Very frustrated! at DVinfo.net

Ian Stark · March 2nd, 2009, 05:25 PM

I went ahead and did a clean XP install to resolve some issues I have been having with Vegas (discussed in another thread) - it took me all evening. I just tried to re-install Vegas and AGAIN the registration failed with the message "An error occurred during online registration". It says I have entered an incorrect serial number or computer ID. Not sure how that could be - the serial number is taken from the My Software page at Sony and the machine ID is automatically given to me on installation.

I am now hanging on the phone for Customer Services. I was very disappointed to learn that they no longer register software on the phone so I hope that they will deal with me.

I've been hanging on nearly twenty minutes now. Not happy . . .

In the meantime, if anyone knows what could be going wrong I'd love to hear from you!

Ian Stark · March 2nd, 2009, 05:38 PM

OK, calmer now . . .

Just spoke to Kevin at Sony Customer Service and all he needed to do was to up my install limit. I was under the impression that a fairly clear message to that effect came up if that was the reason for the failed registration but Kevin said it may have been the combination of that and the new XP install throwing out a different machine ID that might have caused the less than helpful message.

Long and short is Kevin helped me to get it working very quickly and for that I am very grateful (even though I am pretty certain I have only installed Vegas 8 once on my desktop and once on my laptop!).

So, Customer Services were willing to help me, which is encouraging. My advice to anyone else having registration issues is give them a call rather than faff around on the Sony website. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the toll free number in the UK connects to support in the US which means I can get support at the times I really need it - late night!

Lorinda Norton · March 3rd, 2009, 12:24 AM

I knew this frustration! The same thing happened to me and I wrangled with it for days, though with a different error message. (I have happily forgotten the exact message.) Can't believe you actually got to speak with someone on the phone, Ian.

For me, relief and satisfaction came from Sony's live chat. I received the same info--that I needed my limit bumped up. All this happened under five minutes, including doing the same with my DVD Architect registration.

If a phone call doesn't work, Live Chat is great.

Ian Stark · March 3rd, 2009, 01:59 AM

Oh boy - I forgot about DVDA!

I saw the Live Chat option but I think my security prevented me from accessing it, which was another source of frustration (but not Sony's fault, clearly).

I must say that having done a full reinstall of XP and Vegas, things are running superbly. The performance difference is extraordinary. If it hadn't been for that ambiguous registration error message I would never have dared a clean XP reinstall (and would have enjoyed a nice evening with the family).

If I could, I would keep that PC off the internet/network and have no a/v running, no Office, nothing but Vegas and CS4. Sadly, I can't.

Jeff Harper · March 3rd, 2009, 05:05 AM

Ian when they up your permissions for Vegas they usually up it at the same time for DVDA.

Last time I talked to them they upped my permissions quite high, they are really great, much better Microsoft. Microsoft will not allow me to register Vista at all since I changed MBs. They want me to buy a new license at full price! Fortunately there are workarounds, but it's still a shame.

Ian Stark · March 3rd, 2009, 05:36 AM

Jeff, that's confirmed. Or rather I should say I had no problems with DVDA - whether or not I had reached my limit I don't really know.

Bummer about Microsoft. I read (and understand but don't necessarily condone) a comment on some other forum that said 'some software companies deserve piracy' for similar practices. Now, I don't think that 'deserve' is quite the right word, but 'should expect' is probably not far from the mark.

I had a similar battle with Adobe over DV-Rack and Ultra 2 keying software that they bought from Serious Magic a couple of years ago. When I came to reinstall and activate from a Serious Magic server that no longer existed, I was without the software for quite a while, until Adobe came up with an activation tool for people unwilling to stump up $$$'s for CS2/3/4 etc to use software they had already bought. Actually, I have a client that keeps me going with a legit copy of Creative Suite so for me it wasn't a major problem - but that's not the point! In fact, the comment on the CC forum was about Adobe and its failure to resolve that issue quickly.

Good for Sony (although a clearer error message and a way to resolve without having to call customer service would be nice. Live Chat seems good but I couldn't get it to work).

Ian Stark · March 3rd, 2009, 05:37 AM

FYI they gave me another 6 activations. Fingers crossed I never need 'em!

Terry Esslinger · March 3rd, 2009, 11:22 AM

Just curious,
How many activations was it before you guys ran into this problem? When you upgrade (like from 7 to 8) do you get more activattions for 8 than you had left for 7?

Jason Robinson · March 9th, 2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Esslinger

Just curious,
How many activations was it before you guys ran into this problem? When you upgrade (like from 7 to 8) do you get more activattions for 8 than you had left for 7?

I think you get three activations (hence the license allows three installs) ut it could be somewhere in the 3-6 area. I also noticed that when I installed Vegas8 on a new system after scrappign an old one that Vegas installed fine but DVDA did not. THis leads me to believe they maintain different registration counts. Especially because a render farm setup would not require DVDA on all the machines like it would for Vegas.

March 2nd, 2009, 05:25 PM	#1
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Very frustrated! I went ahead and did a clean XP install to resolve some issues I have been having with Vegas (discussed in another thread) - it took me all evening. I just tried to re-install Vegas and AGAIN the registration failed with the message "An error occurred during online registration". It says I have entered an incorrect serial number or computer ID. Not sure how that could be - the serial number is taken from the My Software page at Sony and the machine ID is automatically given to me on installation. I am now hanging on the phone for Customer Services. I was very disappointed to learn that they no longer register software on the phone so I hope that they will deal with me. I've been hanging on nearly twenty minutes now. Not happy . . . In the meantime, if anyone knows what could be going wrong I'd love to hear from you! __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

March 2nd, 2009, 05:38 PM	#2
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	OK, calmer now . . . Just spoke to Kevin at Sony Customer Service and all he needed to do was to up my install limit. I was under the impression that a fairly clear message to that effect came up if that was the reason for the failed registration but Kevin said it may have been the combination of that and the new XP install throwing out a different machine ID that might have caused the less than helpful message. Long and short is Kevin helped me to get it working very quickly and for that I am very grateful (even though I am pretty certain I have only installed Vegas 8 once on my desktop and once on my laptop!). So, Customer Services were willing to help me, which is encouraging. My advice to anyone else having registration issues is give them a call rather than faff around on the Sony website. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the toll free number in the UK connects to support in the US which means I can get support at the times I really need it - late night! __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

March 3rd, 2009, 12:24 AM	#3
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	I knew this frustration! The same thing happened to me and I wrangled with it for days, though with a different error message. (I have happily forgotten the exact message.) Can't believe you actually got to speak with someone on the phone, Ian. For me, relief and satisfaction came from Sony's live chat. I received the same info--that I needed my limit bumped up. All this happened under five minutes, including doing the same with my DVD Architect registration. If a phone call doesn't work, Live Chat is great. __________________ Lorinda

March 3rd, 2009, 01:59 AM	#4
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Oh boy - I forgot about DVDA! I saw the Live Chat option but I think my security prevented me from accessing it, which was another source of frustration (but not Sony's fault, clearly). I must say that having done a full reinstall of XP and Vegas, things are running superbly. The performance difference is extraordinary. If it hadn't been for that ambiguous registration error message I would never have dared a clean XP reinstall (and would have enjoyed a nice evening with the family). If I could, I would keep that PC off the internet/network and have no a/v running, no Office, nothing but Vegas and CS4. Sadly, I can't. __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

March 3rd, 2009, 05:36 AM	#6
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Jeff, that's confirmed. Or rather I should say I had no problems with DVDA - whether or not I had reached my limit I don't really know. Bummer about Microsoft. I read (and understand but don't necessarily condone) a comment on some other forum that said 'some software companies deserve piracy' for similar practices. Now, I don't think that 'deserve' is quite the right word, but 'should expect' is probably not far from the mark. I had a similar battle with Adobe over DV-Rack and Ultra 2 keying software that they bought from Serious Magic a couple of years ago. When I came to reinstall and activate from a Serious Magic server that no longer existed, I was without the software for quite a while, until Adobe came up with an activation tool for people unwilling to stump up $$$'s for CS2/3/4 etc to use software they had already bought. Actually, I have a client that keeps me going with a legit copy of Creative Suite so for me it wasn't a major problem - but that's not the point! In fact, the comment on the CC forum was about Adobe and its failure to resolve that issue quickly. Good for Sony (although a clearer error message and a way to resolve without having to call customer service would be nice. Live Chat seems good but I couldn't get it to work). __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

March 3rd, 2009, 05:05 AM	#5
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Ian when they up your permissions for Vegas they usually up it at the same time for DVDA. Last time I talked to them they upped my permissions quite high, they are really great, much better Microsoft. Microsoft will not allow me to register Vista at all since I changed MBs. They want me to buy a new license at full price! Fortunately there are workarounds, but it's still a shame.

March 3rd, 2009, 05:37 AM	#7
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	FYI they gave me another 6 activations. Fingers crossed I never need 'em! __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

March 3rd, 2009, 11:22 AM	#8
Terry Esslinger Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sacramento, Elk Grove. Calif Posts: 306	Just curious, How many activations was it before you guys ran into this problem? When you upgrade (like from 7 to 8) do you get more activattions for 8 than you had left for 7? __________________ Puttin the wet stuff on the red stuff!