Zugg Software :: View topic - UNABLE TO START MY 6.16 while 6.26a Beta Crashes

Novice Joined: 21 Feb 2002 Posts: 49 Location: USA

I think I'm getting the "run around" here. I bought a license for 6.25a beta and with all the problems with it, I was told to download 6.16 and use that. Well, it wants a license, but isn't able to get one "at this time" and wants me to try again later. I get that message all the time.

In the FAQ it says my 6.25a beta license doesn't work on older ZMUD versions. Is that the case? I feel I am being ripped of for 25 bucks cause the beta keeps crashing on me.

Why do you people allow us to download and purchase a beta version and then don't allow us to download and use an earlier version (like 6.16) which should be more stable? I would have purchased the 6.16 version if I had known your beta was undependable. Zuggsoft should have required it, so unsuspecting consumers would have a Zmud they could use when the beta crashes.

Maybe I'm missing something. Am I suppose to open up 6.16 and enter my registration code? I can't even get the damn thing to start up without the "sorry, can't get the license..." window popping up right off.

QuartetmanIA

Novice Joined: 20 Dec 2001 Posts: 39 Location: USA

No offense, but did you even look at the support library before going off on your rant? There is an e-license faq there, that lists error 23 - it lists it as being a problem with ac explorer, but you might try the solution listed in there.

quote:
I am getting a "Code 23" error
This problem occurred in older versions of AC Explorer. You need to first contact eLicense at support@elicense.com and ask them to send you their diagnostic program to fix a code 23 error. Then, run the program they sent you to clear the error. Then upgrade to the latest version of AC Explorer to prevent this from happening again.

As to beta: Beta is test software. This means that it isn't completely tested, and might be buggy. If you don't want bugs, don't try beta software, download the public version to start with.

Bob, aka Kayd on SWMud and a few others.

GURU Joined: 10 Oct 2000 Posts: 4379 Location: USA

Like bgunther said, code 23 error is doumented and people have solved it in the past. So I guess a more appropiate question right now is, why can't people be bothered to read documentation. If you did, you would have noticed right away that beta versions are, by definition, buggy and may be unstable. If you do not want that risk, don't use it.

And before you go off making accusations that you are "getting the run around", you should start by looking at documentation available such as the eLicense FAQ bgunther pointed out. Of course, you do not have to do it, no one is forcing you. And you might even point out that you have a right for customer support by being a paying customer. That is completely true. But it is also true that Zugg Software is composed of two people - Zugg and Chiara. Everyone else that you see here in the forums, does not work for Zugg Software. We are just very happy customers that like to devote our own free time to help other people out. So, although you may find help here in the forums, we are not in any way forced to answer all of your questions. There is an e-mail for support for zMUD. It is widely know - support@zuggsoft.com - but somehow I'm guessing that you didn't even bother to e-mail there with your problem before saying that you are "getting the run around" here.

Kjata

Novice Joined: 21 Feb 2002 Posts: 49 Location: USA

I did contact Zugg Support and they told me to download 6.16 to another directory and everything will be OKAY. Now, I am talking about ZMud... what's this AC Explorer?

I'm not having problems with that.. I'm using ZMud the Mud Client 6.25a!

QuartetmanIA

GURU Joined: 10 Oct 2000 Posts: 4379 Location: USA

If you did contact Zugg Support, then the next question will be: did you explain your problem with as many details as possible? Did you mention you were getting a Code 23 error?

If you did and the answer was that you install zMUD to another directory, then you should do that. If the problem keeps happening, then you send another e-mail saying that you were told to install to another directory and the problem still happens, while making sure mention again that you are getting a Code 23 error.

However, like bgunther said, the solution mentioned for AC Explorer is to contact eLicense at support@elicense.com. This was said in the other thread, but just to have it here too: AC Explorer is a separate product form zMUD that uses the same licensing scheme. That's why solutions with problems involving the license apply for both products.

Kjata

Newbie Joined: 22 Feb 2002 Posts: 5 Location: USA

QuartetmanIA, I understand where you are coming from on this, I had the same problem preventing me from using a registered version of ZMUD for a year or so. As a result I used an older version of ZMUD until now. Elicense is EVIL!

That said, the suggested workaround for error code 23 that they just gave to you (writing to Elicense for a diagnostic program) worked just fine- Elicense said I'd probably need to send them the output file from the diagnostic before I could get Zmud to work, but fortunately the diagnostic fixed the problem immediately for me.

If for whatever reason you can't get the diagnostic program from Elicense, I'd be happy to send you a copy of the one they sent me- just write me at MaskedHorror@iname.com
As for AC Explorer, and what this has to do with ZMUD, let me see if I understand this right:

Elicense is actually a program attached to both AC Explorer and ZMUD as copy protection, and in both cases are virtually identical to each other. For some reason, some information has been corrupted somewhere in the installation process, which prevents Elicense from working correctly... fortunately an AC Explorer user or programmer found out how to fix this, and in theory if the fix worked for Elicense attached to AC Explorer, it will work for the same program attached to ZMUD.

Please don't vent on the volunteers on this board about this problem, it's not their fault- they're doing the best they can, and this is a relatively obscure problem. Blame Elicense, and blame the hackers who make companies like Elicense a necessary evil in the fight against software theft.
On the other hand, you didn't pay $25 for the beta, which is by the nature of beta programs untested software released on those who are willing to give it a try and work out the wrinkles to ensure that the next final version is stable. I believe I heard somewhere the recommendation on these things is that if you aren't willing to risk using a beta version, you should go with the next-to-last non-beta version of the program, which would be either 6.15 or 6.16 if I remember correctly, as that version is most likely to have been more thoroughly tested and have more information available on fixes and work-arounds. You paid $25 for the license to use ZMUD, not exactly for any particular version of the program itself. The license you bought should work on all ZMUD versions 5.53 and higher, in fact, and at least one of those versions is bound to work stably on your system.

Also, instead of bashing ZMUD because of crashes, try taking notes on what is going on with the crashes, what programs are running at the same time, details about your system (processor, memory, operating system version, that sort of thing), and anything else you cant think of that might help explain what is causing the crash- the beta version of ZMUD probably didn't crash very much on the computers the programmers were using, or they wouldn't have released it to the public, but they can't possibly test ZMUD on every possible combination of hardware, operating system, and software available. As a beta tester, you can help them figure out what is causing the crash, so they can fix the problem on the next version, so that fewer people will experience the frustration that you felt.

Anyway, give Elicense diagnostic a try and see if that helps you out as much as it did me and some of the other ZMUD and AC Explorer customers against that code 23.

-Tiamat