Expired Trial Version problem

[Jim Rassette 0]

I downloaded and implemented TMG version 9.05 several days after Jim posted it. I think I ran the installation as administrator but I am not sure. The implementation went fine and I entered the unlock code so my name and license number showed up on the "About TMG" screen. I have not received any error messages so far.

 

Since yesterday though when I start the program by clicking normally on any of the icons, I get the "Unlock the Full Version" window. If I click close on the "Unlock the Full Version" window, the program continues to the "Welcome" screen. I can open any dataset then open the "About TMG" window and my correct name email address and license number is there. I can then go on and work as normal with no error messages at all.

 

However, if I right click on the icon and run as administrator the program goes straight to the "Welcome" window as normal with no "Unlock the Full Version" window appearing. Again on checking the "About TMG" window all my information is still correct.

 

While this is not a show stopper since I can continue to work since my license information is still there either way, it does appear to be a program error.

 

I think I have seen this mentioned before in conjunction with error messages but I am not sure.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion about getting rid of the extra "Unlock" window.

 

 

 

[Jim Byram 0]

The fact that you get the message with the program still unlocked is a puzzle.

 

Try this...

1) Close TMG

2) Run the Command Prompt as administrator.

c:\windows\syswow64\cmd.exe

RIGHT-click on it and choose "Run as administrator" (very important!)

3) In the Command Prompt window, type...

REGSVR32.EXE "C:\Program Files (x86)\The Master Genealogist v9\VistaDBCOM20.DLL"

(You should get a message that the DLL was already registered or is now registered.)

4) Type "Exit" and press Enter to close the window (or click on the X if that works)

See if that resolves the issue.

Also make sure that you start TMG using the Welcome window.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Jim Byram

[Jim Rassette 0]

Thanks, Jim, for the suggestion. I tried it and got an error window as described below:

 

RegSvr32 [window title]

 

The module "C:\Program" failed to load.

...

 

This suggests to me there is a format problem with the command. I checked the path and the DLL is there as you suggested.

 

I took screen shots of what I did but could not copy and paste them in this forum. I saved them in a word document as well as documenting what I did if you would like to see the document. Let me know how I can get that to you.

[Jim Byram 0]

My fault. you probably need to do this...

 

REGSVR32.EXE "C:\Program Files (x86)\The Master Genealogist v9\VistaDBCOM20.DLL"

 

since there are spaces in the path.

[Jim Rassette 0]

Thanks, Jim. This time I got the message window "ResSvr32" saying DllRegisterServer in C:\ ...\VistaDBCOM20Dll succeeded. However, that did not fix the problem. I get the same results as described above.

[kiwifoster 0]

I also have the same "Unlock the Full Version" prompt issue, about every forth or fifth time TMG V9.05 is launched. I have recently installed V9.05 hoping that this would rectify the problem.

I have new windows 8.1 box, so no previous version of TMG on hard drive. I installed downloaded demo V9.03, (I think), while waiting for CD to arrive in June, (V9.01). I did not use "administrator" as I thought my "root" user name account would be authority.

When V9.05 was installed from the downloaded installer about 2 weeks ago, I did not have to go through registration number process, it picked it up from a file on the hard drive I presume. I did the obvious uninstall on the previous version, and deleted the subdirectory directory "/The Master Genealogist V9" from "C:\Program Files (x86)". I do not appear to have the "C:\Program Data directory to delete the other two sub directory's, "\The Master Genealogist V9", and "The Master Genealogist V9 Installer".

Not sure if my mistake was installing the trial version and inputting registration details prior the CD official copy, or maybe not deleting enough files before installing newer versions.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Your "mistake" was none of those. It was installing it on Windows 8, which periodically wants to delete the registration information. This issue has been discussed here at some length.

The solution is to wait until next time you are asked for the ID number. Don't enter it, but instead close TMG. Then, right-click on the desk-top shortcut for TMG. On the menu that appears, choose "Run as Administrator." When TMG opens and asks for the ID#, enter it. When it's accepted, close TMG.

After that you should be able to open TMG normally without getting the prompt.

[Jim Rassette 0]

Thanks, Terry. That seemed to work. I am no longer getting the Unlock screen.

 

It is confusing though because the program never lost my license information. Even when I bypassed the Unlock screen by hitting close the Welcome screen would appear with my license information intact. I would do some work and close the program and still get the Unlock screen as described above except when I ran the program as administrator. The only thing I did different this time per your suggestion was to immediately exit TMG after hitting close on the Unlock screen. This time when I ran as administrator the Unlock screen did appear so I was able to reenter the license information and now it does not call for it anymore. Strange.

 

Thanks for the help. It was very annoying.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Jim,

 

My understanding of the issue goes something like this. When you open TMG and it asks for your unlock code, it tries to save it in a location that it doesn't have permission to access if you are not running as an administrator. But instead of denying the save, Windows allows it to be written in a temporary location. The issue arises in Windows 8 because starting in that version Windows does "housecleaning" of those temporary entries from time to time, thus removing the entry.

 

Using the run as administrator function when you save the ID number gives the program permission to save it in a permanent location.

 

This my not be a technically correct description of the issue, but I think it's a fair approximation. I have no explanation for your observation that you saw the ID number when you bypassed the prompt, but no doubt there is one.

[Jim Rassette 0]

Thanks again Terry. I think your analysis makes sense and is probably correct. As I first mentioned I wasn't sure if I had run the install as Administrator. Now, I believe I probably did not. The other thing is, I not only saw the License number in the Welcome screen when I bypassed the Unlock screen but I also saw it in the About TMG screen every time.

 

Maybe it is not the license number stored in a temp location but a "flag" or specially named 0 byte file that is used to bypass the Unlock screen. Then your explanation and my observations would both fit.

 

Again I thank for your help.

[Kevin Schultz 0]

I also have the Expired Trial version issue. When I start TMG as a regular user, I get the expired trial message. If I close out the message and open my project, it behaves as an expired version. If I go to help about, it shows my name, email and the correct unlock code. If I start the program as administrator (right click on the shortcut, etc), I don't get the message to unlock. It is already unlocked and TMG has full functionality.

 

I did a clean install of version 9.05 (from 9.01) on a Windows 8.1 computer following instructions in Jim Byram's final Installers topic. After the install, it asked for my unlock information which I did by exiting the normal user start and starting as administrator. After putting in the information, I restarted TMG as a normal user and was again asked to unlock the program. When I restarted as administrator, it was already unlocked and fully functional. The only way I was able to run as a regular user was to unlock TMG as a regular user also. Unfortunately, a week later I'm back to the same situation where starting as a normal user gives me an unlock message (and the program is not fully functional). Starting TMG as administrator does not let me unlock as administrator because it is still unlocked.

 

I tried the suggestion above and registered VistaDBCOM20.dll and got the message that is was successful. It made no difference. I've also went through the repair option of the installer and the problem is unchanged. This is the first update done on this computer. The version 9.01 installation was the first TMG installation on a new computer.

 

Help in fixing my problem would be greatly appreciated.