Losing license with automatic windows update

[Anirban Das]

It is very unfortunate that ArchiCad crashes with windows automatic updates. This has happened a second time to me. As a practice Microsoft sends updates automatically to improve the performance of the operating system and it never clashes with any of the software for the licences. This is a faultline that exists with Archicad.

In India the dealer is asking money to repair the lost license for which I am not responsible. Please let me know whom should I contact in Archicad.

Following are the excerpts fron the recent communication with the dealer:

As per the condition described, I guess your license has been destroyed due to OS update.

It is mandatory to upload license in GS License Tool Manager, whenever you are formatting the system or updating the OS.

As this is a software key, the license gets downloaded to Hardware of the system. And upon formatting or OS Update there is a process in which hardware is considered and due to the same the Key also gets deleted/Destroyed.

To revive it, I am sending a Destroyed key form. Kindly fill it up and our accounts team will contact you for the pricing of new key. 

After the payment is processed your key will be allotted to you within a day or two.

[Jp1138]

I have never experienced this issue, but having a software license you are always subject to this kind of problems, and I think GS should be more proactive in helping their users. Anyway, I don´t know if the Technology Preview can be publiciy discused in this forum, but there a new developments around this matter.

[Eduardo Rolon]

FWIW AC27 changes the way software licenses work so this might be already fixed but it is not clear if this will roll back to users that do not upgrade.

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Technology-Preview/Getting-started-with-cloud-licensi...

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Also Autodesk loses their licenses constantly (not permanently though) in MacOS and Windows to the point that they have created software to fix their issues but which in the end is easier to reinstall from scratch every month. Best company working with software licenses is Rhino and it looks like 27 will have the same system.

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Not to minimize your issue but I agree with @Barry Kelly that the final resolution to this issue is with your reseller and that there might be something else going wrong in your setup since you are basically the only one that has reported this problem and/or keeps happening to.

While I agree that loosing your software license on an update shouldn't happen, sadly those are the rules and one of the benefits of the SSA which also protects your hardware license if it breaks or gets lost.

To go back to the car analogy, if you accidentally crash your car and don't have insurance then there is nothing the car company can do specially when they have informed you that you should buy insurance and that they have told you multiple times not to drive in a way that you can crash it as they have done with the multiple tickets reference.

[Anirban Das]

You have copied their views, what they had written to me:

"To go back to the car analogy, if you accidentally crash your car and don't have insurance then there is nothing the car company can do specially when they have informed you that you should buy insurance and that they have told you multiple times not to drive in a way that you can crash it as they have done with the multiple tickets reference"

What are you talking about?? Am I to take insurance for a legitimate software?? Its total nonsense. How can it be with the mercy of reseller. Reseller is simply a trader with some knowledge about the software. How GRAPHISOFT can shy away from their resposibilities in providing the software key which was lost in the faulty process they have made to authenticate the user??

However, this Graphisoft Community page is not generally seen by the users, otherwise more comments from various people would have been present here. I think this is high time to take it to social media to make the AEC community aware of this nonsense being practiced by the resellers of Archicad to make unreasonable money and Graphisoft is supporting them.

[Barry Kelly]

Here is another analogy.

You buy a new glass vase.

You place it on your shelf, but you forget to move it to a safe place while you dust the shelf.

The vase gets knocked off and smashes.

Do you go back to the shop and say "you have to replace my vase because I paid you for it, but I broke it when cleaning" ?

If you have household insurance, it may be covered by that.

Same with your Archicad license.

You broke it while 'cleaning' (updating) your machine.

If you have a support service agreement, it would probably be covered by that.

Barry.

[Anirban Das]

Oh, first you compared with car & now it is glass vase. I think you should compare the durability of the sofware with you peer groups like Corel, Adobe etc and not such fragile objects. Lets stop this nonsense discussions here and take it to social media. Graphisoft should get back my license. I am not paying for it. 

[Barry Kelly]

I agree with you 100% it is your license and you should have the right to it for as long as you want.

But the fact is, you damaged it, and you can't expect them to replace it for no fee as you were not insured.

They will (or should) not be charging you the full amount for a new license - you already own that.

But they are quite correct in charging you a fee to replace it.

I hope that fee would not be to big, as there is no physical license key to re-issue.

But that is for you to deal with the distributor about.

Barry.

[Anirban Das]

Once again I reiterate that

I HAVE NOT DAMAGED IT.  IT GOT LOST BECAUSE OF THE FAULTY INTERFACE OF THE SOFTWARE WITH WINDOWS.

In the trailing communications it has been said many times. Why this is being raised again and again when you do not have any legitimate answer to give?? 

[Barry Kelly]

So far, you are the only person I know that this has happened to with an automatic Windows update (i.e. shut down and update system).

I know it has happened to people who have re-installed or changed versions of their OS (i.e. 10 to 11).

But you need to deal with the people who supplied you with the license.

They are the only ones that can re-issue it to you.

Explain to them that you think it was a Windows system update that has caused the problem, and you don't think that should invalidate your license.

I agree there too, I don't think it should, but as I said before, I am not sure it would, as I have seen no other reports of it happening.

But then if the supplier comes back to you and tells you that on two other occasions they warned you this would happen, then I think you will be stuck paying to get your license back.

I have no idea what sort of upgrade you did or what the supplier has told you in the past.

Maybe you can ask them to escalate it higher up in Graphisoft to see what they say?

But ultimately you have to deal with your supplier to get it sorted.

They are the ones that will give you a legitimate answer.

This is just a user forum and we can only give you our opinions.

Barry.