Thanks for the comments - I am really not complaining - just indicating that there is a problem - I’m more than happy with GP. I’m just not going to get into the position that I hear in life so frequently: “Well - you didn’t tell us there was a problem - so we assumed you were quite happy!”. Its just something for you to bear in mind.
@djogon - I’d be interested to hear how you disable software/icences on a machine that Windows has turned into an overgrown doorstop But I do accept the point that if you are re-instaling Windows then you have a different magnitude of problem. My real comments were aimed at a simple Windows update causing GP to lose its licence when no other product (of any type) has ever caused me the same problem (Maybe I’m just plain lucky!!). Its not the losing the licence that is the problem - its the hoops you have to go through to recover the situation - and I wondered if there was a better way. BTW: I would be interested in how (as you say) you have “improved the situation” - as it clearly made no difference to me 2 days ago. (rhetorical - no answer required!!)
@dhj - When you make your complaint to Microsoft about Windows update - then add my name to the list - as they are a complete pain in the … :-). They seem to be totaly inconsiderate to end-users (i.e. they seem to love adding bloatware whether you want it or not and I wish they would stop. Goodness knows what happened to their stated aim of making Windows 10 much lighter than previous version of Windows.
Its obvious that software piracy is an issue and that you have to protect your investment - but I’m not totally convinced that my suggestion of a solution is wrong given that it would be controlled by a communication to your server and is limited by the number of licences that any one user can have active at the same time. What I mean is that I am just suggesting a way to reactivate a licence that already exists by using the original email address, the original licence code and the unique id number on the original invoice. Yes a dishonest person could give this information to friends or the web - but that would not help if the enable mechanism is linked to the server which is managing/limiting the active licence count to 2 (??3 ). Anyway - you know better than me how it all works so I accept that.
I should have said: “If one want to have his cake…” because I did not think about you at all by telling this .
These words were addressed to many of the people met here and there who demand new facilities but complain about the efforts to be made for that… or complain of not having immediate responses!
And, of course, I completely agree with you about the problems caused by Windows’s complexity and heaviness. The drawbacks of a labyrinthine system… that is largely responsible for my white hair
No problem - thanks for the clarrification - and also for clarrifying one other point. I always thought that my grey hair was caused by me getting old - but now I realise it was Microsoft and Windows update
Maybe just a suggestion: you could make deactivation as a temporary choice (now it’s only permanent deactivation). Why? If user would have chosen temporary deactivation (before doing update…), it wouldn’t be required to hand type email/long id code to reactivate, 'cause that info would be stored localy (it could be hash value - no chance for a piracy there). After update there would be a choice to reactivate from local disk and all the pain would be over in 1 sec. It’s a small relieve, but it would help.
Yes I do, 'cause I don’t want to have that information stored in plain text on my disk and I want my Win10 to be as light as possible, so no KeePass or something similar.
You see, the thing is, if we are to deactivate GP every single time MS makes another update (and GP is the only program that has a problem with that… ), then at least somekind of a ‘meeting the customers half way’ would be appreciated…
Please - don’t take this personally but I have to push back a little here
Why not? It’s not a credit card number or your social security number or bank account? What’s the harm? If your laptop gets stolen you have a much bigger problem then someone stealing your gig performer license! I keep a text file on the desktop of my music machine with a list of userids/serial numbers for my plugins in case I have to reregister something. I’m not going to mention any names but I have some well known plugins that, sometimes, without an update happening, just decide that they want me to reregister. Copy/paste is our friend here.
A password manager is just an app – unless you’re doing continuous sync over the net, it’s not taking up any CPU cycles when it’s not running and it’s not exactly using a lot of disk space — so it’s completely unclear to me what impact such things have on the “lightness” of a machine.
No, it’s not — I’ve come across quite a few applications on both Windows and OS X that require reactivation after either an upgrade or (in some cases) a restore.
With respect, I think we work very hard to make sure our users are well supported. We continue to work on ways to make things as easy as possible but please understand that we need to protect our assets as well. If products get stolen, revenue decreases, development/support slows down or stops — impacts everybody. It is not a one-way street.
I’ve never tried this so I don’t know if it works - but I came across this really annoying (as in the people are very irritating and they kept ridiculing Windows on a machine that was clearly not up to the job) video of speeding up Windows 10 - and it recommended using a debloater tool that is actively maintained in the public domain on Gethub. The link to the video is here:
And the debloater software itself is here:
Needless to say: DO NOT run this unless you really know what you are doing and are prepared to take the risk (i.e do so at your own risk - I take no responsibility!).
Just a friendly reminder that the 22H2 update for Windows is out, and before you update make sure you deactivate your GP license. These ‘H2’ updates are known for being larger than the H1 updates earlier in the year.
Deactivating my GP license is not something I think about, or remember to do. But yes, 22H2 wiped my GP authorization. The first time I ran GP after updating Windows, I entered my email and current license key and GP was off and running.
So, why do I need to deauthorize? Is there a limit on the number of authorizations? Does my current installation now look like a new, different install and I’ve used up (or lost) an authorization?
Well, GP reactivated. Maybe v5, with a new key, will be released before I screw up again and update Windows without deactivating GP. Is there any way for me to check how many activations I’ve used for the v4 key? I’ve used at least two now. Do I have a third “spare”?
I wait for the all clear signal from the askwoody web site before proceeding with a Windows feature update. Probably in December. Wish there was a definitive list of plugins where a user needs to de-register prior to upgrading.
I’ve run into the issue with GSi VB3-II but I’ve since switched to Blue3. I don’t know if Blue3 falls into that category. Same for Cherry Audio and Miniverse.
When doing feature OS updates, I always create the installer on USB using Windows Media Creation Tool instead of relying on Windows Update.
I got screwed this time: after 1 month of deactivation and a small live tour 1000 km from home, I reactivated Windows update before deactivating Gp and blam!
Curiously, no other application or plugin was deactivated, even iLok.
But I don’t regret anything, GP is fantastic on stage and allows me to play without any apprehension or questioning.
A very short clip of one of my performances captured by the local TV, too bad the cameraman didn’t film GP’s screen on my computer screen
I’m told by support the Blue3 plugin used to have this problem but it should be resolved now. Cherry Audio recommends deregister and re-register but did not confirm an issue.
But I do accept the point that if you are re-instaling Windows then you have a different magnitude of problem. My real comments were aimed at a simple Windows update causing GP to lose its licence when no other product (of any type) has ever caused me the same problem (Maybe I’m just plain lucky!!). Its not the losing the licence that is the problem - its the hoops you have to go through to recover the situation - and I wondered if there was a better way. BTW: I would be interested in how (as you say) you have “improved the situation” - as it clearly made no difference to me 2 days ago. (rhetorical - no answer required!!)
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), then at least somekind of a ‘meeting the customers half way’ would be appreciated… 
)