First of all, I have already posted this problem on the HiFi forum and as always, Jim Skorna has done his best to be of help. This in no way is a slam against Active Sky as it is one of my favorite programs.Step by step, my problem is as follows in ONLY Active Sky Advanced. (No problems at all with ASE (Active Sky Evolution).1. Started up ASA2. It begins checking the data base, and the ribbon moves to the right until I get my thunder.3. Then as the startup continues and the ribbon begins to go right again, I get the following message:4. "Need Activation. Your license key is not yet activated, or is invalid. Click OK to automatically activate your license now. Activating enables online features, updates, and more!"5. Click OK6. Quickly another window pops up saying: "Online Activation. Please wait while your product is being activated." Almost too quickly to be read, this window progresses to another which reads as follows:7. Online Activation Problem. This license is not valid. Please re-enter your license key in the next screen, making sure that it is entered exactly as supplied. Please contact [email protected] if you continue to receive this message. (I will search for that site after I post this if this is not the same place and duplicate this message)8. Click OK9. Copied and pasted my "Issued License Key" from my invoice in the window that says: Please enter the license key provided during your software purchase"10. Click OK11. Next window reads: "Success. Thank you! License key is valid and accepted. Please use REFRESH to re-download weather using your new license key."12. Click ok13. Pressed "Refresh". I don't think it does anything as everything is still dimmed out and the ribbon is still in its original position.14. Click ok15. The window described in step "4" above pops up again and the entire process is repeated over and over againJim's recommendation was to disable my firewall and be sure that something else on my computer was not blocking ASA. I disabled everything in the taskmaster startup provisions except NvCpl which cannot be disabled and the problem with ASA remained. All firewall and antivirus provisions are disabled.The problem is the same for ASA in either FSX or FS9.Has anyone ever seen this problem?Thanks:RTH

First of all, I have already posted this problem on the HiFi forum and as always, Jim Skorna has done his best to be of help. This in no way is a slam against Active Sky as it is one of my favorite programs.Step by step, my problem is as follows in ONLY Active Sky Advanced. (No problems at all with ASE (Active Sky Evolution).1. Started up ASA2. It begins checking the data base, and the ribbon moves to the right until I get my thunder.3. Then as the startup continues and the ribbon begins to go right again, I get the following message:4. "Need Activation. Your license key is not yet activated, or is invalid. Click OK to automatically activate your license now. Activating enables online features, updates, and more!"5. Click OK6. Quickly another window pops up saying: "Online Activation. Please wait while your product is being activated." Almost too quickly to be read, this window progresses to another which reads as follows:7. Online Activation Problem. This license is not valid. Please re-enter your license key in the next screen, making sure that it is entered exactly as supplied. Please contact [email protected] if you continue to receive this message. (I will search for that site after I post this if this is not the same place and duplicate this message)8. Click OK9. Copied and pasted my "Issued License Key" from my invoice in the window that says: Please enter the license key provided during your software purchase"10. Click OK11. Next window reads: "Success. Thank you! License key is valid and accepted. Please use REFRESH to re-download weather using your new license key."12. Click ok13. Pressed "Refresh". I don't think it does anything as everything is still dimmed out and the ribbon is still in its original position.14. Click ok15. The window described in step "4" above pops up again and the entire process is repeated over and over againJim's recommendation was to disable my firewall and be sure that something else on my computer was not blocking ASA. I disabled everything in the taskmaster startup provisions except NvCpl which cannot be disabled and the problem with ASA remained. All firewall and antivirus provisions are disabled.The problem is the same for ASA in either FSX or FS9.Has anyone ever seen this problem?Thanks:RTH

I don't have the issue but I have a suggestion. I did a Google search on your problem (google: Active Sky Advanced ASA activation problems) and found that this problem happens a lot. A review of ASA over at Flightsim.com - http://simflight.com/2009/01/29/review-active-sky-advanced/ - spoke a little about this issue and the reviewer recommended that you should have the dotnet framework program installed on your system, at least version 2.0 (the latest is Version 4). ASA uses the dotnet framework for proper installation of ASA. I would make sure the dotnet framework (google: dotnet) is properly installed and up-to-date then uninstall ASA and run a registry cleaner, then disable UAC (as well as your antivirus program), and then reinstall. Hope this helps!Best regards,Jim

Thanks for the reply Jim:If I am interpreting correctly from my Google search, "dotnet" is another of several names for "Microsoft.Net Framework". If this is not so and I am interpreting incorrectly, please correct me.I have "Microsoft .NET Framework" versions 1.1, 2, 3, 3.5, and 4 installed (Automatic updates). Everything else I have requiring .NET Framework seems to be working flawlessly.My Operating System is Windows XP Pro, so I am assuming that the need to "disable UAC" is not applicable here.I may do as you recommended and remove, clear, and reinstall, but I hesitate to do this and give Murphy's law a chance as ASE is working fine and I may just choose to ignore the problem. I am curious though as both ASA and ASE use to both work fine.Thanks again for your kind advice.RTH

I don't have the issue but I have a suggestion. I did a Google search on your problem (google: Active Sky Advanced ASA activation problems) and found that this problem happens a lot. A review of ASA over at Flightsim.com - http://simflight.com/2009/01/29/review-active-sky-advanced/ - spoke a little about this issue and the reviewer recommended that you should have the dotnet framework program installed on your system, at least version 2.0 (the latest is Version 4). ASA uses the dotnet framework for proper installation of ASA. I would make sure the dotnet framework (google: dotnet) is properly installed and up-to-date then uninstall ASA and run a registry cleaner, then disable UAC (as well as your antivirus program), and then reinstall. Hope this helps!Best regards,Jim

Thanks for the reply Jim:If I am interpreting correctly from my Google search, "dotnet" is another of several names for "Microsoft.Net Framework". If this is not so and I am interpreting incorrectly, please correct me.I have "Microsoft .NET Framework" versions 1.1, 2, 3, 3.5, and 4 installed (Automatic updates). Everything else I have requiring .NET Framework seems to be working flawlessly.My Operating System is Windows XP Pro, so I am assuming that the need to "disable UAC" is not applicable here.I may do as you recommended and remove, clear, and reinstall, but I hesitate to do this and give Murphy's law a chance as ASE is working fine and I may just choose to ignore the problem. I am curious though as both ASA and ASE use to both work fine.Thanks again for your kind advice.RTH

Your assumptions regarding dotnet are correct. It was a solution for some in the past. Here's how to disable security (UAC) in Windows XP: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/02/08/disable-or-turn-off-windows-xp-security-center-permanently/ .Best regards,Jim

I would think if you "upgraded" your ASA to ASE it would make ASA unusable since ASE is the current release.

Hi,No, both can be installed and can be used, normally.

Hello again Jim:I have already done that, just did not understand exactly what the term "UAC" referred to. All Antivirus, Firewall, and Spam protection provisions have been disabled (ESET Smart Security 4 on the server for all provisions (WinXP provisions are disabled all of the time as they conflict with ESET), AVG Anti-virus Free Edition 2011 and WinXP provisions (UAC) on the client computer).Thanks:RTH

Your assumptions regarding dotnet are correct. It was a solution for some in the past. Here's how to disable security (UAC) in Windows XP: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/02/08/disable-or-turn-off-windows-xp-security-center-permanently/ .Best regards,Jim

Last attempt::I completely removed protection from my computer with the exception of the WinXP default firewall (which is disabled) to be absolutely sure that it was not the culprit blocking ASA startup.No luck. The problem remained.Happy flying:RTH