KVR Audio

cron · Post by **cron** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 10:26 pm

Quick question regarding using iLok without the iLok USB key...

I've avoided iLok in the past, but bought Loom on sale today without realising it was iLok protected until I began installing it. Plugin Boutique's website said "internet connection is required for download and activation" so I assumed that just meant challenge/response type protection. Thought I might as well put my prejudice behind me and give it a bash, as most people on here seem to be fairly positive regarding their experience with it.

I've installed the License Manager and everything is running smoothly, but I'm finding it difficult to find an answer as to what happens if (god forbid) my HD fails. Is it possible to remotely deactivate the license upon reinstalling the License Manager on my new machine, or would I be firmly up the creek? Can I perhaps back up the license somewhere if so? I back up regularly (albeit via the low tech 'copy and paste the entire hard drive' method) but not really sure if that'll give me any kind of security. On top of that, my internet is always on, so can I perhaps keep it in the cloud somewhere or somesuch?

Anyone with experience of using iLok dongleless who's been through this?

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:12 pm

With Air you get 2 licences.

If your hardrive dies and youve used all your licences youre at the mercy of the kindness/understanding of the developer.

Just buy a dongle and you can stop worrying.
I too was anti iLok dongle and used only soft iLok until Id invested to the point I felt safer with an iLok dongle.

softska · Post by **softska** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:50 pm

Safer until you lose/break the thing...

Add the ZDT/TLD coverage. It's a tax more or less if you've more than a couple license (some dev aren't too graceful about lost licenses)

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:56 pm

Then dont buy iLok protected software.

All software / hardware is at risk of some inherent failure, whether its the licensing system or the life span of the OS or hardware it runs on.

cron · Post by **cron** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:47 am

VariKusBrainZ wrote:With Air you get 2 licences.

If your hardrive dies and youve used all your licences youre at the mercy of the kindness/understanding of the developer.

Just buy a dongle and you can stop worrying.
I too was anti iLok dongle and used only soft iLok until Id invested to the point I felt safer with an iLok dongle.

Cheers VB. Guessing that means there's no recovery, but having 2 licenses from AIR puts my mind at ease. I don't plan to put any more cash into the iLok ecosystem so I'll stick with the software version for now, but I'll think about picking up a dongle if I end up down to one license for whatever reason. Many thanks.

TheKid · Post by **TheKid** » Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:00 pm

Don't buy iLok. That stuff needs to die a quick, horrible death.

jowen · Post by **jowen** » Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:36 pm

TheKid wrote:
Don't buy iLok. That stuff needs to die a quick, horrible death.

here I can not agree!

Here the corrected text:
Don't buy iLok. That stuff needs to die a slowly, horrible and painful death.

like they handle their customers!

koukouba · Post by **koukouba** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:47 pm

i really , really hate the fact that all of us paying customers have to go through all this gibberish and nonsense with dongles, i-loks e-licensers, "hoping if you lose your hd on the understanding of the dev" jesus christ ,they should be kissing the hand that feeds them not make a product i bought be lost just because my pc burnt out !!!!!!!! and all of that because of you-know-who

Ou_Tis · Post by **Ou_Tis** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:31 am

I've read that the iLok licenses are bound to the motherboard. Are you sure they're also bound to a particular hard drive, so that replacing the hard drive but not the motherboard requires a license transfer to a "new" machine?...

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:37 am

VariKusBrainZ wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:12 pmIf your hardrive dies and youve used all your licences youre at the mercy of the kindness/understanding of the developer.

This is incorrect. If your drive fails, you can install iLok on a new machine, log in, deactivate the licenses on the dead machine and then re-activate them on the new machine. It's one of the things I like about iLok, you can administer all your licenses across multiple machines from any machine that has the License Manager installed.

djanthonyw · Post by **djanthonyw** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 4:12 am

1. Activate the license on your drive.
2. Clone your drive.
3. Boot into the cloned image.
4. Deactivate the license.
5. Boot back into the original drive.
6. Now you can still use it even though your license is deactivated and you don’t have to worry about losing the license if your drive fails.
7. Smile.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:45 am

So you put yourself through all the hassle before you have a problem? I'd prefer to wait until I actually have one before I go to that kind of bother, especially as it's never happened to me.

ATN69 · Post by **ATN69** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:48 am

I use soft iLok only. I back up my whole installation on an external harddrive once in a while. If my regular HD crash I can always get everything back as it was.

djanthonyw · Post by **djanthonyw** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 2:30 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:45 am So you put yourself through all the hassle before you have a problem? I'd prefer to wait until I actually have one before I go to that kind of bother, especially as it's never happened to me.

It has happened to me. I prefer not to put myself at the mercy of a company when I can take action to help prevent even dealing with them for licenses that I paid for. It's no guarantee that they'll grant you another license.

ATN69 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:48 am I use soft iLok only. I back up my whole installation on an external harddrive once in a while. If my regular HD crash I can always get everything back as it was.

The activated license is tied to your motherboard, not the drive. So, if your motherboard fails, having that drive backup isn't going to help you when the license is already activated on something that is dead.

ATN69 · Post by **ATN69** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 2:45 pm

double post

Software iLok - license safe if HD fails?