Problem with license code after update

DxO PhotoLab
1

[Problem already reported to the support team]

Hi,

Today, I have downloaded and installed the 4 updates made available for DPL, FP, VP and DPR on my PC. No problem. Then I have installed the same updates on my laptop. Unfortunately, now when I try to launch one of these apps or one of the Nik modules (which was not updated), I immediately get an error message telling me that my license code(s) could not be verified and that I should check my network connection.

Of course, I was connected. Since this message box only allowed me to quit or try again (and fail), I was stuck.

I uninstalled all apps and cleaned up everything DxO (apps, registry, appdata, etc.), rebooted, reinstalled everything and tried again. No way : when I launch the newly re-installed app, the usual registration dialog box is displayed, telling me that Iā€™m in trial mode (31 days left) and from there, only 2 things can happen :

  • If I click on ā€œtrial versionā€, I get a message telling me that I have already used my 31 days in trial mode (but the dialog box still displays ā€œ31 days leftā€. Thatā€™s fun.

  • If I enter the license code and click on Activate, all buttons are grayed and thatā€™s it. No way out. Nothing happens. I have to kill the app process. Same problem for all apps.

I tried everything I could imagine but now Iā€™m stuck.

I had no problem before this update. Nothing has changed on the laptop (hardware or software) beside the recent Windows update (but I also installed the same Windows update on my PC).

Now I need a way to clean up and reset the license checking mechanism which is obviously still active on my laptop.

Anyone having a similar problem ?

Thanks.

1 Like
2

I had a slightly different problem with PL7.5->7.6 upgrade, when DxO changed licensing scheme ā€“ see PL7.6 (Win) ActivationCommon - Error while trying to get status: -6 . DxO has sent me DebugLog.nlog, which helped me to resolve the problem by myself. In my case, removing stale DxO trial licenses from C:\ProgramData fixed it. I doubt it, but perhaps by coincidence it can help you.

Maybe the DxO server is overloaded (DoS attack ?), maybe itā€™s a problem with Internet provider, etc. Any clues in the PhotoLab log or Windows EventLogs?

Also Win11 24H2 update caused many network related problems, but these were mostly about file sharing (CIFS aka SMB), printing, so it should not apply (unless you have CIFS-based NAS). PL+FP+VP+Nik behaved ok after recent update to 24H2 but Iā€™ve experienced some strange problems with Windows itself. They went away next day after installing new round of Win patches. Every Win patch introduces on average the same number of bugs it fixes, so that the system is ā€œstableā€ :slight_smile:

3

Many who have experienced non responding servers have ben helped by changing the DNS settings in the computer or router.

Try changing to 9.9.9.9 or 1.1.1.1 and see if that help you.

4

Thanks.
Unfortunately, this didnā€™t help.

5

Windows 11 was updated the same day on my PC and my laptop. So I assumed that they were at the same level. Wrong guess. Actually, my PC is now running under Windows 11 Pro 23H2 while my laptop is running under Windows 11 Home 24H2. This may explain why I donā€™t see the problem on the PC.

6

Problem fixed.

I knew that I had to check date, time and time zone but apparently, everything was OK. The support person asked me to check again. I made a system check (DISM) before which fixed some problems (donā€™t know which ones) and I rebooted. Then I noticed that the time zone definition was not set to automatic. I enabled this setting and that fixed the problem immediately.

Very strange.

2 Likes
7

I have ā€˜Set time zone automaticallyā€™ disabled. Iā€™m on Win11pro with 24H2, OS Build 26100.3194, with 24H2 installed since Dec 2024, i7-14700KF+RTX4070, strict security config. No such problem with DxO apps here, which makes it even more strange. Perhaps something has changed on the DxO server or on DNS server(s) in parallel, making it hard to find the root cause? I think Iā€™ve read something about problems with DNS and 24H2, Iā€™ll try to find it.

EDIT: Had a quick look at network problems related to 24H2 and gave up ā€“ itā€™s a can full of worms. There were many problems due to changes in DHCP being not compatible with Internet providers, causing DNS problems. No reliable information from Microsoft what was actually changed. But there were many other reasons for networking problems after 24H2 update. Personally I use only WiFi equipment from my IP, so I travel with it locally, and donā€™t use Internet on laptop abroad. No problems with activations so far, except for annoying excessive logging in PL7.6, fixed by deleting stale trial licenses.

8

Do you mean by this, deleting for example ā€œā€¦\AppData\Local\DxO\Licenses\viewpoint5.keyā€?

9

I mean ā€œ*demo*.licā€ files from ā€œC:\ProgramData\DxO Labs\Licencesā€. This directory does not seem to be used anymore. My problem was with excessive logging of demo license failures (hundreds MB), not the activation itself.

10

In my case (photolab 8) deleting the viewpoint5.key worked for me, there isnā€™t a end of the demo-status in the loading-screen anymore.
In the folder, you mentioned the *.lic files seems older (= not used?), maybe from my older version.