the downloader to download.

And now, an update...
Had to leave the download running through the night, and this morning Windows had rebooted after installing updates...

I am, for some reason, giving it another shot, though I really don't think I'll be able to finish the download before the giveaway ends.
Oh, and for Ashampoo: It would be nice if the downloader had saved the download in a way so it could resume...

my download stops after 60 % last night could not download the remaining now i have to download from start you have to keep both of them to download what ever user needs and it does not support the resume i think here in my place the power cuts is heavy what is the use if i cant download for hours also

Downloaded and installed fine, but I have been waiting hours for the license to be emailed... Their servers must be swamped. Hopefully I can complete activation tomorrow. Would love to give the software a try. Thanks

Took over 5 hours to download, and I have no idea if it is properly registered. After the 5 hour download completed, the next popup I saw was access denied. It took deactivation of my virus scanner's behavior blocker and a copied file before I could get it to run properly, after 4 tries. Sigh. Not very intuitive, so far. Not sure it was worth it-not the money, but the time babysitting a computer just for a download. I noticed after a while they stopped responding-are they just waiting to start over again tomorrow, or just don't know what went wrong? I've used Ashampoo products in the past, but I'm not likely to do so again, not after this experience.