Re: Demo software expired PC Question?

[Laurence Payne]

On 09 Aug 2004 16:01:46 GMT, (Mondoslug1)
wrote:

>I downloaded the Drumagog demo awhile ago. I think it was fully functional for
>a few days.
>Never really used it because I hadn't a clue so I removed it. I downloaded the
>demo again yesterday & it said "demo expired". This has happened with several
>apps. I guess it's a PC registry thing? I haven't a clue. When I was Mac guy I
>think I remember being able to get rid of extensions & all that & being able to
>start fresh.
>
>Is there a way to do this on a PC?I realize this is not exclusive to RAP &
>should probably be asked on a XP newsgroup but maybe you know...

Depending on the ingenuity of the Drumagog programmers, it could be as
simple as a clearly labeled Registry key (search for the program name,
or the company name). Or it could be a cunningly-hidden Registry
key. (There are utility programs that are quite good at finding
simply-hidden ones.) Or it could be a small hidden file in an
unlikely corner of your computer. Or maybe something even more
ingenious. Have fun looking :-)

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect

[Rail Jon Rogut]

...or simply contact the authors and ask them to extend your demo period..
which is so much easier and ethical.

Rail
--
Recording Engineer/Software Developer
Rail Jon Rogut Software
http://www.railjonrogut.com


"Mike Rivers" > wrote in message
news:znr1092072496k@trad...
>
> In article >
writes:
>
> > I downloaded the Drumagog demo awhile ago. I think it was fully
functional for
> > a few days.
> > Never really used it because I hadn't a clue so I removed it. I
downloaded the
> > demo again yesterday & it said "demo expired". This has happened with
several
> > apps. I guess it's a PC registry thing?
>
> I guess so, and because people like you and me are smart enough to
> guess that, they do a good job of hiding it. I experienced the same
> thing with the Samplitude demo and could find no reference to any
> recognizable program or manufacturer name in the registry, but I'm
> sure it's in there someplace.
>
> The way to get around it is to make a copy of the registry before you
> install the software. Then, when you want to re-install it, load that
> copy of the registry, which won't know that you've previously
> installed the program.
>
> Of course they could also put a file on the disk somewhere that it
> knows to look for.
>
> THey're on to your tricks. <G>
>
>
> --
> I'm really Mike Rivers )
> However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
> lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
> you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
> and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[Mondoslug1]

Rail Jon Rogut wrote:

>..or simply contact the authors and ask them to extend your demo period..
>which is so much easier and ethical.

Uh huh. Here's their reply.
Thanks for the lesson in ethics.

"The only thing that can be done is to install it on another PC, or reinstall
Windows>

[Mike Rivers]

In article et> writes:

> ..or simply contact the authors and ask them to extend your demo period..
> which is so much easier and ethical.

The usual easy and ethical thing to do is pay them some money. They'll
extend your demo period until they go out of business. <g>



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> I don't use Windows much, but it seems like a really, really natural
> tool to have would a registry "diff" tool. So, you'd snapshot the
> registry, then install the software, then snapshot the registry again,
> and then diff the two snapshots. The diff would show you the keys
> that were added, removed, and modified.

I remember an installer program (pre-registry) that did something like
that. It kept an inventory of your disk and told you want was added
and if any existing files were modified. I wouldn't be surprised if
there wasn't something like that for the registry now.

The registry can get awfully big, though. I played with one of those
"registry fixer" programs once and found that there was close to
100,000 entries in my registry. It did identify some well enough to
recognize as being related to programs that I was no longer using, so
I felt safe in deleting them. A great many were multiple entries for
files that I had downloaded. I deleted those, too. But still, after a
few hours spread out over about a week of playing with it, the
registry was still huge. I really think it's hopeless to keep up with
this without daily maintenance.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[Geoff Wood]

Mondoslug1 wrote:
> Rail Jon Rogut wrote:
>
>> ..or simply contact the authors and ask them to extend your demo
>> period.. which is so much easier and ethical.
>
> Uh huh. Here's their reply.
> Thanks for the lesson in ethics.
>
> "The only thing that can be done is to install it on another PC, or
> reinstall Windows>

OK, so they are liars. Why not just say "We won't tell you how" ?

geoff

[Geoff Wood]

agent86 wrote:
> Kurt Albershardt wrote:
>
>> Windows machines are pretty much hopeless at cruft accumulation.
>> After 15 years of working with them, hundreds at this point, I just
>> format the hard drive and start over every couple of years.
>
>
> This is the single most important key to minimizing problems if you
> absolutely have to use winblows.

Norton WinDoctor and a variety of other apps will chuck out the crud for
you.

geoff

[Mike Rivers]

In article > -nospam writes:

> > "The only thing that can be done is to install it on another PC, or
> > reinstall Windows>
>
> OK, so they are liars. Why not just say "We won't tell you how" ?

They probalby don't really know how, but "It's a limited demo and you
should have understood the conditions before you loaded it. If you
could run it whenever you wanted then it wouldn't be a demo." would
certainly be an appropriate answer.

"**** off, cheapskate!" might be going a little far afield for good
customer relations, even though you're not a customer.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo