Here’s another way licensing can go south, and how to fix it. If it may be a less usual case,I feel I should put it here, since locked-out messages are being consolidated in this thread.
Symptom: update by any means that works for you, including over-installing or a fresh install, install after cleaning all left parts, etc… Find that Scrivener each time runs only a few moments, then claims it’s unlicensed, and gives only a button to shut down after telling you.
Second part. You catch Scrivener on starting, before it gets to telling you no, and do an activation, which it will accept. But when you close it, then bring Scrivener up again, the same not-activated message will come up, and you’ll be shut down again,
Nothing you try will fix this; that’s the clue.
I did speak to support, who were apt as well as kind, and after being completely careful to follow all of their instructions, I did get it to work again.
This is the secret. You must in this case do a fresh install after restarting your Windows machine in Safe Mode with Networking. Many machines will do this; a few won’t if on wifi networking, without a second USB wifi adapter added externally. If you have to use that, you may have to use the buttons on the lower right of the login screen to get wifi connected before you actually log in. I sometimes have had to, while things are always changing with Microsoft, and so not this last time.
How to get into Safe Mode with Networking you should look up and choose one of several methods that you like, as Microsoft…well, I won’t say it. But you can get into the mode, and web advice will help you.
Once you have fully uninstalled Scrivener, have managed to restart in Safe Mode with Networking, and actually have an internet connection, plus have located your activation password again on this rather featureless login mode, you can (and must all steps) easily:
- install Scrivener under this login (having used your usual one)
- start your fresh Scrivener afterwards, and do the activation it will shortly ask for, after choosing not to do the tour
- close Scrivener, then after a pause, start it again and wait for 5 m inutes to see that it doesn’t fall back to thinking it’s unlicensed again.
You will likely be well served to put a temporary copy of your activation code someplace you can easily find it before starting the procedure, as you likely won’t be able to use email etc. under Safe Mode.
This does work; I just had to use it for the nth time for the fresh and very welcome 3.0.3 just available.
Is there something I did which set off this merry chase and chains? Maybe. I had to do one of those create-a-new-logins finally to get Windows recovered from its seven-year itch self confusions, some months ago, and that seems to have been about when the trouble started.
My opinion of Paddle as a protection vendor is at rock-bottom for this and all other reasons. Protection schemes are the pest, but theirs seems publicly and particularly undesirable.
A number of other companies at Scrivener’s level (LiquidText, Craft, Concepts) have gone over to using Microsoft Store, even with its sins, and I would believe Scrivener to be well served also to just give up Paddle and do this, if you can’t find something better.
You already use Apple’s store…and yes, I know well from close experience consulting inside an English company how there can be rather closely held emotions about ‘licences’ and anyone else getting a piece of them.
You might consider though, how much support cost, support frustration, and customer wariness and dissatisfaction appear to continue arising from Paddle.
That’s what I can say, and Best,
Clive
cc: @keith