I've done it enough times that I can say go for w/o deactivation. I'm sphere, and as long as you are connected to the net, it will authorize every time. (I have 4 computers with it, all of which have had clean installs during my membership)

If not sphere, I think that is even less dicey. You should just be able to enter the key even w/o net connection IIRC.

Yes, you can manage your up to 5 activations yourself. So even if your reinstalled computer isn't recognised you can remove the old activation and activate your reinstalled computer as a 'new' one.

iLOK stuff can be tricky though. If you have an iLOK cloud account, put your licenses back in the cloud before you do so. Also, WAVES can be a bit finicky also.

I deactivate EVERYTHING (From all vendors) prior to a bare disk rebuild. While Presonus is nice and easy - other vendors can be a bit tricky depending on what you are using and activating.

To play it safe - I have software that gives me a very deep, very comprehensive inventory of every single bit of software installed so I can review and deactivate prior to any system wiping.

Cheers!

VP

Vocalpoint wroteTo play it safe - I have software that gives me a very deep, very comprehensive inventory of every single bit of software installed so I can review and deactivate prior to any system wiping.

Cheers!

VP

What software? That sounds handy

BobF wrote

Vocalpoint wroteTo play it safe - I have software that gives me a very deep, very comprehensive inventory of every single bit of software installed so I can review and deactivate prior to any system wiping.

Cheers!

VP

What software? That sounds handy

Guessing Revo Uninstaller Pro -- and it is, although it's unlikely that it tracks activations specifically, it's more like it tracks where all the registry and Windows system traces like to hide which is super helpful when they rear their ugly heads after you thought you uninstalled all of them.

LOVE REVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (that's something I have to deactivate on the new/old computer before tearing it apart to use on the new/new computer)

It's been a boon imnsho, it is far better at killing things dead than the built in uninstaller.

Oh, and it should be cheap! One year on my two computers is like 12 bucks each. AND it's a totally functional 30 day trial The only thing is (and this is as FW as it gets) when you close it you get a nag screen simply telling you how much time you have left. Wow, if that bothers you, you need to get a life

BobF wrote What software? That sounds handy

While Revo does offer a basic insight into what is installed on a workstation (and I do use it here) - for the real software story I run Endpoint Central from ManageEngine which handles everything from Windows/third party patch management, software deployments, custom configuration scripting to the all-important install inventory (and licensing).

Endpoint Central's desktop agent takes care of all the inventory scanning work so I can easily get a report of all things to a very deep level that are on a DAW workstation. Much more deeply that Revo would provide.

Cheers

VP

Vocalpoint wrote

BobF wrote - for the real software story I run Endpoint Central from ManageEngine which handles everything from Windows/third party patch management, software deployments, custom configuration scripting to the all-important install inventory (and licensing).

Cheers

VP

Huh. I don't see the word "activations" in that sentence ... would tracking those fall under "licensing?"

I recently moved my studio stuff to a new computer...two DAWs, many associated applications, 180 plugins and many gigabytes of data.

For any DAW, app or plugin that was SOLELY registered on my physical iLok and/or iLok Cloud I didn't do anything except reinstall them on the new computer.

For any DAW, app or plugin that was registered on my computer I deactivated them on the old computer, reinstalled them on the new computer and activated them own the new computer.

Easy Peasy.

MisterE wrote Huh. I don't see the word "activations" in that sentence ... would tracking those fall under "licensing?"

No - actual activations have nothing to do with this software agent - it simply tells me what I have installed, what version, and tells me how many licenses are in use (each having some slight manual setup as I acquire licenses) - but it cannot tell me which plugins or apps use activation specifics like a hashed value of motherboard, CPU and hard disk for example.

That is on me to determine AND track. Any apps or plugins that are "activation-specific" have all been catalogued - so if a new plugin does get added to inventory that DOES need to be deactivated prior to a reinstall - I will add notes on it within Endpoint Central after the new plugin appears in Inventory (post scan).

It is a bunch of work to get this going but once it's rolling - it's invaluable especially come rebuild time.

Cheers!

VP

Vocalpoint wrote

MisterE wrote Huh. I don't see the word "activations" in that sentence ... would tracking those fall under "licensing?"

No - actual activations have nothing to do with this software agent - it simply tells me what I have installed, what version, and tells me how many licenses are in use (each having some slight manual setup as I acquire licenses) - but it cannot tell me which plugins or apps use activation specifics like a hashed value of motherboard, CPU and hard disk for example.

That is on me to determine AND track. Any apps or plugins that are "activation-specific" have all been catalogued - so if a new plugin does get added to inventory that DOES need to be deactivated prior to a reinstall - I will add notes on it within Endpoint Central after the new plugin appears in Inventory (post scan).

It is a bunch of work to get this going but once it's rolling - it's invaluable especially come rebuild time.

Cheers!

VP

Hey, I understand the principle of going the extra mile and applaud your diligence! Would it be fair to say the longer you have your computer and wait to install this utility, the less value it has? And that to get the best value out of it, it would have to be one of the first things you install after a build?

MisterE wrote Hey, I understand the principle of going the extra mile and applaud your diligence! Would it be fair to say the longer you have your computer and wait to install this utility, the less value it has? And that to get the best value out of it, it would have to be one of the first things you install after a build?

Endpoint Central is an enterprise application that runs on the network on a dedicated server. I have 12-15 workstations here so it is worth the effort to setup as it manages ALL my endpoints - including the servers themselves.

This is not a single workstation utility unfortunately and would probably (very quickly) represent overkill for most in this forum.

Cheers!

VP