updated through Stardock Central to 3.00c[b].002

braver than me, i'm updating to 3.00b.093

Just typed in my e-mail address and pasted in my Registration #. That produced another error... "Activation Failed".

I went through 3 failed to activates. closed it, opened it. went through 5-6 'retry' and then it took.

Could I try one of those and revert to an earlier version? If so... HOW do I do that? And what pre-reinstallation things should I do, e.g., should I copy my Themes folder to another location? etc.

Wouldn't hurt to copy your themes. The only ones I have, I downloaded so if I lose it, I can go get again. Restoring - I just archived, uninstalled, right click on it in SDC and choose restore archive, then pick the version.

but if you hang on, someone will probably come by with a more detailed process.

SDC was in and out for a while. Sounds like you got a corrupted IP install. Un-install IP via SDC, re-boot and re-install IP. 'Activate.exe' should be in C:\Program Files\Stardock\SDCentral. You should be fine with any themes/skins you have, but backing them up to a temp file would take care of any problems you might encounter.

Yrag...do you know if the present version of IP is stable or still buggy? I uninstalled mine after it started messing with my PC and haven't reinstalled it since then. I miss being able to change my icons, but I would rather wait till a stable version comes out again. Unfortunately I don't have an older version of IP because I had to reformat my PC.

Install it.

yrag,

Uninstalled IP via SDC, rebooted and reinstalled via SDC (3.00c[b].002). Problem still exists. None of the enhanced features work, e.g., Icon Explorer, manually changing icons, etc. The Validation window pops up but when I run it, validation fails. I've looked at all the "ip.log" files for each backup version and every one of them says: "ERROR" for Serial No.?? Perhaps this is normal? I've not had a problem until now. In IP "Help/About" it clearly says my copy is "Registered"??

...missed this one...

If support didn't get back to you yet, what version of SDC do you have installed? Is IP a stand alone or do you have ObjectDesktop?

If support didn't get back to you yet, what version of SDC do you have installed? Is IP a stand alone or do you have ObjectDesktop?

Stardock did get back to me and had me re-register IP. But that didn't change anything.

Current installed version of SDC is: 2.10.343 build 95.

IP is standalone, purchased and registered back when it was 2.5h. It's been updated with SDC all along without any problems.

Go to C:\Program Files\Stardock\SDCentral and click on 'Restore'. Re-boot and try it again.

Sent off an e-mail to Stardock although I have my doubts about if and/or when I'll get a response.

I have always received a response from Stardock.

yrag advised: Go to C:\Program Files\Stardock\SDCentral and click on 'Restore'. Re-boot and try it again.

Hey, thanks for hangin' in there with me on this one. I did what you suggested and ran the "Restore" utility which evidently found a few bad files which it replaced. After rebooting, I then opened SDC and re-registered IP again... ran IP and clicked on "Icon Explorer" and got the "Validation" prompt again which unfortunately failed. This is turning out to be a "goodie", eh?

Yeah....this is special........

When you send an e-mail for your apps and serial #'s, what happens if you install the IP Enhanced link they give you without using SDC?

Hold on. I must have missed a staff meeting........

For your reading pleasure.......https://www.stardock.com/StardockActivationInfo.asp

OK...I've replicated it....finally....I think

Try this:

Copy C:\Program Files\Stardock\SDCentral\Activate to C:\Program Files\Stardock\IconPackager. In that folder (C:\Program Files\Stardock\IconPackager click on Icon Explorer. Put in email (type it) and serial # (copy/paste CTRL+v). Click Activate. If your firewall prompts, click OK...

If it gives you the cannot find Activate.exe error again, then copy the above file there (probably C:\Windows).

yrag,

Once again, thanks for being so resilent in trying to help out. But I've already done all that (figured it out on my own when I first got the "Can't find Activate.exe" error. So, I copied the file to both "C:\WINDOWS" and "IconPackager". The problem NOW is that each time I run the Activation process, it comes back as "Activation has failed". BTW.... I tried shutting down my Firewall too, even though I have a Rule setup for this process.

Hopefully, Stardock will reply back on Monday to my report which tells of the things I have related here. Of course, I'm still open to trying just about anything in the meantime.

Well, so you shouldn't feel you're alone......on the newsgroups, everyone who updated lost Icon Explorer. The method I posted worked for them, so I'm assuming (as I think you are) that you have reached your Activation limit or it will only work with an OD serial#. I have both and mine failed with the stand alone (although I only tried it once before using my OD #). At this point only Stardock can reset it or fix it. You can revert to previous version by right clicking on IP app in SDC and click 'Restore Archived Version' and point it to the file (if you have 2.99, go with it). The default folder is C:\Program Files\Stardock\SDCentral\BACKUP for the archives. If you save them somewhere else then point it there. As a side note, it appears someone at Stardock caught it and posted 3.00b.093 again. It's possible you can install that one and it might very well fix it instead of reverting to an earlier version.