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How to register 3ds Max 2009?

14 REPLIES 14
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Message 1 of 15
timothyc
17264 Views, 14 Replies

How to register 3ds Max 2009?

Hi

 

I have a problem with my installation of Max 2009 on Windows 7 (which, btw, has no internet connection).

 

Everything worked out fine, Product Activation was done via email, and the program runs as expected. However, the installation is "Unregistered", as indicated in the title bar of the running program. Also, if you go to    "Help > About 3ds Max..."   the displayed info shows a series zeroes instead of my actual serial number.

 

I remember when working my way through the Product Activation program (entailing the insertion of the Activation Code), the second to last page gave me a warning that registration was incomplete because the registry was unable to be written to because it did not have sufficient User permissions. That self-diagnosis was plainly wrong since I am the system's administrator with full rights to do everything, and I was logged in as such.

 

However Max started up fine and Product Activation was achieved, but I am concerned that without the software being properly "Registered" I could run into problems later on, e.g. adding 3rd party plugins or using the PLU to move the license.

 

Possibly what went wrong is that I was installing Max to Windows 7 rather than Vista (Vista was the latest Windows version at the time that Max 2009 was released) and I did not deactivate UAC as advised for Vista installations. Win 7 is better behaved in this area so I did not think it was necessary. Or possibly it might have something to do with the computer not having an internet connection.

 

I contacted Autodesk support about this and they are more confused than I am. They seem unable to differentiate between the two types of "Registration" i.e. "Registration" of the software and its serial no. to my name in their computerised customer database; and "Registration" of the program in my computer's registry. They confirm for me that the product and serial no. is registered to my name. Yep, I'm very pleased for them that their database is in order.

 

Anyway, I am posting here for some help on how to properly register the installation. I was going to run the Product Activation program again but some warning text said that I was about to tamper with Autodesk's licensing so I thought I'd better check here first.

 

I've attached a jpeg screenshot of my "Unregistered Version" and the "About 3ds Max" info.

 

Any advice?

 

Tim

14 REPLIES 14
Message 2 of 15
bielskj
in reply to: timothyc

Hi Tim,

 

Since I have to provide you with sensitive information, I have replyed to you via private message.



Lucio.Bielski
Front Desk Representative

Autodesk, Inc.

Message 3 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: bielskj

Hello Lucio

 

Thanks for looking into this but you haven't grasped the nature of the problem.

 

My copy of 3ds Max 2009 is activated and running normally. i.e. It is Product Activated.

 

Note that Activation is different from Registration.

 

Activation means the program is licensed to run.

 

Registration means my customer details (name, address, email etc) is associated with the product Serial Number. Registration is recorded in two locations:

 

1. Autodesk's customer database.

 

2. Inside the customer's computer where the actual software is installed i.e. in the computer's Windows Registry.

 

My problem is with item 2.

 

Note that even though the Product Activation program fails to write the necessary Windows registry keys, it does successfully activate the 3ds Max license.  Probably Product Activation is barred by default, by Windows UAC, from writing to another program's registry keys, that other program being 3ds Max. Somewhere along the line, I, as Administrator, failed to give it the necessary permissions. (Incidentally, no such permissions are necessary for it to write the same registration info to the Users\Adlm\ folder where you can find it in an XML and HTML file).

 

I did some research and it seems this problem has been intermittently occurring for a few years now going back to 3ds Max 2008 and with both Vista and Windows 7. However, the consensus is that the problem is purely cosmetic. People reporting this problem also say that Max runs normally in every way like a licensed copy should. The biggest problem is that having "Unregistered Version" displayed in the title bar causes passers-by accuse you of running pirated software.

 

Nonetheless, without the proper Windows registry keys being written, the 3ds Max program has no idea what it's own serial number is, nor it's owner's details (name, address, company etc) so, for example, if you use the Portable License Utility to move the license to another computer the serial number that gets transferred is recorded as 000-00000000.

 

Most people just live with it, but I'm sure that with the proper advice from a Tech Support engineer we could fix this problem by manually writing the proper Windows registry keys ourselves with RegEdit.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Tim

Message 4 of 15
bielskj
in reply to: timothyc

Hi Tim,

 

I spoke to tech support and they send me this link to help you fix the registry.  Please let us know if this helps you!



Lucio.Bielski
Front Desk Representative

Autodesk, Inc.

Message 5 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: bielskj

Hi Lucio

 

I tried the fix as explained in the link but unfortunately it did not work.

 

The symptoms as described in the knowledge base article were not exactly the same as mine, but it was worth a shot.

 

Thanks anyway.

 

Tim

Message 6 of 15
bielskj
in reply to: timothyc

Hi Tim,

 

Try this solution and see if it works:

 

For 3ds Max 2009 it will be HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\3dsMax\11.0

 

Other things to check:

if it's 3ds Max Design change 3dsMax in the above key to 3dsMaxDesign,

 

if it's a 32bit version of 3ds Max on a 64bit OS you need to edit the key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Autodesk\3dsMax\11.0

 

user rights: if the user doesn't have rights to read this key setting it won't make a difference... so you may need to adjust the permissions on these keys so that the users can read this key

 

some anti virus / system tools will restore older versions of the registry values if they think they've been tampered with. So please check that the changes are still in place, if they've been removed again make sure the system tool doesn't remove them before adding it again.

 

Please let me know if this doesn't work.



Lucio.Bielski
Front Desk Representative

Autodesk, Inc.

Message 7 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: bielskj

Hi Lucio

 

I think you are asking me to double-check the registry fix I already tried, from the Knowledge Base link you posted earlier.

 

I can confirm - I did not make any mistakes and the fix did not work.

 

Note that the Knowledge Base link describes symptoms slightly different from my own. For me, it makes no difference whether or not I am logged in as Administrator or Standard User. Either way, the title bar says "Unregistered Version" and "About 3ds Max" shows serial number as 000-00000000.

 

Here are some other users who have run into the same problem:

 

http://www.the-area.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/3ds-max-through-2008/3ds-max-2008---unregistered-and-...

 

http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/installation---hardware---os/serial-number-000-00000...

 

http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2009/serial-number-...

 

http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/installation---hardware---os/after-plu-serial--is-al...

 

http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/installation---hardware---os/unregistered-version-sh...

 

http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2009/portable-licen...


http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2009/question-for-t...


http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2010/3ds-max-design...

 

 

Just to reiterate: I am running 3ds Max 2009 64-bit (NOT the Design version), on Windows Professional 64-bit. This information and more is in the jpeg I attached to the very first post in this thread.

 

I am this computer's Administrator.

 

The computer does not have an internet connection, and Max was activated via email and manual entry of activation code.

 

Thanks for looking into this.

 

Tim

Message 8 of 15
arlinpega.bibat
in reply to: timothyc

Hi timothyc:

 

You can update your serial number by doing the following the steps listed below. Should you encounter any further issue, send your serial number through through private message (envelope next to your account name at the top of this page) so we may have a look further.  Include your contact details like email add, address, phone number. 

 

  1. Open your product and validate your existing license expiration date. Go to the Product License Information screen.
    1. Click the down arrow next to Help (Fig. 1) or the Help button directly (Fig. 2), and click About Autodesk XYZ.

      Figure 1



      Figure 2



    2. Click the Product Information button, which will open the Product License Information screen. The license expiration date will be displayed there (Fig. 3).

      Figure 3



  2. Log into the Education Community (www.autodesk.com/edcommunity).
  3. Click Get Software and look for the product you have downloaded.
    1. Click the drop-down menu to find the appropriate version you have downloaded.
    2. Click Get Serial (write down the serial number or store it in Notepad).
  4. Go back to your product.
  5. Go through Step 1 to get to the Product Information screen (if you closed your product).
  6. At the Product Information Screen, click Update.

    Figure 4



  7. Input serial number in the Update Serial Number field (see Fig. 4).
  8. Click OK.
  9. Follow the standard license activation process from here.

 

Best Regards,

Arlin





Arlin Bibat
Message 9 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: arlinpega.bibat

Arlin

 

Your step-by-step instructions are not applicable to my situation

 

Best regards

 

Tim

Message 10 of 15
arlinpega.bibat
in reply to: timothyc

Hi timothyc:

 

Could you send me your serial number through private message?(envelope next to your account name at the top of this page). I checked on your attachment and the serial number you still have is 000-00000000. Have you tried updating it? The software that you currently have, was it initially a trial version?

 

Best Regards,

 



Arlin Bibat
Message 11 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: arlinpega.bibat

Hi Arlin

 

Most of your questions are answered in the PM I sent you.

 

No, it wasn't originally a trial version.

 

WRT my serial number: what do you mean by "Have you tried updating it?"

 

The serial number is officially registered to my customer ID at Autodesk, and in fact it was pre-registered to my name before the DVD installation package was sent to me. i.e. the DVD package has a printed sticker on it with my serial number displayed on a yellow label.

 

Regards

 

Tim

Message 12 of 15
arlinpega.bibat
in reply to: timothyc

Hi Tim:

 

I created case number 07027816. Our Product Support team will be contacting you directly with regard to your request.

Thank you very much for the details.

 

Have a nice day!

 

Best Regards,
 



Arlin Bibat
Message 13 of 15
timothyc
in reply to: timothyc

This is the official solution provided by Autodesk Support:

 

We are aware of the issue with the Serial number display with licensed versions of 3ds Max 2009.  The issue does not affect the licensing and should not cause issues in usage of the software which has been correctly activated and licensed by the user.

 

It is possible to resolve the issue by editing the Windows Registry- which will allow you to input the serial. This is also useful for us in keeping a record if you ever need to submit an automated customer error report(CER) from 3ds Max and is recommended- To resolve the issue please follow the steps on the following page on Autodesk.com-

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1078286

 

As you are using win 7 64 bit the location is slighty different than mention in the technical solution the rest of the info is same HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Autodesk\3dsMax\11.0


It worked for  me Smiley Happy

 

Tim

Message 14 of 15
arlinpega.bibat
in reply to: timothyc

Hi timothyc:

 

Thank you for putting the answer  in here. I'm sure other users will benefit from it. 

 

Have a nice day!

 

Best Regards




Arlin Bibat
Message 15 of 15
noontz
in reply to: timothyc

Thanks!  Works!

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