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How do you return a licence when your computer crashed Thread poster: Olieslagers
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Olieslagers
French Polynesia
Local time: 03:13
Dutch to French
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Hello all,
About one year ago, I experienced a computer crash. I could not returned the Trados licence, so I contacted SDL Trados to help me out. They offered to replace the activation code, but I was asked to sign the following agreement:
"I/My company would like to confirm to SDL TRADOS Technologies that I/we have had a system crash and it has been necessary to re-install the Operating System on my/our computer, without first returning the license. This has resulted i... See more Hello all,
About one year ago, I experienced a computer crash. I could not returned the Trados licence, so I contacted SDL Trados to help me out. They offered to replace the activation code, but I was asked to sign the following agreement:
"I/My company would like to confirm to SDL TRADOS Technologies that I/we have had a system crash and it has been necessary to re-install the Operating System on my/our computer, without first returning the license. This has resulted in my/our license being locked, and I am/we are requesting a replacement license to be issued. I/We understand that:
SDL TRADOS Technologies is under no obligation to provide a replacement and may refuse this request
At SDL TRADOS Technologies discretion, I/We may be invoiced for an additional administration charge for this replacement. The invoice must be paid in full before any replacement can be issued.
If a replacement is provided, any future requests for replacements will not be considered by SDL TRADOS Technologies."
I was not keen on signing this agreement, but I felt I had no choice.
Yesterday evening, the same computer crashed again and I am very worried for the Trados Licence. It is obviously impossible to know when a computer is going to crash... So how do you manage the SDL Trados activation licence? You return it every evening? Or you keep it on your computer and just hope it will work forever?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Noëlle ▲ Collapse
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Walter Blaser 
Switzerland
Local time: 15:13
French to German
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| How often do you experience a computer crash? | Mar 18, 2011 |
I can understand that you did not like to sign such an agreement and I also agree that it is always a good idea to take some preventive measures
On the other hand, how big is the chance that you experience a computer crash? Normally, this is very seldom nowadays. You may have a freeze or crash of the OS, but such situations usually are recoverable in the sense that you can boot again. Do not forget that you do not loose your licence information unless you really reformat your hard ... See more I can understand that you did not like to sign such an agreement and I also agree that it is always a good idea to take some preventive measures
On the other hand, how big is the chance that you experience a computer crash? Normally, this is very seldom nowadays. You may have a freeze or crash of the OS, but such situations usually are recoverable in the sense that you can boot again. Do not forget that you do not loose your licence information unless you really reformat your hard disk or reinstall the OS. If you need to reinstall SDL Trados software, you will automatically recover your license as it still is on your PC.
This means that the license information only gets lost if you experience a non-recoverable crash. Nowadays, this should be very rare. I guess my last one dates back to something like 2 years.
Walter ▲ Collapse
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Olieslagers
French Polynesia
Local time: 03:13
Dutch to French
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TOPIC STARTER | 3 rd crash in 10 years | Mar 18, 2011 |
Thanks for your reply Walter. I called the Local Asus dealer this morning, as I thought it was a problem with the battery. I was told to switch the computer on without the battery and with its power supply. It did not work. Then the dealer said the motherboard probably crashed.
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IPtranslate (X)
Brazil
English to Dutch
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| Beg to differ | Mar 18, 2011 |
Walter Blaser wrote:
I can understand that you did not like to sign such an agreement and I also agree that it is always a good idea to take some preventive measures
On the other hand, how big is the chance that you experience a computer crash? Normally, this is very seldom nowadays. You may have a freeze or crash of the OS, but such situations usually are recoverable in the sense that you can boot again. Do not forget that you do not loose your licence information unless you really reformat your hard disk or reinstall the OS. If you need to reinstall SDL Trados software, you will automatically recover your license as it still is on your PC.
This means that the license information only gets lost if you experience a non-recoverable crash. Nowadays, this should be very rare. I guess my last one dates back to something like 2 years.
Walter
although I am an absolute computer analphabet (I am the average user who wants the thing to work, that's all), my partner is a professional and dismantled one of our computers we had before moving from Brazil back to the UK. When we got to the UK, he put everything together again and changed the motherboard, or part of it (cannot remember, and am not really interested for that matter). In any case, I didn't use Trados for a while and by the time I did plan to use it again (thinking that, since the HD was untouched, the lot would work)...it of course didn't...it was as if the program recognized that something had changed and it told me that the license was already in use. Of course, by that time the original components of the computer were gone.....and....the result is that I am so fed up with this thing that I have left it sitting there, probably until I cannot avoid it any longer....I dread to think of that moment, because it is not the first time that a similar thing has happened....
Bottom line from my experience (and yes, of course, all this is MY fault; I should know exactly how the soft works and what I should do to solve all possible problems...dixit Trados-hardliners) is that I tend to use other tools whenever I have the opportunity...unfortunately, the instances when "Trados is required" are becoming more frequent by the day....
I realize that this doesn't help the poster of this thread, but I don't like it when pictures are being drawn far more positively than in reality they are. That is why I reacted.
By the way: what are the odds of a 30 meter high tsunami hitting a nuclear power plant? Exactly.....And there is also no law of nature that says that in hydraulics the "100 year wave" (statisticaly once every 100 year) cannot occur two years in a row.....
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mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 09:13
Spanish to English
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| Five times in seven years | Mar 18, 2011 |
Walter Blaser wrote:
How often do you experience a computer crash?
I lived in Switzerland for over 10 years and never had a crash in all that time thanks mainly, I believe, to the remarkably well-controlled electricity supply system in that country coupled with a generally benign environment in terms of temperature, humidity, air pollution, and a host of other things.
In the past seven years living in Chile, in the almost total absence of those favourable conditions, I have written off five computers as 'irreparable'.
The good news is that I don't use any software which renders me dependent on the uncertain goodwill of unscrupulous software developers in the event that I need to reinstall their gadgets on a new computer.
MediaMatrix
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Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:13
French to English
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| Replace the motherboard? | Mar 19, 2011 |
Olieslagers wrote:
Thanks for your reply Walter. I called the Local Asus dealer this morning, as I thought it was a problem with the battery. I was told to switch the computer on without the battery and with its power supply. It did not work. Then the dealer said the motherboard probably crashed.
If the motherboard is dead and the computer's not too old, then they should be able to replace the motherboard for you?
Of course, there reaches a point of no return where you may as well just get a new machine for what it would cost to replace the offending component, but if the hard disk is intact and they can replace the motherboard, then this would in effect "resurrect" the computer and save you hassle with transferring files, licences etc to a new computer (and acquiring new licences where necessary).
I actually wonder if their mantra of "not being under obligation" to provide you with a new licence would actually wash if pursued legally. After all, they didn't HAVE to put copy protection on their software that hinders its use in such a situation, and at the same time you have a right to use the software that you have purchased. I suspect if you ask, they will just give you a new licence...
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Clarisa Moraña
United States
Local time: 08:13
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
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| My Support > "Licensing and Installation Help" | Mar 19, 2011 |
I'm not sure if you can recover your licence after a crash. If you cannot do that, I've copied and pasted something I believe it can help you:
The following reply, by SDL staff, was taken from a former post here at proz(http://tur.proz.com/forum/sdl_trados_support/150115-how_to_return_trados_license.html
Start of quote:
... See more I'm not sure if you can recover your licence after a crash. If you cannot do that, I've copied and pasted something I believe it can help you:
The following reply, by SDL staff, was taken from a former post here at proz(http://tur.proz.com/forum/sdl_trados_support/150115-how_to_return_trados_license.html
Start of quote:
If you are experiencing a licensing or installation problem then please visit our solution finder which is designed to help users fix their problems. We urge you to follow the solution finder step by step and, if your problem is not resolved, you will be given a support form to fill out. The support form will then be sent to our support team, who will get back to you as soon as possible.
To visit the solution finder please follow these instructions:
1. Please visit: https://oos.sdl.com/asp/products/ssl/account/default.asp
2. Login with your username and password
3. Go to "My Support"
4. Select "Licensing and Installation Help"
5. Read the instructions and then select the "Solution finder direct link"
6. Select the "Licensing Problems" link in the left hand navigation pane
7. Answer the questions accordingly
Again, you will be given a support form to fill out if you don't find a solution.
I hope this helps.
Many Thanks,
Gareth Powell
SDL Support Team
End of quote
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Regards
Clarisa ▲ Collapse
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Clarisa Moraña
United States
Local time: 08:13
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
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Olieslagers
French Polynesia
Local time: 03:13
Dutch to French
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TOPIC STARTER | SDL Trados support form | Mar 19, 2011 |
Thank you all for sharing your opinion, it makes me feel somewhat better...
I took my computer to the Asus dealer this afternoon, he managed to save the hard drive, but the motherboard has definitely crashed. The computer is only 2 years old, but the inside was already corroded.
Thank you Clarisa- I filled out the SDL Trados support form... As soon as I receive an answer, I will post it on this forum.
Regards,
Noëlle
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IPtranslate (X)
Brazil
English to Dutch
+ ...
| Same in Brazil | Mar 19, 2011 |
mediamatrix wrote: Walter Blaser wrote:
How often do you experience a computer crash?
I lived in Switzerland for over 10 years and never had a crash in all that time thanks mainly, I believe, to the remarkably well-controlled electricity supply system in that country coupled with a generally benign environment in terms of temperature, humidity, air pollution, and a host of other things. In the past seven years living in Chile, in the almost total absence of those favourable conditions, I have written off five computers as 'irreparable'. The good news is that I don't use any software which renders me dependent on the uncertain goodwill of unscrupulous software developers in the event that I need to reinstall their gadgets on a new computer. MediaMatrix
even with (very expensive) stabilisers, I ruined three equally expensive computers in 6 years time in Brazil....fluctuating voltages and abrupt power cuts galore.....
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Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 09:13
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| SDL's horrible concept of customer service | Mar 19, 2011 |
Olieslagers wrote:
I was asked to sign the following agreement:
SDL TRADOS Technologies is under no obligation to provide a replacement and may refuse this request
If a replacement is provided, any future requests for replacements will not be considered by SDL TRADOS Technologies."
I had the same experience and was asked to sign the same document. It was the sole reason that SDL lost me as a customer. I now use memoQ.
As to how often one can have a crash: in the last four years, I've had two laptop computers and one hard drive die. But that's not the point. The point is that the attitude reflected in that document sucks and I immediately resolved to find a replacement for Trados. They sell a very expensive (one might say overpriced) product and I can't risk being out almost a thousand bucks for a new license every other time a hard drive goes bad.
[Edited at 2011-03-19 19:54 GMT]
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Neil Coffey wrote: Olieslagers wrote:
Thanks for your reply Walter. I called the Local Asus dealer this morning, as I thought it was a problem with the battery. I was told to switch the computer on without the battery and with its power supply. It did not work. Then the dealer said the motherboard probably crashed.
If the motherboard is dead and the computer's not too old, then they should be able to replace the motherboard for you?
Following the same line of thinking, you don't actually need to repair your computer to be able to return your license. If the hard drive has not been damaged, you can drop it in any computer that's identical (or similar enough) to yours, start it up, return the license and take it out again.
If your significant other or a friend happened to buy the same computer as you, you can just borrow it and transplant the hard drive yourself. (Power down the computer, unplug it, remove the battery, undo the small phillips screw(s) that holds the HDD cover, undo the screw(s) that hold the HDD in place, pull it out laterally.)
Otherwise, you could go to an Asus repair shop, explain your plight and ask them to hook you up with a donor computer. The drive won't boot up in any random computer, but if you (they) can find something with identical or very similar hardware in it, it will.
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Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:13
French to English
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| Excellent if you can | Mar 19, 2011 |
FarkasAndras wrote:
Following the same line of thinking, you don't actually need to repair your computer to be able to return your license. If the hard drive has not been damaged, you can drop it in any computer that's identical (or similar enough) to yours, start it up, return the license and take it out again.
Ah, I wondered about that, but I wasn't entirely sure how TRADOS managed its licences. For example, if it puts something in the registry, then you may not necessarily be able to retrieve the licence from the HD by plugging it into another computer. But if you can, then great-- I just wasn't sure.
Of course, adding the HD to another (e.g. your replacement) computer will be useful for retrieving other "normal" files in any case.
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| Not that easy | Mar 19, 2011 |
FarkasAndras wrote:
Following the same line of thinking, you don't actually need to repair your computer to be able to return your license. If the hard drive has not been damaged, you can drop it in any computer that's identical (or similar enough) to yours, start it up, return the license and take it out again.
I'm afraid it's not as easy as that: the license is bound at least to the network card's MAC address, so you will either have to take the network card with you or hack the MAC address of the network card used in the second machine.
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Germaine
Canada
Local time: 09:13
English to French
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| Another way... | Mar 19, 2011 |
FarkasAndras wrote:
If your significant other or a friend happened to buy the same computer as you, you can just borrow it and transplant the hard drive yourself. (Power down the computer, unplug it, remove the battery...
The other way to do this is to buy a USB to SATA/IDE cable (10 $CA), plug one end to you hard drive and the USB to any computer... You can also install your hard drive as slave in any desktop computer, but the cable makes everything so much easier.
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