I hear that if you are no on maintenance or subscription and lets say you buy a new pc and install SW onto it you cannot install the latest build even if you have saved them on a cd? Is this true? If so it is total BS.
Just what if you have one of those back up drives, that backs up your system. Then your PC crashes and dies. Can one restore SolidWorks off the back up drive onto a brand new hard drive?
I believe you are over-reacting. Speak to or email your VARS, or SolidWorks direct.
I just spoke with my VAR and they assured me that versions obtained while under subscription will be able to be re-installed or transferred to new PCs complete with SPs.
I always suggest to the customer if you DL the SP keep it some where safe or burn it off to a CD.
If your entitlement date runs out prior to a certain SP, then your entitled up to that SP. Anything after that your not. However if you find a show stopping bug that has no workaround that your VAR or SW can find, but the Next SP fixes it, your entitled to that SP, but only if there is no workaround (no matter how tedious the workaround might be. if there is one that is your answer until you get subs back on).
Plus some of this will vary between VAR's... so I suggest that when you DL your SP keep them some where safe in case you are not going to pay for subs again.
Scott,
If I understand what you are saying is that
after my subscription service has ended:
1. I have the service pack from sp 0 to sp 5 in a safe place.
2. My hard drive dies.
3. I get a new hard drive and load SolidWorks sp 0 from the SolidWorks CD’s.
4. Then run sp 0 to sp 5
5. I do not have to log-on to the internet to verify my SolidWorks seat.
If you are on SW07 you have to go through the activation that you can't avoid. But you should still be able to load the SP without a problem.
If the HDD dies and you didn't transfer the license first then you have to contact your VAR to get your activation corrected... but other then that you can't be supported.
Only support a person can get outside of Subs is installations.
But the older the version the harder it is for that person to remember the process... it continually changes throughout the years.
SW04 you only needed 4 digit Reg code then it went to 8, now its Activation and no Reg codes anymore.
IMO its just easier to stay on subs. But there is a cost and to each his own.
Until now, the user had the right to use SW even without subscription service (the license had no limit in time).
With the new activation process I thought that this could change. But after contacting my VAR, I was informed that things like license transfer (to a new PC, for example), and license recover (if the HDD is damage and you can't transfer lic) is granted in the future for all SW owners, even if they don't have subscription.
Can you confirm this?
Being truth, I think it's a very honest attitude from SW.
Activation licenses do not expire. If you need to transfer the license you can still transfer if off subs. If you lose a HDD before you can transfer it, then you must contact your VAR to get that machine disabled and then you can activate that license once again.