in serious need of help

[Werewolf]

Okay, so my old crappy piece of junk computer finally broke down for good, and I'm now writing this from an even older laptop that is hardly capable of running anything bigger than a calculator.....

During my desperate attempt to breathe life into my wrecked desk top I discovered some thing that made me even more angry!..........the activation keys that I have for SH4 don't work!

I purchased the game online, with very kind help from Neal since I live in Europe, when I initially installed SH4 after the download I took the time to maticously write down the serial and the sh.. load of activation codes that one receives....in my attempt to reinstall SH4 I used this serial and the mentioned activation codes and every time I had the message that they were wrong!

I simply refuse to spend money on yet another copy when I have bought this perfectly legitimate and all. Has any one in here had the same problem and know what to do?

Jesus! The process of installing a game today is surrounded by more code protection than the process of launching a nuclear missile ...... aaaarrrrghhh

[runningdeer]

Hello.

I first bought my game online, at 'D2D' (direct2drive.com). When I bought a new system I had to reinstall the game. My activation code didnt work, so i wrote to the site and they sent me a new activation key. Unfortunately this only works once or maybe twice, then your screwed.

Write to the site where you purchased it and describe the problem.

This actually happened to me too many times, I had to purchase it again because they wouldn't send me another activation code .

Also, try writing to ubisoft, but they might tell you to contact the site you purchased it from. But maybe they will help.

-Search this site for posts, I remember others had the same problem

[runningdeer]

Also try...

I did some searching here on subsim and thought the following might help:

-If the last number in your activation code is the number 0, try typing the letter O or opposite.

-If you are copy-pasting the code...try typing it in manually.

This has worked for some that are..."in the same boat" ...sorry that was uncalled for.

[Werewolf]

@runningdeer:

Thanks for the reply.....I will try to contact the site from which I purchased it, but judging by your experience I probably have to wait for 3 weeks just to get an automated message saying that they won't do it

c...!!!! why do they give one a ton of codes and encourage people to save them,keep them, back them up and make back ups of the back ups just in case when they don't work anyway....

well maybe I'm lucky and the robot that will reply me is in a good mood or something

Product coding has gone from innocent protection of software to a way of making people by the same product multiple times....I hate it! Long live piracy arrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[runningdeer]

I hope I didnt discourage you at all. When I wrote, I got a new activation code. I wrote ubisoft as well as D2D. I was pissed.

[Werewolf]

@runningdeer:

No, of course you have not disencouraged me, you have seriously answered a question of mine in an attempt to help and for that I am grateful

I have now contacted D2D where I also purchased my copy from.....so......guess I just have to wait ..... when I get my new computer I think I will run the old one over with my car that should make me feel better

no, seriously...thanks for helping, at least you made me sure that I hadn't just mistaken the acitvation code for the serial key or some thing silly like that

the o instead of the zero is a very common mistake as well as you can get an I or a 1 and type the wrong key not realising it.

speaking about all games in general:

many issues are because you getting letters or numbers mixed up or needs to be capital letters not lower case and sometimes its as simple as leaving the dashes in or leaving them out but it happens a lot to just get the wrong code for your game version to begin with so we understand your pain.

[Werewolf]

@webster:

Yeah, well, now I wish that mistaking serial keys were my only computer problems, I just gave up on the old computer now, now I'm not even capable of starting it, I only get a blue screen .... wonderful, hope I can retrieve all the files I've gathered in there

it feels looser like to realize how much of one´s life that is actually tied in that piece of electronic, haha! ............ but it's not only serious stuff that is on a computer, in moments like these I realize how much I actullay like that damn game heh

well.....guess it's off to throw out money on another machine and wait for a new activation code...

Thanks for the replies all of you, and I will definitely be sure NOT to mistake a 0 for an o when I reinstall

[Armistead]

Why I always buy the disc game. Crap like this would make me throw something and that gets expensive.

[rditto48801]

I agree, I would absolutely want to have a hard copy version rather than a downloaded version.
I tend to keep everything for a game (even boxes... and long since dead 3.5in diskettes), so loosing a key code (or other form of game material based copy protection) is not likely for me.
Also means not having games becoming useless or unavailable due to loss of internet or server crashes.

What sort of defeats the purpose of getting a hard copy version is getting a game from a store, installing it, then finding out it apparently needs to access Steam in order to play...