SOLVED: Beware New iLok (HD?) Authorised Software Installations

[Cyoon]

[sprnva]

Have you a Time Machine backup?

I had one problem with iLok back when I used the HDD activation and fixed it by replacing the database with an older version from a backup and reinstalling the iLok software.

It might help. And for Windows users you can do the same, just find the right path for the sdb file. It's worth a shot anyway.

[Ph-J]

c) invalid argument IMO - the "users" insisted on HDD activation years ago, iLok delivered as "tacked on feature". 99% of the time it's working. If there is a hiccup, suddenly all hell breaks loose and Pace/iLok is to blame. Both Syncrosoft and Pace/iLok were initially created for physical copy protection keys: read LPT (early days), now USB keys

I've never read any horror story about the e-licenser though.
Considering the fact that some Ilok stuff is cracked, I do wonder why developers use it over the E-licenser dongle.

[TexLoco5]

@Compyfox

This hopefully could have been a solutions thread ... but your little bout of sanctimonious self indulgence can't be ignored. After that little tirade I think you're far, Far, FAR more full of it than all of the people you're unjustly criticizing. In my book ... when it comes to credibility ... ya got none pal ... all ya have is an inflated ego and a big mouth.

[BMoore]

What you did, was SCARE TACTICS, lnikj.

Thread with uppercase letters...

Just, yeah.

[Hink]

@Compyfox

This hopefully could have been a solutions thread ... but your little bout of sanctimonious self indulgence can't be ignored. After that little tirade I think you're far, Far, FAR more full of it than all of the people you're unjustly criticizing. In my book ... when it comes to credibility ... ya got none pal ... all ya have is an inflated ego and a big mouth.

I've known compyfox for a long time now and am proud to call him a friend, one rant does not warrant such a judgement and I for one would give the man many benefits of the doubt. I dont think the op was being a hater myself but I have made similar posts to compyfox's in the past and the fact is it does get tiresome after a while as do the many flame war topics, compyfox just misread this one and maybe because the subject is in caps and that started it off wrong, I dunno (maybe the op would allow me to ask a favor, please change that, it was not meant in any negative way I understand that but it might be a nice gesture for all...no one likes all caps )...he said his piece, he said good night, it seems the op wants to put it behind him as well. Now instead of bashing a good man based on one rant I suggest everyone just goes back to the topic at hand and help those in need in getting rigs back up and running

[ganym3d]

Got to hand it to Compyfox. He's always right, even when he's wrong. Love it.

Agreed!

[arachnaut]

The problem I see just happened today when I bought ADAPTIVERB.



When I upgraded my desktop and laptop to Windows 10 pro Anniversary edition a week ago I went through all the authorization softwares - iLok, XLN, etc. They all worked yesterday.

I installed Adaptiverb on my desktop and now Falcon and Blackhole both fail the same way. But they work on my laptop which does not have Adaptiverb.

The iLok software is up-to-date and the Pace services are running.

I managed to fix it by:

1) Open iLok License Manager
2) Deactivate all licenses
3) Start Sonar
4) Load one plug-in. When the Plug-in Activation window appears go to the iLok manager and activate that license.
5) Now the plug-in works.
6) Repeat for each plug-in.

[Fleer]

Deactivate all licenses and then activate them again? Is there a batch deactivate and reactivate knob to push? Put otherwise, there's "deactivate" and "activate" in the Licenses menu, would they work for all selected plugins in one batch?

Edith: I have to say Jim's approach does work, albeit one at a time. Cheers, Jim!

[Compyfox]

If you have some left over, care to share?

Bro. lol seriously. Maybe time to take a break

I'm not your Bro, Pal!

Exactly. Sorry to say but what a load of BS. A lot of words but nothing to say about the problem.

Oh yeah? People said that they can't install new licenses, or new activations "corrupt" other licenses. I put "my licenses" at risk and tested in the heat of apparently another "Pace/iLok failure".

I updated the licenser (mine was 3+ months old), which also updates the USB key, and I installed in fact two licenses to my iLok. One is by AiR Music Technology (which was critisized to "corrupt licenses" in here), and another one is a beta I'm not allowed to talk about.


My conclusion: no licenses are corrupt from using various forms of activation.
Though granted - I did directly go to the USB key, not HDD.

Threads about this problem are popping up in various places including various developers forums.

The way you try to cheerlead for Pace is beyond laughable.

Two spectacular f*uckups by Pace in less than two weeks, people have to cancel sessions and you try to whitewash Pace. Can't even believe it.

Three IMO valid questions in this case:

1) what are the "f*ckups" exactly? One of them was a server downtime of 3 hours absolute max resulting from an overload by Slate Digital (release time of "The Monster", where there wasn't even a need for re-activation for former VMR users). And the other one is what?! Is that related to Pace/iLok or is it related to Windows 10's UAC/Macs Maintenance update, or was it due to a glitch in the updated drivers? From all these linked threads, there is no clear indication what is the fault here.

2) what of all that is actually due to user error?

3) did those that have issues even try to roll back an image?


But oh yeah, I do cheerlead the company. Three thumbs up.
This is why we have emoticons

My i-Lok (HDD) was working fine until i installed the Adaptiverb demo, now none of my plugins work in Ableton Live 9.6 or Reaper on mac. So Zinaptiq emailed me back, saying its a PACE/i-Lok issue, absolutely not them to blame.

I've been so involved with customer support as beta tester in recent years regarding various forms of CP, that I have heard various sides of the medal and who is ultimately to blame (company A says it's company B, company B says it's company A - rinse and repeat).

But I give you the benefit of the doubt. You did the first step - contacted a company and asked for help. You still have a couple of options left though.

Compyfox, my studio uses 50 licenses and we had to cancel our sessions today. I'm $350 down from this error personally. Pace/iLok don't have telephone support and haven't replied to our emails.

I don't really care who's to blame, I just want it fixed as i can't afford this and want to be able to work, tomorrow ideally!

You obviously already contacted one of the companies, so the other question still remains: did you make a safety image of your rig and tried to roll back? I do not do as many backups as I should, but if I plan bigger updates, I always make a safety image.

If yes, you roll back and the licenses reappear (see post by sprnva regarding rebuilding the database), then something went horribly wrong with an update, or the software you downloaded got corrupt.

I can't emphasize this enough - has anyone of you done this so far?!
Do I really have to write this in font size 200, in dark red?

Has anyone of you tried to roll back an image?!


If the answer is yes - and the licenses are still corrupt - I feel your pain, I understand your frustration and there is no argument about that. This thread is valid, the warning adjusted (though I still don't agree with the all-uppercase scare tactics and random thread drops like "OMG, others have this as well - DO NOT DO THIS!"), maybe even hate towards the CP scheme if it's really because of that.

If the answer is no - I have no further words for you other than "this thread should not exist in the first place!".



Also - Pace barely answers to support inquiries these days. Especially around times of so called "f*ck ups" - your first point of contact is always(!!!) the company you got the license/software from. If they f*cked over your already existing licenses - it's them to blame, and it's their job to break the first waves. Not Pace/iLok - period!

Furthermore - why do people insist on HDD activation? Because the iLok USB key is a nuisance?
Unless you use a Macbook Air (no USB ports) or the infamous "PowerCell"/Trashcan *cough - DarkMac - cough*... an USB hub? Hardwired rigs at a studio not using a spare USB port? Come on!

That's the stupidest excuse for Pace I've read in long time. You either do HDD authorization and not f*uck up or you don't do it. Plenty of companies manage to do former. Also Pace Eden is touted by devs and Pace itself as a completely *new* framework meant specifically for HDD authorization so the argument is invalid anyway.

Right - then why are we arguing about this?
Oh right - because Pace always f*cks up.


No seriously... the only two main involvement "companies" have, is forwarding the license to "unlock" the tool in question, and program in the "copy protection routines" into the software. If there is a problem with finding the license through the manager (either it being on the USB key or the HDD), do you know how long it takes the company to program workarounds? I'm beta testing for companies that use the iLok - trust me, it's not a 5 minute job.


At this stage I only see these following problems:

If there is a corruption of the licenses, and there is no simple answer of who is to blame. Well... It could be a glitch in the updated routines directly from Pace. It could be a corruption from an auto-OS update (Windows 10 especially - remember, new OS, currently working on rolling out a new bigger update that the "Insight Build" users already got access to), it could be an over-installation with an earlier version of the drivers/manager from the company that provided the tool (old Windows users remember DX8 installation over DX9 because the installer didn't see "whoops, newer version already on there"?).

Your only solution - roll back an image, ask the company if an earlier version is force installed. If so, let the company fix it and drop a TXT into your tools folder (installation files) with a warning what to do and what not.

Is that really so complicated?!


But you (not pointed at one user alone) love to ignore that - the one to blame is Pace/iLok and Pace/iLok alone, righ? Because they created the "abomination" in the first place.

Another three thumbs up for that

I've never read any horror story about the e-licenser though.
Considering the fact that some Ilok stuff is cracked, I do wonder why developers use it over the E-licenser dongle.

You might be living under a rock then, because there are horror stories about the Elicenser. Not as many, but just as severe ones especially regarding HDD authorization.

Also - so far both Elicenser and Pace (EDEN3) has been cracked once each. Elicenser around the time Cubase (SX)5 hit (it was an USB key emulation, but the crack teams didn't bother to further maintain it - and 2-3 months later, the Elicenser routines got overhauled anyway), and iLok2 a couple of months ago (for Slate Digital tools - but the cracks were useless about 2 weeks later because: updates of the tools in question and the EDEN3 routines).

Google is your friend, or GearSlutz, or the companies in question, or... you get the idea. Still - it's not the least comparable to iLok1 cracks anymore (released)

@Compyfox

This hopefully could have been a solutions thread ...

You might have overread that from my last post and about 5-10 times in this thread alone, but...
"did you roll back an image?!"

Are you affected of this problem? If so - did you try to roll back an image and/or contacted the developers in question? Or do you use this thread as footboard to show the community "Hey, I'm somebody?!?

... but your little bout of sanctimonious self indulgence can't be ignored. After that little tirade I think you're far, Far, FAR more full of it than all of the people you're unjustly criticizing. In my book ... when it comes to credibility ... ya got none pal ... all ya have is an inflated ego and a big mouth.

I think I have "more credibility" [/makes quotation mark movements with fingers] to my name than whatever is associated with your alias (being anonymous makes it cool to act big, righ?).. but nice try. Deserves at least one thumbs up. No medal though.

Got complaints, use the appropriate forum functions. I think they're called "friend/foe" and "report".

Also, I'm not your Pal, Buddy!

I dont think the op was being a hater myself but I have made similar posts to compyfox's in the past and the fact is it does get tiresome after a while as do the many flame war topics, compyfox just misread this one and maybe because the subject is in caps and that started it off wrong, I dunno

The constant CP bashing is what annoys the crap out of me, without anyone ever going further than "ohkay - something got done f*cked up, time to hunt down the error, maybe try to fix it myself - did I make a HDD image? Yes? Cool, let's go!".

Pace/iLok and Syncrosoft/Elicenser are considered the abominations of copy protection. But in reality (at least IMO) it is actually Call/Response (C/R). Why?

You need an online rig to activate, your license "call code" is reliant on the hardware you have installed (upgrade, and the code changes!), some companies refuse to "renew" your licenses if they have been "used up" and you upgraded your rig, the license is also "written" on to the HDD (so if that fails - your license is gone), and you're heavily reliant on the C/R server to work. If that is gone, you're sh*t out of luck (as it happened with so many companies, including Camel Audio and Kjaerhus Audio).

That... is my main issue with these threads.

Now instead of bashing a good man based on one rant I suggest everyone just goes back to the topic at hand and help those in need in getting rigs back up and running

Preach it and spread the love, old friend!

Agreed!

Oh, hello to Moabit!
Nice theater you work for. I'm surprised that I didn't visit that yet (was a lot in that area recently). Berlin is not that small after all.







FOOTNOTE:
Looks like various solutions have been posted at this point. And the main culprit for the moment seems to be Zynaptic. Nice people at tradeshows, interesting audio tools, horrible GUI however.

Deactivate all licenses and then activate them again? Is there a batch deactivate and reactivate knob to push?

Sadly no. This is a really(!!!) time consuming task.
The quickest way would be to... yes, you guessed it... roll back an image.

EDIT: Wait, yes - multiple selections (Mouse + Shift) are possible in the manager (hah, never used it - you always learn something new). Then right mouse click (I guess CMD+Mouse on Mac) and then select "Deactivate".


And if things are back and running, I do recommend to switch to the USB key variant for your licenses. Might not save you from possible future problems, but if the HDD issue pops up over and over, it's IMO worth looking into this... can I say simple fix? This way you can install future demo licenses to your HDD and keep them separate from your USB stick.

At least this is what I'd do if I read such stories/warning posts. But YMMV of course.

[Doc Brown]

I guess I'm not sure what the actual problems are with this particular issue with the soft ilok. I will say I had a major issue a couple of years with the soft ilok shutting down my system. It was a nightmare but after reinstalling multiple times and zero feedback from Pace I removed everything Pace and ilok and cut my losses. My system never randomly shut down again.

I'm not anti Pace as I understand the need for protection but with the software comes inherent risks and system instability at times which is inexcusable...
The reason is simple, I have steinberg's elicenser hooked into the USB port and there are never these show stopper issues cropping up. Cheaply made construction of the dongle is about it. How come Steinberg can do it but Pace can't? Even worse why can you start a support ticket with Steinberg and with Pace it's an act of God to even communicate with them let alone get a response.

The way I see it Pace is giving people the middle finger in a way and they don't care as long as the money fills the coffers. How hard would it be for a rep from Pace to show up on KVR or other sites once in a while to answer questions or at least acknowledge they're working on a solution to a problem? Why don't they because you know damn well they're lurking and reading the posts? It's their attitude that sucks in my estimation.

[arachnaut]

Deactivate all licenses and then activate them again? Is there a batch deactivate and reactivate knob to push? Put otherwise, there's "deactivate" and "activate" in the Licenses menu, would they work for all selected plugins in one batch?

You can select them all and activate and deactivate the selections.

[Compyfox]

...

Valid arguments.



Aside from the pretty much non-existing support, maybe we should at least add the following to be fair:

a) drop the insane license transfer fee of 50USD

b) make ZDT not for one year, but until the iLok your paid for actually breaks. Maybe don't ask for 100bucks/year then but for 200bucks all incl. Meaning: shipping, spare iLok, turnaround of 48-72 hours worldwide. Instead of asking for everything extra (spare iLok, shipping to the US, shipping back, multiple TAX fees on top, do you love the customs agency as well?) - these are temp-licenses that need to be re-addressed by the companies you had licenses from anyway. So why even jump that hoop?

c) an office in Europe and Asia to cover all regions

d) maybe answer one support inquiry once in a while, or at least have a blog, or Twitter/Facebook feed that tells us "whoops - server barfed, working on it, give us 15 minutes, grab a cup of coffe and you should be back up and running"



I think the "deluxe treatment" has worn thin over the years. And this is why frustrations constantly boil over, finger pointing is pretty much daily occurrence. But this has been a criticism since audio tools got more and more affordable to the masses. So if things would change overnight, and hell would freeze over... I think we would know. And in fact, I had a nice little drawing with a red crayon in my calendar that I might even frame for the future...

Hm... ideas...

[Fleer]

Deactivate all licenses and then activate them again? Is there a batch deactivate and reactivate knob to push? Put otherwise, there's "deactivate" and "activate" in the Licenses menu, would they work for all selected plugins in one batch?

You can select them all and activate and deactivate the selections.

That's what I was hoping for, thanks Jim

[TexLoco5]

@Compyfox

You're still on the attack I see ... maybe you're off your meds ... just the same ... ain't nothin' you've said makes me think any better of you ... your prose continues to make you look like a belligerent and arrogant jerk. Based on your lack of brevity ... and your fevered overture ... I must assume your approach to problems is equally as obtuse and your pronouncements deserving of suspicion.