please Help! Pulsar1 don't accept my activation keys

J.B · Post by **J.B** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:20 pm

Hello,

i recently bought a second, used pulsar1-card because of the great plugins that should be delivered with it(Mix&Master and Minimax). The Hardware seems to work fine and i get the additional dsp-power in scope 3.1c BUT...
the new card don't accept a single plugin activation key

When I enter the keys from the 'MyPage'-Website, it only says that I don't have to mess with the copy-protection - and then halts the complete scope-system (both cards) until I reboot.

Strange is, my other pulsar1 works perfectly, accepting all its keys. Only the new one don't like its activation keys. So i don't think, its my PC-Configuration that creates this strange behaviour. But maybe i am wrong?

The Card comes along with a Scope 4 CD and Manual, and also with a Scope4 Key on the MyPage-Website, so i don't think, that the previous owner used some cracks or something like that (if such a thing exists for creamware products) and damaged or confused the card on that way... and that also wouldn't make any sense. Why should someone try to crack the "Main Studio Tools", "EffectsPackage1", "SynthPackage1" or "Scope Platform" that comes for free with each pulsar anyway? But even this simplest of Keys are rejected. And this are PlugIns that HAVE to work with every pulsar1 that is not a SRB (and i have ins and outs so it isn't a dsp-booster-card).

After registering this board on the website all plugins, that should be on that card showed up correctly on the "MyPage". Does anyone know, if this page is generated using a Database on Creamware-Site or if it is reading out the pulsar memory - and then shows only what is inside of the card? (What i mean with this question is - if it all comes from a database, then perhaps only the memory on the pulsar is malfunctioning, but - if the mypage-content is some kind of pulsar-memory-dump, then the memory of the card is still working, because all the correct plugins where visible on the mypage-site).

And the Hardware-Key I registered, is exactly the hardware-key that is on the label on the card itself, and also the hardware-key that shows up in the "register"-window of Scope. So i haven't registered the wrong card.

Even a new created allkeys.skf, send to me from creamware (because the allkeys-download website was malfunctioning) don't work. (by the way... only half a day after i requested it, so opposing to what i read about creamware support - this time it works perfectly and very fast. Thank You, creamware!

)

So, installing Scope4 and importing the allkeys.skf don't work.
Installing the plugins, using the oxe-files from the creamware-ftp also don't work.
AND
every new try freezes the scope-system and calls me a thief ("don't mess with copyprotection"). Argh. I don't mess with it, these stupid codes are exactly the codes i got from the creamware mypage!

Hopefully someone of you experienced users could help me? Is the board malfunctioning, am i doing something wrong, must i reconfigure the PC or Scope and finally... (and most feared) are all my plugins for the card and the associated money lost, when the card don't remember anymore what was installed on it?

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:42 pm

you should try to install this card with all the codes you received in it's own box. Use whatever is available - it's not intended to work, but just to verify the thing is ok.

Your setup (mentioned in another thread) possibly confuses the software.

good luck, Tom

J.B · Post by **J.B** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:22 am

So, I battled the whole day with my PC hardware, but in no configuration the plugin-keys had been accepted

I tried
- my Working PC without any Card other then the troublesome Pulsar1 and AGP-Graphics (Intel BX Chipset (Gigabyte BX2000), 1.4Ghz PIII, 1GB Ram, Win98SE, Geforce3, Pulsar1 (build in april 1999))in multiple PCI-Slots (checked that no irq-sharing occured, also tried with open pc-case for optimal low temperature).
- my Working PC with a slower 1.2Ghz Intel Processor and less Ram
and
- another PC with an Intel820-Board (Gigabyte GA6-CX) with 128MB Rambus and a 733Mhz PIII, complete different harddisk without a single Bit of creamware scope ever installed.

(and no overclocking at all, so PCI-Bus should run exactly at 33Mhz)

[ This Message was edited by: J.B on 2005-06-10 09:36 ]

at0m · Post by **at0m** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:02 am

Hoi J.B,

If you go to CW's shop, My Page, try to register for Scope 4. This new OS comes with new keys, which will be available for download after re-registration. Have you tried these? At first glance, I suspect a mismatch in OS and keys version. If that's correct, it will be an easy fix, similar to the method astroman proposes, but in this scenario you're set with latest version of all software.

Good luck,

at0m.

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:14 am

if I remember this right Win98 SE is only capable of adressing 376 MBytes of physical Ram - any above will (at best) slow the system down, but could also end with totally wierd results.

cheers, Tom

J.B · Post by **J.B** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:21 am

thanks for your reply, at0m. But I already have Scope4 for that pulsar-board (even on an official greenish-yellowish CD with ScopeLogo and a manual with hte same color titled "installation guide" (definitly not the old blue "quick start guide" that came with my other Pulsar1)).

But the Problem is, the pulsar doesn't accept the scope4-Key, that was fresh delivered by creamware, yesterday (nor does the board accept any other key inside Scope3.1c or inside the Scope4 Installation Routine).
So i cannot install Scope4, because the continue-button of the scope4-setupt stays greyed out - assuming it will stay grey as long as the hardware don't accept the scope4-key.

but to follow your idea, maybe the board is confused with the all new scope4-Keys? Perhaps all keys from my "mypage" are already scope4-keys, but my pulsar wanted still the old SFP3.1c key-format for its plugins. Then i should mail creamware and ask for old pre-scope4 keys? mmh, could that be the reason? Are there so different key-formats? But then, how can i change my pulsar1 so, that it will accept the new Scope4 key-format? Is there a tool or something from creamware that switches the card to a Scope4-Mode before it can accept the Scope4-platform-key, that comes in scope4-format to finally install scope4? Sounds terrible complicated...

[ This Message was edited by: J.B on 2005-06-10 10:21 ]

J.B · Post by **J.B** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:26 am

@astroman

that is not quite true, as far as i know (that much Ram could only mess up with harddisk buffering, the vcache, but the vcache setting is very low in most DAWs i think) - and so it works very well on my system. I needed the 1GB for working with GarritanPersonalOrchestra(GPO) and i need Win98SE, because my Korg Oasys only has drivers for Win98SE.

[ This Message was edited by: J.B on 2005-06-10 10:28 ]

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:40 am

just in case you've messed these up the requirement for the keys:
you had an SFP 3.1 system with your old Pulsar one (up and running)
now you just add the new Pulsar one, connected by STDM cable (no software involved yet)

if you start SFP the DSP meter should show 2 cards, your old one as 'master' and the new one below it - 8 DSP total.

to use the plugins that came with the new card, just install them with the existing keys.
The protection will check automatically if a board with the appropriate serial is around.
Again this is in no way related to the SFP 'OS-software'.

If SFP shows 2 boards in DSP meter (which means they are visible to the OS), then the keycheck for the new packages is likely to succeed.
If it doesn't (under those assumptions) then you might indeed have a problem with the serial in eeprom, which can fail in very rare cases, but the memory thing mentioned above is not to be underestimated.

cheers, Tom

ps: I re-read your original post and you seem to have taken all proper steps - if the card isn't hidden for some obscure reason (be it interupts, memory or whatever), it might infact be a serial issue (eeprom).
If it can't be solved elseway, there's the chance to transfer the plugs to your first Pulsar (maybe you can negotiate the fee in this special case).

I never checked the mem specs of 98 in depth, just accepted what my PC seller told me...

[ This Message was edited by: astroman on 2005-06-10 10:49 ]