The bane of any reinstall.

 

I've just completed a reformat/reinstall of my system after trying Windows 8 for the last six months. I'm now back on Windows 7 and spent a couple of days getting my FSX installation back up and running with all my addons.

 

Unfortunately I'm starting to hit the activation limit for various addons now and am having to contact the developers to get it all sorted. It can be a real pain in the backside, especially after the trouble I had getting my Captain Sim 727 reactivated earlier this year after they failed to respond to two requests and I had to send them a rather angry and blunt email.

 

Dear Developers/Publishers,

 

If you are going to implement online activation of your addons then please give us the means to either return an activation before we uninstall or reformat (like the DCS modules or VRS Super Hornet/Tac Pack), or give us the means to reactivate the key ourselves (such as Flight One).

 

It would alleviate the headache of your legitimate customers having to jump through hoops to get their product reinstalled and working, and would also reduce your workload in having to deal with reactivation requests.

Agree 100%. No paying customer should have to go through a big hassle because of a reinstall or reformat. Both are SOP when dealing with computers and addons.

 

This weekend I had to reinstall both the NGX (HGS blank and autothrottle not working) and the MD-11 (FSX crash when selecting the plane).

Not going to happen, too many people accept the ludicrous 'number of activations' system, even though it's essentially nothing more than artificially applied 'wear and tear'.

Well, if I correctly recall the actions, Aerosoft went through a full loop of rather fancy activation systems (including limits) while eventually returning to some more basic methods. The pressure came from the customers and I think it was a good move. :good: Support demands due to failed activations may also have played a role as it seemed.

 

To add to the OP's list of devs allowing for at least a self management, FSDT does so. Can't say I'm happy with any of those limits though and I think the role-model should indeed be the devs not using any of those artificial hurdles. Guess I saw too many server blackouts, missing activation windows (NGX anyone?) or just a re-activation enforcement out of the blue. :mellow:

The solution for me is not to buy any new software that requires activation.

 

That solved my concerns.

I would have to agree with the OP.  It can truly be a pain in the butt.  

 

One thing that has saved me many hours of reload time, is making hard drive images using Acronis true image before doing anything major.  Backup backup backup, saves time time and in this cause, re-activation issues.

 

RJ

I don't have a problem with online activation if it helps the developer protect their product.

 

I do have a problem with online activation when an arbitrary number of activations is reached and I'm locked out of the product I have purchased legitimately. If the developer has gone to the trouble of implementing this method, surely it can't take that much more effort to also give us the means to deactivate the addon when we are about to uninstall or reformat. Better still I'd like to see a system that allows the user to reset their activations instantly - just like Flight One allows.

 

As a flight simmer who regularly reformats or upgrades my desktop and laptop I'd very much like to be able to reinstall the stuff I have purchased legitimately without any hassle or having to contact developers asking them to reset my activation limit.

 

Take a look at the screen I've just grabbed from the Captain Sim Customer Support section:

 

 

I've ringed in red the parts that irk me. I'm a legitimate customer. Why assume I'm a pirate because I've had the temerity to install my stuff on more than one computer or use more than one ISP in the years since I originally purchased it?

 

 

 

The solution for me is not to buy any new software that requires activation.

 

As sad as it would be to pass up on so many great addons, you might very well have the right idea.

I completely agree with all the above, it's a giant pain in the posterior. 

 

However shout out to Ryan (PMDG) I let him know that was going to reinstall and he give all my products an additional activation before i started the reinstall.

 

Until people stop accepting this, developers will continue to put this in place.

Ryan at PMDG and Rob at Real Air have been excellent in getting my activations back up and running again in the past. Kudos to them but I would rather have the option of deactivating my stuff before I reformat.

FYI - the 777 has a feature to return your license activation and it'll automatically do it during uninstall of the product.

 

NGX is getting it in SP2.

 

Should cut down on the exceedences for simple things like reformats.

Great news Ryan

Some outfits are well done and easy to navigate but some???? I've come to the conclusion some outfits do it on purpose hoping we will just throw up our hands and repurchase the product.

FYI - the 777 has a feature to return your license activation and it'll automatically do it during uninstall of the product.

 

NGX is getting it in SP2.

 

Should cut down on the exceedences for simple things like reformats.

 

Thanks Ryan. Another reason PMDG is a class act among developers.

 

When's the 777 com.....wut? Hey...who said that? It will be released when it's ready.

We at SkyPilot have adopted a very simple yet effective registration scheme.  Simply download the installer (FSXAssist in this case), run it, enter your email, and then enter the regkey that is emailed to you.  Done.

 

The whole process takes about 2 minutes. Also, we have a no hassle 30 day return policy.

 

Regards

 

Jim Allen

SkyPilot Software

Some outfits are well done and easy to navigate but some???? I've come to the conclusion some outfits do it on purpose hoping we will just throw up our hands and repurchase the product.

 

I can assure you that is not the case with us - I go out of my way to prevent people from buying it again in our support tickets all the time. Some people even do it without asking us on an assumption that they have to and we almost always refund those charges.