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.

[Lingwisyer]

Generally in business, you would not simply update your computer, especially non-essential updates when they come out as it is not uncommon for there to be a few minor faults some of which might cause issues with certain programs which could result in the loss of thousands of dollars.

Though your description of your issue verse the dealers interpretation seems quite different. A program crashing is very different to a licence breaking...

You mention AC crashing, then you mention the AC licence manager clashing with Windows... which is it?

IF it is AC, when is it crashing? Do you get an error message / report? If so, have you forwarded that to your dealer or if you are on a SSA, support? Have you tried launching AC without a licence attached?

OR, when does the licence manager crassh? Do you get a error message when the licence manager crashes?

[Barry Kelly]

This reminded me, I had a software key on my laptop which broke the other day.

Short story is the hard drive was swapped to another laptop, so same operating system but different hardware.

I just checked the License Manager and it was showing the SW licence was damaged and needed to be uploaded for repair.

Fortunately I was able to upload it and it is now again available for me.

Not quite the same situation as you with upgrading your Operating System.

But I was wondering if you can just go to Licenses Manager and upload the license back to the pool?

Barry.

[Anirban Das]

Hi  Lingwisyer,

Thanks for your response. I think the supplier of the software has not clarified it to the point I raised.

For any person working on a software on the Windows operating system always gets an update periodically from windows, which appears only while opening and closing of windows (mostly while closing). As end users we are always in favour of updating it as it gives advantages in terms of operating speed / removal of bugs / improving efficiency of various programmes. And this may happen many many times in future. Am I going to pay for everytime it happens?

In view of the above we cannot be held responsible for loss of license as happened to me for automatic windows update. It is the faultline that exists with the software that has not been taken care of. Hence they cannot charge me for giving back my license which I have paid for. If it would have been a hardware license, it may not have happened and if I lose the physical hardware key, certainly I will pay for it. However,  for some other reasons if the software developer has replaced hardware with some faulty software, the end user cannot be held responsible.

[Anirban Das]

Hi Barry,

The license manager tool says   

I signed in & this is the message I get.

Kindly advise.

[Anirban Das]

Finally this is the screen I got

What to do?

Regards,

Anirban Das

[Anirban Das]

This is the latest reply from the supplier.... Shall I compare it with a car accident?? This is ridiculous!!

"When you upload the license it is stored in Cloud and when you download it goes to hardware of the system.

So when you update the OS or Format the system, the Software key gets erased. 

As reference from earlier tickets #368 and #205 raised by you. We conveyed you to upload the License whenever you have OS update and it is practice followed incase of OS update or System Format.

 About hardware key, we can say as the technology evolves there are changes in the product. Earlier people used telephones which restricted them to stay at a place to have a Call. Whereas today we use mobiles, which allows us to have a Call from anywhere.

 Similarly this hardware key is evolved to software key which allows us to have License in any part of the world.

 For Eg. If a person is travelling to London from India and forgets to get his Archicad License. In this scenario if he has hardware key which is left in his Office in India, he won't be able to work on that license.

 Whereas if he has Software key, he can tell anyone from his office to upload the key and he can download it in the system available to him and continue his work in London.

 Coming back to Destroyed key, If you were on SSA/FORWARD i.e. maintenance program your key could have been retrieved for free as it is one of the benefit to be on SSA/FORWARD.

 It is like an Insurance of Car, if the Cars gets wrecked in an Accident and insurance is expired or not renewed, you will need to pay the amount of Damage occurred whereas having Insurance can help you recover the damage for free.

 In your case it is the same, you are on Archicad 21 and the SSA/FORWARD is not renewed. Hence it is needed to pay for replacement of destroyed software key"

[Barry Kelly]

That just shows that the last activity for that license was to download it to you computer on 15/2 - which you already know you did.

Unfortunately it won't help you get the license back.

Barry.

[Barry Kelly]

I can't say for sure if the Windows update was the cause of the problem or not.

I would suspect that minor automatic updates would not be a problem, otherwise I am sure there would be many people hear complaining they have lost their license, and that doesn't seem to be the case.

Upgrading the OS from Windows 10 to 11 might be another matter.

I don't really know though as I actually have a hardware key.

The software key I mentioned before was just a spare old version license that automatically downloaded when I forgot my hardware key.

I forgot it had even happened until I came upon this post.

It depends on how desperate you are, but maybe you could try rolling back your Windows update back to what it was before.

Don't ask me how or if this will work as I am not much of an IT expert, but I believe you can roll back updates in the system settings (that might depend on how you machine was set up and if it allows for this).

Otherwise I think you are at the mercy of the supplier.

Do you have any documentation from when you bought the license that explains how to download the license and does it say you must upload it back to the pool before upgrading the OS?

If so, you have now leg to stand on.

If not, then depending on how much you want to fight with the supplier, you can say you were never informed.

Can they say that they informed you of this problem?

I guess this is a problem with the software licenses when you let the SSA lapse.

You also lose the support from the supplier unless you want to pay for it.

At least with a hardware key, you are not in trouble unless you lose or break the key.

Barry.

[Anirban Das]

Let's make it very simple.....

If it was subscription based software, I don't mind paying for SSA as is could be a part of the areement. When I bought a perpetual license and can install / uninstall / reinstall myself, what is the role of SSA?

Taking support from SSA is a choice. But losing the key due to faulty software interface with windows cannot be ignored. 

I may walk with a stick holding the hand of SSA (by choice). But if the stick breaks due to its faulty design, who is responsible? 

Anirban