Activation not needed???

[serloren]

Since I spend so much of my time trouble-shooting (I work in IS/IT), I long ago made it a habit to completely uninstall old versions of a software before installing newer ones.

However, a friend of mine who also uses some Corel products recently bought (a day or two ago) and installed PSPX7 alongside his old version. Both versions seem to be functioning just fine, BUT, he is worried because when he did the install, he never got any messages regarding activation - nothing saying it did activate, nor anything saying he needed to activate, etc. He has tried opening and closing it (32 and 64) several times seeing if it is somehow being delayed and could be "pushed" with no effect. He is worried that there is an issue, and that somewhere down the line (days, weeks, ...) it might suddenly cause a problem. So he asked me if I knew what might be happening.

My own newest version is X5, and as I said, i never install alongside or over the top of, so it's not like I can recreate his install on my machine or anything to see how it may have changed since my last install.

BUT...what I am wondering is this:

Since he had his old version (X6 I believe) installed already, and he installed X7 alongside it, (even though it used a new serial) is it somehow possible that the application read a registry key (etc) of his old activation and used that to activate this new version?

If not...any ideas when/how he can either push it to activate, why it isn't asking, or what he ought to do (if anything?)?

Thanks!

[Ken Berry]

AFAIK there is no separate activation procedure. If you install PSP, it requires you to insert the serial number at the start of installation. After installation, it will prompt you to register, which we would encourage you to do. However, once installed, the program is fully functional...

[serloren]

I know it isn't listed as a separate procedure, but whenever I have done it, during the install, after the serial, and after registration, one of the screens has been an activation screen (which also offered alternate ways to activate in case you couldn't do it automatically). Does it now just activate without anything showing/announcing/etc that it has done so during that install?

[Ken Berry]

I only recall the registration prompt, and the offer of alternative ways of registering...

[hartpaul]

I suspect that activation is done if connected to the imnternet when you type in your serial number.
There is a Corel page which does mention activation of trals, x7, and earlier versions here:
http://howto.corel.com/index.php/Corel: ... en&kb=true

[Ken Berry]

Yes, trial versions have to be activated to become full versions. However, as you'd be aware, we usually recommend that people don't activate trial versions either of PSP or Video Studio as they are known to cause problems. We recommend that the trial version be uninstalled and the full version downloaded from the link which is normally provided in the purchase confirmation email from Corel/Cleverbridge...