I have been using Scrivener for years. A couple of days ago, I started getting an error message that the program didn’t have an active license and the program closes. I open it again, it asks for my license number. I put it in and it says it activates without any issue. I use it for a while, but soon it will say it has no active license again and the program closes. Again. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program. Same problem.
I can use the program, but I have to keep reopening the program and putting in my license number several times a day.
I have a Dell Inspiron 5402 and I’m running Windows 10 Home, Version 22H2. I made sure that everything is the lastest release and fully updated.
Hi Magpie. Sorry to learn you’re having activation issues.
The first item I recommend reviewing is your Windows security settings and the quarantined lists for any anti-virus, proxy, firewall, or VPN tools you’re using on your PC.
I’m suggesting that because those programs often install updates in the background. Those updates could cause Scrivener or one of its components to be incorrectly flagged in the quarantined lists as suspicious. I’ve had that happen on past help tickets, so it’s a good first step to eliminate obvious issues.
Another option you can test is to run Scrivener as an administrator. To do this, please right-click over the Scrivener icon on your Desktop and select ‘Run as administrator’ and register. Next time you launch Scrivener normally it should stay registered.
If neither of those suggestions resolves the activation issue, then you may want to reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking and activate Scrivener in that mode.
The steps for rebooting in Safe Mode with Networking are available here.
The Safe Mode with Networking will deactivate any tools that are blocking Scrivener, but it will still be able to connect to the servers. Then, you can reboot your computer as you normally would.