Activation, and limits to the number of copies you can run

The last activation I did over the phone was fully automated so was available 24/7.

Though I suppose you might have to talk to a person if you already have two activations for your serial number and you didn't get the opportunity to deactivate one when the PC crashed.

I found initial activation a little daunting. First installed AA2 on a P4 I'd built for dedicated audio use, and wanted to use some of the 30 days to make sure this was going to be an ideal machine for AA2.

First day into the 30, machine crashed and had to use sys restore to get it back to "pre-installed" state. However, after doing fresh AA2 install again, it wouldn't open, got the "you must activate" message. Since the audio machines we have usually do not go online, I decided I'd do that via the automated phone option.

Unfortunately, while I was on the phone getting a code based on the ser num and activ codes it was displaying, we had a power glitch and because it was on a workbench, it wasn't hooked to our normal UPS's.

On reboot, typing in the code received via phone resulted in it not being valid (no surprise, AA was now displaying diff activation number from what it did when we made the call to get the code).

If you phone the toll free number (for US anyhow) and use option 3 you will eventually get a live person. I explained everything but she said that unforunately that little experience has used up one of my 2 permitted activations.  She gave me a new code (and I got it running) but told me when I want to install AA2 on a 2nd machine (which I prob. DO!) that I will have to call them again and get some sort of "special exception code".

I'm not uncomfortable with anti-piracy schemes, but this was pretty daunting and time consuming.  I use lots of Waves plugs with I-lock dongles (2 of them usually) and that seems a better way to go than this. Perhaps my experience of having a power glitch right at the "golden moment" is unusual, but still...

Once I got it working immediately make a Ghost backup of the C drive. Anyone know if using that (if becomes necessary) will preserve this activation?  or require a new one?

So far, very limited work with AA2 but like the new stuff-- seems at long last it does many of the things I'd been wanting for ages.  These forums are terrific for tips and more in-depth knowledge, sure am thankful to all who regularly share stuff here.  I'll be hooking up the Behr controller that's been sitting on shelf for ages since it only quasi-worked with AA1.5- and only then thx to tips found here, too.

The process of activation (or changing an activation from one machine to another) seems to work pretty well once you're onto a paid copy rather than the trial version.

From this and other posts, I get the impression that most of the problems are with the trial, which they seem to assume will only ever be a once off activation.

Bob

Hi Bob,
No this was a paid upgrade priced version of AA2.0, longtime
user going back to CE/CEPro. Very dicey about it having
"stolen" one of my 2 legit activations and I'll be curious to see
what happens when I go to install it on 2nd computer and
have to contact Adobe as I noted.

Rich LePage

my new DAW will be arriving soon, so I'll have to go through all this. I do have it already installed on my notebook and that's both 1.5 and 2.0 which I hear I should keep both around. The only thing that makes me nervous is that I think I may have registered one of the installations twice and the reason for that is that I created a second "tweaked" profile in Windows for the specific reason of running Audition. This is also included a new Windows user to run Audition. It was a while back ago so I can't remember if Adobe was smart enough to know that I was inadvertently registering twice the same installation. I guess if there was some sort of unique ID generated based on the hardware that I should be okay.

So now I need to phone them

Well, I finally got around to it, and was a little surprised.  The phone number given in the activation dialogue took me to an automated system, at which my heart sank - how would that deal with the fact that I had lost an activation?  Well, I went through the process anyway, and it simply did it for me.  I even checked there was nothing funny by deactivating both computers and reactivating them.

And there I had been thinking I would have to justify myself to some customer rep - indeed, I could even have done it out of business hours after all!

Still prefer a dongle, though...

Paul

Still prefer a dongle, though...

Samplitude is donglized, and that's not an insignificant issue on their forum.  I have no problems with the dongle, but there are folks who have had theirs fail and put them out of business for a while ...

I haven't had any trouble with either system, myself.

I lost a dongle to my Logic installation once, not fun  

I have had to contact AA on this before and they are quite reasonable if you get a real live person on the line.

I was recording a live even and had switched from my legit copy of AA1.5 to 2.0 for this event as I thought it would be more stable.  For some reason, perhaps the high heat and humidity (around 90-95F at 80% humid), me and my A2 always seem to have a ton of problems with our computers at this event.  We always have two computers rolling to avoid loosing data, but it still isn't foolproof.

This is an annual week long event and, about day 3, I had to reconfigure some things due to a windows error.  In the process, my AA2.0 trial deactivated due to tampering with the system - and I had left my AA1.5 disc at the house 6 hours away, so I was stuck without any copy of AA!  I managed to get AA support on the phone during the event and persuade them to allow me to install the same copy of AA2.0 that was one the backup computer on mine, provided I would uninstall and purchase my own copy after the event.  I contacted AA support right when the session started and managed to get it all installed and activated before the musical (a capella) portion.  Needless to say I uninstalled and purchased my software as I said I would.  I was very impressed that they allowed me to do that.

Nothing like some quick stress at a live, international event.

Nothing like some quick stress at a live, international event.

Now imagine what would have occurred had you called when their support office was closed and all you could get was the automated activation system.

Nothing like some quick stress at a live, international event.

Now imagine what would have occurred had you called when their support office was closed and all you could get was the automated activation system.

I'd rather not think about it.  I can understand the need for activation and that, but I wonder if it doesn't peanalize legal users more than it prevents theft.

All's well that ends well though!

I can understand the need for activation and that

 
Actually it is NOT a NEED, but a business decision on the part of those companies that choose to use it.  Many
software companies still not not require "heavy-handed invasive" activation although most use some sort of
re-useable and non-invasive activation code.

I am an Ozone user as well as Audition, among other tools.  I have not upgraded Ozone since they started
requiring a "USB dongle" and I probably will never upgrade as there are other tools I can use and ways to work
around what I used to do with Ozone. 

My MatLab license at work is via a Network verification and that is a whole "nuther" can of worms!

If it quits working the whole corporation takes the loss in terms of delay schedules, etc (and it does quit for a
while a least once a Month).

Ozone?  Requires a dongle?

Not for the plug-in in AA2.  Or am I missing something here?

Ozone?  Requires a dongle?

From the Ozone Site:
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Knowledgebase
How to authorize with iLok
Top : Authorization and Licenses

Article ID:       000045
Rating:       4.1 / 5.0 (13 votes)
   
Views:       1628

Problem
How can I store a plug-in authorization on my iLok key?

Solution

iLok authorization is now supported for all plug-in formats.

Our plug-ins will be able to detect iLok keys and assets if you already use iLok and PACE software on your system. If you don't already have PACE or iLok, we will not install any PACE or iLok software to your system, and iLok authorizations will be unavailable.

At the moment Ozone, Trash, and Spectron offer iLok authorization, and we are looking to add it to our other plug-ins soon.

You can authorize your plug-in to the iLok from your iZotope customer account.

Select the "Purchase History" option from your account's navigation menu, on the left. A list should appear, detailing all of your iZotope software purchases.

Now find your iZotope plug-in on this list. If no iLok authorization has already been used for this purchase, its entry should include a "iLok" button. Please press this button, and you will be prompted to enter your iLok User ID (registered at iLok.com). Once this is done, an iLok asset for your plug-in should be transferred automatically to your iLok.com account.\


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Here is the link:

http://www.izotope.com/support/center/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&root=19&id=45

I do not allow my audio workstation to be connected to the web so any kind of network authorization is not usable.

This ilock thingie can be installed in a USB dingus and used as a dongle key. (see other related links)

I've heard of one user finding that, on his system, iLok is incompatible with Audition.  Dunno how widespread the problem is.

Perhaps the bigger the company, the more seriously they have to take software protection, simply because some may think that a big company doesn't need their payment for the program.  Conversely I can think of a very small company that doesn't bother with any kind of software protection at all, on the basis that users of its software will care about, and be honest about, paying for the program.  And they also take the view that if people really, really want to crack any form of program protection, they will eventually.