Reappearing Evaluation Stamps

[Oliver_H]

Hi,

recently I got a problem with the PDF-Xchange Viewer:

My System:
OS: Windows 7 32 bit
PDF-Xchange Viewer V. 2.5 (Build 197,0) as Part of PDF-Tools 4.0.0.0197
Bought with a maintenance plan expiring in 2013

The Problem:
I have been using PDF-Xchange Viewer as a part of PDF-Tools for more then a year now. About a week ago, on August 29 2011 the evaluation stamps suddenly appeared on the top of the pages when I tried to save the documents after using the pro features. Somehow the software suddenly seemed to "think" that it is in an evaluation state again. I can change this with a reinstallation (see below), but the problem reappears without premonition. To my knowledge there is no way to remove the stamps, so this sudden appearance is a real problem, since it can ruin a lot of work. In fact it has already cost me and my employer some time to recreate the affected document.

What I have tried
- I deinstalled the product und installed the latest version. The product worked normal for a short time after the installation, but a few days later the evaluation stamps reappeared.
- I changed the License key (My company owns several). As before this worked for a few days, but then the evaluations stamps reappeared.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello Oliver,

This should not be happening, so could you please e-mail us the key you tried to support@pdf-xchange.com with a link to this topic - and we will see what could be wrong with it.

Also could it be that the system you are using is being "restored" to an older state where the software wasn't licensed - is system restore used on that machine, and how often?

Best,
Stefan

[Oliver_H]

Hello,
maybe I have found the solution myself while collecting the keys. It seems one of them is blocked due to an upgrade. It could be that I have entered this code twice while playing around with them. I will try the other one for a time to see if the problem occurs again.

By the way that was a very fast response. Good work.

Thank you
Oliver

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Thanks for the kind words Oliver!

And yes - most likely the blocked key is the reason.
In case of any further troubles you know where to find us so do not hesitate to drop us a line, and we will try to be just as fast

Best,
Stefan

[Oliver_H]

You are welcome,

Unfortunally there are indeed further troubles. While trying to apply the current (not blocked) key I encountered the following situation:

I did a complete deinstallation of both pdf-tools and pdf-XChange-Viewer. After this I did manually delete the remaining folders in AppData\Roaming and AppData\local and then a fresh install with the current license key. Nevertheless the evalutation stamps reappeared. Then I checked the license key in the program. It was not the one entered during the installation, but the other blocked one. It seems this other key is somewhere lurking on my computer (a registry key?) and reapplies itself to the program.

There has never been a restoration on this computer and the installation was performed with full administrative rights with a restart between de- an reinstallation.

Regards
Oliver

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello Oliver,

Yes - the key is stored in the registry, but if you did change it to the new key during the reinstall process - it should have properly updated it in all instances.

Also please try to manually update the key.
In the PDF Tools you can find in under Preferences -> About -> Serial Key,
And in the Viewer under Help -> Enter Serial Key.

Then try to copy/paste the new non blocked key, and hit apply.

Best,
Stefan

[Oliver_H]

Hello Stephan,
I tried your suggestion to update the key manually first thing in the morning. It worked for some hours, then - just as I wanted to go home - the stamps reappeared. I checked the license. The old one had mysteriously returned. I have no idea how this could happen. I didn't restart the computer during the day. Do You have any suggestions?

[Jamie - Tracker Supp]

Hi Oliver,

That is odd behavior. Lets take another shot at it. There is a marvelous piece of software call Revo uninstaller pro, I will paste a link to it below. They let you try it free for 30 days. Install and run it. It will provide a simple interface similar to Windows Add/Remove programs. Use it to uninstall our product and then follow the prompts to remove any left over registry entries and files. Reboot and re-install with the new serial and let us know how it goes.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Unin ... -Pro.shtml

[Oliver_H]

Hello Jamie,
thank you for the suggestion. After using the uninstaller everything seems to work.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello Oliver!

Glad to hear that everything is up and running now!

Cheers,
Stefan