"updating license will expire soon" even after reregistration

[evollbach]

For the last several days I had been getting the popup message "updating license will expire soon." So last night I reregistered Avast 4.7, i.e., I chose the option on the Avast Web site to register the program that I already had but was expiring. After I did that, Avast emailed me a new registry key number, which I copied and pasted into the field that asks for my registry key, i.e., I followed the directions in the email exactly, starting with step 5 just as it said I should do.

This morning I turned on my computer and got a popup message from Avast, "updating license will expire soon." What's going on? I shouldn't see that popup for another year because I updated last night, right?

Beth

[mouniernetwork]

Are you sure its a valid key ?

Al968

[igor]

What does the About box say about your license?
Did you enter the key from an administrator account?

[evollbach]

What does the About box say about your license?
Did you enter the key from an administrator account?

First, I right-clicked the blue icon representing the resident protection in the system tray.
Second, I choose "About avast!"
Third, I pressed the "License key" button in the lower right corner.
Fourth, I pasted the license key that was emailed to me into presented text dialog.
Fifth, I pressed OK in "License Key," then pressed OK again in "About."

Yet, today the registration key in "About avast" is the old registration key, not the key that I pasted.

Something's wrong. Should I try it again?

Beth

[igor]

What user account did you do this from?

[evollbach]

What user account did you do this from?

Your question made me realize that the person who first installed this on my computer (as I said, someone else did when I needed help troubleshooting problems I was having with my computer) may have put it in his name, not mine.

Where can I see if he did this? I checked "About" but can't find that info. That's probably the problem. So what should I do?

Beth

[Lisandro]

Your question made me realize that the person who first installed this on my computer (as I said, someone else did when I needed help troubleshooting problems I was having with my computer) may have put it in his name, not mine.

Beth, it's not a problem of a name but the type of user of the computer: is it an account with Administration rights or it is a common user.
Control Panel > User accounts should show you if you are at a computer administrator account.

[evollbach]

Beth, it's not a problem of a name but the type of user of the computer: is it an account with Administration rights or it is a common user.
Control Panel > User accounts should show you if you are at a computer administrator account.

No, this is a home computer, and I'm the only person who has anything to do with it, no administrator rights.

Beth

[Lisandro]

I'm the only person who has anything to do with it, no administrator rights.

No Beth, if you have Windows XP and you're the only user that can logon, you have administrator rights...
If you go Control Panel > User accounts what do you see?

You can post a screenshot of it.
To know how to post a screenshot, see http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=8982.0
You can use WinSnap to get a screenshot (http://www.ntwind.com/software/winsnap.html).

[evollbach]

if you have Windows XP and you're the only user that can logon, you have administrator rights...
If you go Control Panel > User accounts what do you see?

I'm running Windows 98. In the Windows 98 Control Panel, there is no User Accounts, but there is Users. However, this would only be used if you wanted to give rights to more than one user, which I never did. Therefore, I've never used Users, and it's not even set up.

I'm sorry I didn't specify right from the start that I'm running Windows 98. I did in a previous thread I started yesterday, so that made me forget.

Beth

[Lisandro]

I'm running Windows 98. In the Windows 98 Control Panel, there is no User Accounts, but there is Users.

Sorry, sorry... in Windows 98 the history is completely different... no admin account, only common users...

Which is your avast version? 4.7.892 ?
Right click the 'a' blue icon and choose About...

[evollbach]

Which is your avast version? 4.7.892 ?

Yes, 4.7.892

Beth

[DavidR]

In cutting and pasting the registration key ensure you don't copy a space at the end of the key this would make it invalid.

Yet, today the registration key in "About avast" is the old registration key, not the key that I pasted.

Something's wrong. Should I try it again?

The number that you see in the about box isn't the full key part of it is hidden so it may well appear that it is the same key. The format is 18-8 and in the about avast you only see the first 18 characters not the full number. I have had several registration keys and the last two have the same first 18 characters, so in the about avast box it would appear that they are the same when they aren't.

When you enter the key and click OK the key should be validated and if it were invalid, you would get an invalid key error, I assume you aren't getting that ?

Igor asked "What does the About box say about your license?"
I think the most relevant now you have told us what version you are using is the Registration Key, Updates expiration date ?

[evollbach]

In cutting and pasting the registration key ensure you don't copy a space at the end of the key this would make it invalid.

I don't think I did that.

The number that you see in the about box isn't the full key part of it is hidden so it may well appear that it is the same key. . . .

The number I was replacing began with W3; the new number begins with W4.

When you enter the key and click OK the key should be validated and if it were invalid, you would get an invalid key error, I assume you aren't getting that ?

I did get a message that the operation completed successfully.

I just did it over again, and I think it worked this time.

Thanks,
Beth

[DavidR]

Your welcome.

If it truly succeeded you should see the Updates expiration (that I asked about ) should have changed to a point roughly 14 months in the future ?