Install TC 17.00.37 x64 expires immediately & invalidates registered TCmd v16.03.55

[Steven.Kraus]

I am a registered Take Command user. After seeing the newsletter, I decided to install the TC 17 Beta by clicking on the link in the newsletter. My current Take Command v16.03.55 is installed in C:\TC, and I backed up that folder to C:\TC16. I am running Windows 7 and I installed the 64 bit version of today's build.

When I ran the new tcmd from the start menu it refused to run giving a message box, "This trial version of Take Command 17.0 has expired!". So I visited the support forum in jpsoft.com and downloaded the very latest build and ran that. Same message box error.

Good thing I backed up my Take Command v16, I thought. So I ran C:\TC16\tcmd.exe dated 7/12/2014. The same message box occured, and I could not run tcmd.exe version 16 either. So I tried running C:\TC16\tcc.exe. This worked, opening a tcc.exe console window. From that window I tried to run C:\TC16\tcmd.exe and the same message box error occurred. I cannot run C:\TC\tcc.exe, which is version 17 without the message box and opening my browser to the JPSoft web store.

After installing TC v17 beta, I cannot run either tcmd v17 or tcc v17 or tcmd v16. I'm not completely stuck, since I have tcc v16.03.55 running. And I have it on a thumb drive too. But something is wrong with the registration system.

The text below is from the TC v16 console window. The message box error occurs after running tcmd.exe

C:\TC16
>ver /r

TCC 16.03.55 x64 Windows 7 [Version 6.1.7601]
TCC Build 55 Windows 7 Build 7601 Service Pack 1
Registered to Steven Kraus - 1 System License

C:\TC16
>dir c:\tc16\tcmd.exe

Volume in drive C is Windows7_OS Serial number is 968c:176e
Directory of C:\tc16\tcmd.exe

7/12/2014 10:33 5,934,696 tcmd.exe
5,934,696 bytes in 1 file and 0 dirs 5,935,104 bytes allocated
66,991,734,784 bytes free

C:\TC16
>c:\tc16\tcmd.exe

 

[rconn]

Take Command v17 and v16 do not share any registration info, and installing v17 will not overwrite or affect any of the v16 files. Did you install v17 into the same directory as v16 (i.,e., without deleting the v16 files)? That would not be a good idea, as the COM dll's will not register themselves correctly in that situation.

And you cannot "move" a TCMD installation from one directory to another (without a reinstall); again the COM dll's will not work (Windows will be looking in the original directory).

The only time I've seen something like what you're describing is when trying to run TCMD under a debugger, or with the wrong (or modified or corrupted or unregistered) IsLicense50.dll.

Try starting an elevated TCC or CMD session, and go to the TCMD17 installation directory. Run:

regsvr32 /u islicense50.dll
regsvr32 islicense50.dll

and see if that resolves your startup problem.

 

[Steven.Kraus]

Take Command v17 and v16 do not share any registration info, and installing v17 will not overwrite or affect any of the v16 files. Did you install v17 into the same directory as v16 (i.,e., without deleting the v16 files)? That would not be a good idea, as the COM dll's will not register themselves correctly in that situation.

And you cannot "move" a TCMD installation from one directory to another (without a reinstall); again the COM dll's will not work (Windows will be looking in the original directory).

The only time I've seen something like what you're describing is when trying to run TCMD under a debugger, or with the wrong (or modified or corrupted or unregistered) IsLicense50.dll.

Try starting an elevated TCC or CMD session, and go to the TCMD17 installation directory. Run:

regsvr32 /u islicense50.dll
regsvr32 islicense50.dll

and see if that resolves your startup problem.

Why always install to C:\TC ?
My Take Command installation is always in the \TC folder off the boot drive.
On USB thumb drives, registered Take Command is always in the \TC folder, and I have version 15 and version 16 on a couple of thumb drives.
I have put all of my .btm files and associated data files they use in the \TC folder.
I have written several programs that start a tcc.exe process running a batch file from the \TC folder, and those programs check to see which drive they were loaded from, and append the "\TC\tcc.exe" and the batch file. I occasionally run TC from a thumb drive on a customer's computer, where Take Command is not installed and it is not in the path on their computer.

I type "\TC" quite a lot.

I tried running revsvr32 from an elevated CMD session and the messages indicated these two commands succeeded.
But this did not fix the TCmd 17 startup problem. The "expired" message appeared when I started Take Command version 17 and versipn 16.
So I deleted all the installed files from C:\TC (except my .btm and data files) and reinstalled the Take Command beta into C:\TC.

Reinstall works
After reinstalling Take Command 17, I was able to run the unregistered tcmd.exe.
And my registered tcc.exe version 16 continued to work from "C:\TC16\tcc.exe" where it was copied. ver /r shows it is registered version 16. This is good.
But C:\TC16\tcmd.exe apparently runs tcmd version 17

I can understand why copying Take Command without installing breaks the registration. Many shareware programs that use a key file or use the registry work if you install a new version right over top the old file. And they also work if copied to a new folder. But that registration method is not as secure.

I am a contractor and I usually have a separate thumb drive for each client. Take Command is one of my essential tools. So I make thumb drives with registered Take Command, and I write on tape on the thumb drive "TC v15" or whatever version.

Thanks, Rex, for your prompt response at 1 AM !
Steve

 

[Christian Albaret]

I use a symbolic link to keep a constant name ("TCMD" in my case) while actually installing to different directories.