Mach 4 PCID changed ?!?

Yesterday I configured some settings in windows 10. I mostly customized the appearance. But i did no exactly track what I changed in detail. Although I haven't installed any new programs nor did i remove any.

However when I booted the machine up and launched Mach4 today it said that it was in demo mode. Uppon troubleshooting I noticed that the PCID changed. My genuine license is now void. Why is that happening? I haven't even touched any hardware.

Does anybody know what exactly causes the PCID to change? Maybe then I can undo the changes I made to make Mach4 pick up my old PCID so that my license continues working?

I already read that Mach4's DRM System is EnigmaProtector. Maybe it's a bug in the DRM system?

Is anybody else having problems with it? There seem to be other people who suffer from changed PCID but only after Windows did update. However, no Windows update was installed to my machine as far as i know.



~ knacker

I just checked my account, and you are allowed a license on at least 1 more computer.
Check with the vendor,
Larry

You can log into your account and create a new license, up to 5-7 times I think.

If you are going to purchase Mach4, the best hassle free place to register and track your licenses,
in my opinion is:
https://www.machsupport.com/shop/mach4-hobby/
Larry

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ger21

You can log into your account and create a new license, up to 5-7 times I think.

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Yes thats true. However I ordered my license from a local reseller. They allow for up to 3 renewals instead of 7. Furthermore the reseller does not seem to have an automated system so i must contact them via email and wait until monday for an answer.

Besides that i prefer not using up the renewals yet and save them for later - until I actually change hardware.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by metalfixer

If you are going to purchase Mach4, the best hassle free place to register and track your licenses,
in my opinion is:
https://www.machsupport.com/shop/mach4-hobby/
Larry

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You're right. I should have read more on this before buying from a local reseller. On the other hand my local reseller also shipped a localized screen for Mach4. Therefore it was tempting to order there. I didn't expect the licensing system would be a problem at all.


However since my reseller wouldn't answer until monday, I spent some time on researching to find the reason why the PCID changed without me changing any hardware. I read more about the DRM system (EnigmaProtector) and found out that it is capable of using a set of the following data to generate a PCID [1]:

1. Volume Serial Drive
2. System Volume Name
3. Computer Name
4. CPU Type
5. Motherboard BIOS
6. Windows Serial Key
7. Hard Disk Serial Number
8. Windows User Name

Some of these can be ruled out as they would require administrator priviliges (which mach4 does not).

On the official forums someone reported that changing the computer name would change the PCID [2]. This was very likely the reason my PCID changed as i was chaning that too. Unfortunally i don't know my old computer name as it was some random name that windows generated during installation. So I must contact my reseller anyway.

However the answer to the question "What causes the Mach4 PCID to change?" is the computer name and the hard disk serial number of the primary drive. You can actually check your hard disk serial number when going to Help > System Information in Mach4. Then expand the Drives tree and select Drive0. That is the serial number that is used to generate the PCID (in combination with the computer name). Don't mix this up with the voulme or partition serial number. Changing that won't affect the PCID (i tested it). That basically means that a Mach4 license is bound to the primary hard drive.

Hopefully this information will prevent someone from putting himself into my situation in the future. Furthermore one does not have to fear changing other hardware like graphics unit or cpu as they do not affect the PCID. One could even change the Mainboard as long as one keeps Mach4 on the same hard drive.

~ knacker99

Sources:
[1] https://enigmaprotector.com/assets/files/manual_en.pdf p.19
[2] https://www.machsupport.com/forum/in...?topic=35425.0

Thanks knacker99, that is helpful to know.
Larry

If you purchase from Artsoft directly, and use up all your licenses, I'm under the impression you can call them to get another one. Provided you are not running 4 machines.

I've used 4, and have never even run a machine with it yet. One because I replaced my old PC, and two because Artsoft changed the system they used.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ger21

If you purchase from Artsoft directly, and use up all your licenses, I'm under the impression you can call them to get another one.

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I've read that too. Although there seem to be many complaints about the license system, thus kind of forcing them to be accommodating. However, there is no guarantee they are in the future. Knowing what we are allowed to change and what not should be communicated much more clearly in my opionion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ger21

because Artsoft changed the system they used

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Interesting. Does that mean when we are updating Mach4 that we will get a new PCID and therefor have to do the licensing process again? That would mean that we could only update up to 7 times (unless we already requested more PCID updates eg due to changed hardware)? This would be very unfortunate if you ask me.

~ knacker99

Quote:

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Interesting. Does that mean when we are updating Mach4 that we will get a new PCID and therefor have to do the licensing process again?

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It probably won't happen again, but it's happened at least once since the initial Mach4 release (Which was unusable).