Vegas Pro 14 Build 270 Crashes with License Error when saving

Zoatebix wrote on 11/14/2018, 11:49 AM

I originally (and accidentally) posted my concerns in a thread I found about a nearly identical problem with DVD Architect: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/cannot-save-project-network-license-error--110145/

Basically, I took my laptop so could work on some dialog editing on my lunch, and I lost 20 minutes of work when I tried to save and Vegas closed with the message "An error occurred while saving one or more files. There is no license to use this software."

I used my phone as a hotspot and triple-checked that my laptop was registered to use the software and was able to do a little bit of work and save it.

Later on, to provide supporting documentation (and to tag screen captures) for the bug, I was able to reproduce it by putting my laptop into Airplane mode. It was at this point that I received a reply from MAGIX:

Hello

Thank you for your message.

If the hardware config changed on the system you may be prompted to activate the software again. You may turn off internet access and use the software, but if the connection is disabled, this changes he hardware / system config, causing the software to prompt for activation again.
--
Best regards,
xx xx

MAGIX Software GmbH
Postfach 500109
01067 Dresden - Germany

Managing Director: xx xx, xx xx, xx xx
Commercial Register: Berlin Charlottenburg, HRB 127205

I replied the next day after a little bit of experimentation:

I'm not sure that's the issue; wireless was not disabled when the problem first occurred, only when reproduced it. I just tried to start Vegas away from an access point, and it's asking for me to check my license.

At first I thought that switchable graphics could be triggering the license prompt, but I tried again a few seconds later after turning my phone into a hotspot, and Vegas started without a license prompt.

Today, I lost another few minutes of work when I saved after doing some editing in my kitchen, and I appended the following message to my ticket:

Further evidence that whatever is wrong has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not my wireless is enabled or disable is the fact that the program just crashed with a licensing error while I was connected to my home wifi network.

The only "hardware change" was the fact that I was using onboard sound rather than outputting sound over HDMI like I usually do. I do not believe it is a violation of the license terms if I decide to move my laptop to my kitchen rather than working at my desk.

In retrospect, I feel bad about the sarcasm, but not as bad as I feel about not being able to trust my software.

Comments

Red Prince wrote on 11/14/2018, 12:05 PM

I had a similar problem with VP 14. It was going on for several days and was confusing me. Then I remembered that ever since the switch to Magix you needed to be connected to the Internet, at least occasionally. I tend to be off the Internet except when I am browsing because MS tries to sneak in an unwanted Windows update whenever I am connected to the Internet and the connection is idle.

So, the next time I was about to start VP 14 I made sure to be connected to the Internet. And sure enough, I was able to save the file and everything was functioning normally again. I agree it is a major PITA, but just try making sure you are connected to the Internet before you start VP 14 (it checks the license right at the start, so connecting later when you want to save a file is too late unfortunately) and see if that solves the problem.

Zoatebix wrote on 11/14/2018, 12:12 PM

I have just tried merlin-beedell's workaround from this post: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/cannot-save-project-network-license-error--110145/#ca680114

i.e. I turned off networking to force a license check, turned networking back on on to perform the check, then I experimented with both launching and saving with wireless off. Things seemed OK, for now, but DVD architect failed on merlin-beedell at work less than an hour later...

I haven't tried the solution later in the thread of reinstalling and running the installer as an administrator. It would be nice to get this information from official support and not having to guess at whether a solution will stIck or not, though...

Zoatebix wrote on 11/14/2018, 12:24 PM

Thanks, Red Prince!

See, if there were any indication that Vegas was running in "there's a license problem and you're going to lose all of your work"-sudden-death-mode, I'd be able to whip out my phone, fix the license issue, and go about my day, but as near as I can tell there isn't.

EricLNZ in the other thread seemed to imply that this shouldn't be happening at all, though, so I'd really like to get an official response. If I can't trust Vegas, I'll just use Resolve or Premiere (or Audition or Reaper, since this current project is really just dialog editing), even for tasks that I think Vegas is particularly well-suited to or that I particularly enjoy doing in Vegas.

Red Prince wrote on 11/14/2018, 12:42 PM

See, if there were any indication that Vegas was running in "there's a license problem and you're going to lose all of your work"-sudden-death-mode, I'd be able to whip out my phone, fix the license issue, and go about my day, but as near as I can tell there isn't.

I agree, this is a major design oversight that needs to be fixed, and not just in the latest version, but in all Magix versions: If the authentication check fails to connect to the Internet and it decides there is a licensing problem, it needs to tell us right at the start, not after we have spent time working on a project and we want to save our work.

Zoatebix wrote on 11/14/2018, 1:02 PM

I don't know what happened to the comment I posted here, but the forum software replaced it with the text of another comment I was editing. I'll try to re-create what I wrote here.

So what befell merlin-beedell here seems to have struck me as well - a software session that seemed to be working normally (and that I'm almost positive I was able to save in) crashed with a licensing error some time later when I tried to save.

Time to uninstall and reinstall (making sure to run the installer with elevated privileges), since that seemed to work for him...

EricLNZ wrote on 11/14/2018, 5:18 PM

I agree, this is a major design oversight that needs to be fixed, and not just in the latest version, but in all Magix versions: If the authentication check fails to connect to the Internet and it decides there is a licensing problem, it needs to tell us right at the start, not after we have spent time working on a project and we want to save our work.

This has cropped up before. My understanding is that Vegas products will phone home once a month to check but if this fails they should do so silently and not affect your installation. For a while I regularly checked my VMS and DVDA activations in my Magix account and there was indeed a monthly pattern. Of course updates and Windows and hardware changes can cause reactivation.

So there seems to be something else at play here and the failure to save a project is obviously a serious matter.

Zoatebix wrote on 12/6/2018, 11:06 AM

Un-installing and reinstalling seems to have stopped the misbehavior, but I'm definitely still being over-cautious with saving.

My latest exchange with support was not very helpful; sorry I waited almost a month to post it. From me on 11/14:

Further evidence that whatever is wrong has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not my wireless is enabled or disable is the fact that the program just crashed with a licensing error while I was connected to my home wifi network.

The only "hardware change" was the fact that I was using onboard sound rather than outputting sound over HDMI like I usually do. I do not believe it is a violation of the license terms if I decide to move my laptop to my kitchen rather than working at my desk.

And the reply:

Hello

Thank you for your message.

The configuration is not always the same after turning the same hardware back on. If another address was assigned, another IRQ assigned, etc...the config would still be different.
--
Best regards,