We Operate a large mortuary business and our crematory software was written using visual foxpro. We are needing to move our software to a new computer however the guy who wrote it for us has passed away and we do not have the activation key to install it on our new machine. Is there any possible way for us to get this activation code? We sincerely appreciate any help and look forward to a response!
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Need Help Finding our Activation Key Our Programmer Passed Away.
- Thread starter dmifsud22
- Start date
dmifsud22 said:
Question: How do you know that any "Activation Key/Code" is required to install the application onto a new computer?
Have you tried to install the application and found that it was asking for some "Key/Code"?
If not, try that first.
Maybe you don't really need anything.
However should you need one.....
In general there is no such thing as an "Activation Key/Code" for Foxpro/Visual Foxpro applications.
However a developer can write the application to look for anything they want as part of the application - perhaps that is what your developer did.
Do you have access to the Application's Source Code?
If so, you could hire a consultant/contractor knowledgeable of Foxpro/Visual Foxpro to examine the code to see if it contains a "Key" or a Registry Lookup for a "Key".
If not then, ASSUMING THAT YOU LEGALLY OWNED THE CODE, you could again hire a Foxpro/Visual Foxpro knowledgeable consultant/contractor who could Decompile the application code into its source code and then try to look for a "Key".
Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
To define legally owning code more specific: If you buy a song, you don't own it, you own a copy and a license to play it.
If this software was specifically written for you, that's more to the point of owning it. But if its software sold to many morticians, it's not your's to decompile. It's much more likely, you're only the owner of a single usage license, because a software done by an employee or individually written only for you has no such activation code.
If you don't keep such an important product activation code at hand at a safe place, then you have one more customer here, in the form of a software.
Keep your old computer healthy as good as you can.
Bye, Olaf.
If this software was specifically written for you, that's more to the point of owning it. But if its software sold to many morticians, it's not your's to decompile. It's much more likely, you're only the owner of a single usage license, because a software done by an employee or individually written only for you has no such activation code.
If you don't keep such an important product activation code at hand at a safe place, then you have one more customer here, in the form of a software.
Keep your old computer healthy as good as you can.
Bye, Olaf.
Mike Lewis
Programmer
It might help if you could let us know exactly what happens when you try to install the software. Does it explicitly prompt you for a key or a code of some kind? And when does that happen? At the time that you install it? Or when you first try to run it? And what happens if you ignore the prompt?
But, ultimately, if you can't get past that prompt, and assuming the developer didn't leave any notes or documentation of any kind, it's unlikely that this forum will be able to help. As the others have said, activation codes are not part of Visual Foxpro, and we have no way of knowing what was in the developer's mind when he decided to create one.
You're probably going to have to hire another developer to solve this problem. And you will need to find someone who not only knows VFP, but has suitable skills to do the necessary reverse engineering.
Mike
__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads
But, ultimately, if you can't get past that prompt, and assuming the developer didn't leave any notes or documentation of any kind, it's unlikely that this forum will be able to help. As the others have said, activation codes are not part of Visual Foxpro, and we have no way of knowing what was in the developer's mind when he decided to create one.
You're probably going to have to hire another developer to solve this problem. And you will need to find someone who not only knows VFP, but has suitable skills to do the necessary reverse engineering.
Mike
__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
It would really help, if you describe in more detail what you install and what happens at what point. If this software was written by an employee it's likely you don't even have a setup of the software, but you run an EXE or even run in source code. You might try to install the CD of Foxpro itself. That has it's product key in it's case, typically. And if you got it through an MSDN subscrition the product key generated for you is online in your MSDN subscription. I'm shooting in the dark here, might be far off from your situation. Is there a name, of the software and/or the developer? That would clear things up, most likely.
Bye, Olaf.
Bye, Olaf.
Dan Freeman
Programmer
I want to emphasize this. We can't see through your eyes.
Three is, natively, nothing within Foxpro applications that requires an activation key. There is an activation key required FOR FOXPRO ITSELF, but you shouldn't need a copy of Foxpro unless your developer didn't know what he was doing when your application was built. (It's more common than you may think.)
Tell us what you're actually seeing. As #5 said: NEED INPUT.
- Thread starter
- #7
Yes it specifically asks please enter your activation code or contact "the guys Name who is no longer w us unfortunately" before it will open. It was written specifically for us yes we owned the license. It even says written for us at the screen that asks for activation code.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
Well, as said, a large business, no matter what field, should better keep such keys safe. And as JRB-Bldr said - there is no such thing as a general activation key/code for any foxpro application. The protection could even be done on the EXE with third party tools afterwards, which protect software, no matter in what language they are written in.
If you have the source code it should be fairly easy to find the place an activation code is checked and remove it. If you only have an executable, the mentioning of your company as owner of the software is not the best proof, as texts within executables can be changed. So I'd still consider this a gray zone I'd not let myself go into. Anyway, you have a greater chance to find someone trying to decompile this for you. There is no guarantee this will work and get you in charge of the software again.
Specific to VFP there are mainly two well known products protecting foxpro code against decompilation: 1. Refox and 2. Konxise. Refox can also decompile a non protected executable. Anyway, a developer would not only break a code of conduct, but also the license of Refox, if decompiling other developers code.
Bye, Olaf.
If you have the source code it should be fairly easy to find the place an activation code is checked and remove it. If you only have an executable, the mentioning of your company as owner of the software is not the best proof, as texts within executables can be changed. So I'd still consider this a gray zone I'd not let myself go into. Anyway, you have a greater chance to find someone trying to decompile this for you. There is no guarantee this will work and get you in charge of the software again.
Specific to VFP there are mainly two well known products protecting foxpro code against decompilation: 1. Refox and 2. Konxise. Refox can also decompile a non protected executable. Anyway, a developer would not only break a code of conduct, but also the license of Refox, if decompiling other developers code.
Bye, Olaf.
I would try to contact his estate or his designated Power of Attorney or someone like his spouse. You need someone with authority to grant you the right to decompile the executable back to the source code. Then you can hire a Visual FoxPro programmer/consultant to do this. However, be warned that if the original author protected the source code then it might not be able to be decompiled.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
ggreen61 has very good advice here.
Just by the way, Visual Foxpro asks for your company/name when you install it and enter the product key, which results in this message:
That doesn't make me the owner of Foxpro itself, though, and doesn't legitimate the decompilation of it. I just am a license owner of one usage license. And the better proof is my bill of purchase, the original boxed product and product key.
The spouse or the attorney of the deceased may know more or find out more about the creation of the software and your relationship and communication and contracts, if you don't have such paperwork anymore. You need further proof, than just a screen message. If he really worked out this software only for your company, I doubt there would be an activation key then. It's much more llikey the software was customized for you and that can be costly, but still doesn't make you the owner of that software or version of it, still just a licensee.
Bye, Olaf.
Just by the way, Visual Foxpro asks for your company/name when you install it and enter the product key, which results in this message:
That doesn't make me the owner of Foxpro itself, though, and doesn't legitimate the decompilation of it. I just am a license owner of one usage license. And the better proof is my bill of purchase, the original boxed product and product key.
The spouse or the attorney of the deceased may know more or find out more about the creation of the software and your relationship and communication and contracts, if you don't have such paperwork anymore. You need further proof, than just a screen message. If he really worked out this software only for your company, I doubt there would be an activation key then. It's much more llikey the software was customized for you and that can be costly, but still doesn't make you the owner of that software or version of it, still just a licensee.
Bye, Olaf.
Mike Lewis
Programmer
OK, but what we need to know is when does it ask you that? Is it during installation, or is it when you try to run the software?
That's important, because if it's during installation, it might be possible to install it without using the routine supplied by the developer.
Mike
__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads
Mike Lewis
Programmer
G Green said:
Good advice about contacting his estate.
But, on a legal point, you do not necessarily need to be granted authority to decompile. The law varies from country to country, but in the EU, there is a right to reverse engineer software in certain circumstances, including when it is necessary to enable "interoperability". It might be argued that allowing your software to run on a different computer comes under that heading. In any case, in most jurisdictions, there would be no legal obstacle to your decompiling your own software.
Mike
__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads
Dan Freeman
Programmer
Mike Lewis said:
And in this case the author is no longer with us, so who's going to pursue legal action anyway?
![[glasses]](/data/assets/smilies/glasses.gif "[glasses] [glasses]")
dmifsud22 said:
What is "it"? We understand that "it" is asking for an activation key. What IS "it"? We still don't know that.
I have activation keys on software I've written for various clients, because sometimes employees leave and take
copies of the applications with them - and hope they will be able to carry on using them.
I think the OP has made it clear that the application itself is asking for a key - not VFP.
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
copies of the applications with them - and hope they will be able to carry on using them.
I think the OP has made it clear that the application itself is asking for a key - not VFP.
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
>the author is no longer with us
In german jurisdiction - and I'm sure in other countries, too - the posession will then go over to the heirs. Just because the spouse or other heirs don't know about the work it doesn't mean customers may take it as granted to own the software, the licenses continue, surely. But though by sense of justice the installation belongs to you, a lost activation key could be replaced by the heirs as goodwill only, not because you could demand the software to work on a new PC.
The situation is still not clear, whether you own the software as a whole, as it was contract work done for you, or whether it was just a customization or whether you just bought a license. Seeing a message in the software and your company name mentioned is judging a book by its cover.
As I do custom software for a living I know it is very inadequate to have an activation key with the setup. A company owning the software wouldn't put a lock on it, as they wouldn't sell it to competitors anyway, so it's still much more likely you bought a software maybe customized to your company, but still a work of a developer sold to many other morticians. With the argument the heirs don't know about the value of this software, could I claim a confectionery of a deceased owner, because I once baought a wedding cake there, made according to my ideas and with my name on it?
As you say you are a large mortuary business I also wonder, why you have problems with a single installation of a software. A software you obvisouly did install long ago and didn't care to store it's activation code. All this does point to being a usage license owner only. Besides not naming the product.
No matter what I or others here personally think about this, it's not a thing you can get solved by a Foxpro developer, just because it's Foxpro software. Without source code, we can also only try to decompile the installed EXE and/or DLLs, and that also won't put you in a position to maintain and expand that software for future needs. A decompilation has no documentation, mostly not even comments in sources. It's hardly possible to do more than recreate an EXE from the decompiled product. Without knowing it, as the developer did. So think about that: Just solving your current installation problem doesn't solve all future problems you might have, even if you say this software works stable for you without support.
I'd say fate has decided for you, to find a new route, a new software. Something maintained by a living developer or better yet a company having interest of continuous development of the product. The situation would differ much, if the sources were available. You have the best chances to negotiate with heirs to get the sources, maybe even for free, when they don't have an interest in continuing the business around that and/or other products of the developer. And then you are in a much better position also in regard of maintaining that software and adopting it to future needs or migrate to another basis of a not deprecated programming language.
Bye, Olaf.
In german jurisdiction - and I'm sure in other countries, too - the posession will then go over to the heirs. Just because the spouse or other heirs don't know about the work it doesn't mean customers may take it as granted to own the software, the licenses continue, surely. But though by sense of justice the installation belongs to you, a lost activation key could be replaced by the heirs as goodwill only, not because you could demand the software to work on a new PC.
The situation is still not clear, whether you own the software as a whole, as it was contract work done for you, or whether it was just a customization or whether you just bought a license. Seeing a message in the software and your company name mentioned is judging a book by its cover.
As I do custom software for a living I know it is very inadequate to have an activation key with the setup. A company owning the software wouldn't put a lock on it, as they wouldn't sell it to competitors anyway, so it's still much more likely you bought a software maybe customized to your company, but still a work of a developer sold to many other morticians. With the argument the heirs don't know about the value of this software, could I claim a confectionery of a deceased owner, because I once baought a wedding cake there, made according to my ideas and with my name on it?
As you say you are a large mortuary business I also wonder, why you have problems with a single installation of a software. A software you obvisouly did install long ago and didn't care to store it's activation code. All this does point to being a usage license owner only. Besides not naming the product.
No matter what I or others here personally think about this, it's not a thing you can get solved by a Foxpro developer, just because it's Foxpro software. Without source code, we can also only try to decompile the installed EXE and/or DLLs, and that also won't put you in a position to maintain and expand that software for future needs. A decompilation has no documentation, mostly not even comments in sources. It's hardly possible to do more than recreate an EXE from the decompiled product. Without knowing it, as the developer did. So think about that: Just solving your current installation problem doesn't solve all future problems you might have, even if you say this software works stable for you without support.
I'd say fate has decided for you, to find a new route, a new software. Something maintained by a living developer or better yet a company having interest of continuous development of the product. The situation would differ much, if the sources were available. You have the best chances to negotiate with heirs to get the sources, maybe even for free, when they don't have an interest in continuing the business around that and/or other products of the developer. And then you are in a much better position also in regard of maintaining that software and adopting it to future needs or migrate to another basis of a not deprecated programming language.
Bye, Olaf.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
Griff said:
Maybe the software I write for clients is too specific to be reusable on a standalone PC, also users don't get at the server side of it. OK, that is an argument for an activation key as protection against employees. Anyway, in this case it's one installation, which now needs to be moved? Sounds very odd.
Bye, Olaf.
I would suggest the OPs request is not without some merit, this wouldn't be the first piece of 'orphaned' software I've supported over the years
(more Access and VBA ones than I care to remember) some from very large companies where developers have come and gone and all that's left is
an application running on a number of PCs with no documentation.
It's probably a problem I will leave for people myself in due course, the 'red bus' syndrome.
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
(more Access and VBA ones than I care to remember) some from very large companies where developers have come and gone and all that's left is
an application running on a number of PCs with no documentation.
It's probably a problem I will leave for people myself in due course, the 'red bus' syndrome.
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
All doubt may be resolved. But while it's too late to talk about what should have been done in this case: My main customer is hosting a team foundation server to have source code control. Any customer and developer should solve the source transfer problem before it becomes one, it might also be a notary having hands on that.
It's only covering one major part of having the sources, but at least that is covered before you might not even get at sources, because the hardware it was on is sold or disposed.
It's not a thing to worry about, if you buy and install a Microsoft Word license, but for custom software it's one of the first things to consider. I don't have any understanding for not caring about that.
Bye, Olaf.
It's only covering one major part of having the sources, but at least that is covered before you might not even get at sources, because the hardware it was on is sold or disposed.
It's not a thing to worry about, if you buy and install a Microsoft Word license, but for custom software it's one of the first things to consider. I don't have any understanding for not caring about that.
Bye, Olaf.
Well, I'm feeling charitable today, if the OP contacts me directly I'll try and help.
Google finedata to find me
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
Google finedata to find me
Regards
Griff
Keep [Smile]ing
There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
I'm trying to cut down on the use of shrieks (exclamation marks), I'm told they are !good for you.
Olaf Doschke
Programmer
Well, your choice.
On the irony level, dmifsud22, you might consider me as helpful for causing someones elses mercy with you, besides all the other considerations I gave.
Bye, Olaf.
On the irony level, dmifsud22, you might consider me as helpful for causing someones elses mercy with you, besides all the other considerations I gave.
Bye, Olaf.
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