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saving web download programmes directly to disc


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#1 hedley93

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 08:46 AM

Sorry if this is long winded. Does anyone know if it is possible to download a programme from the web (especially one that you think you might want to buy after the trial has ended) and save it directly to disc instead of onto the C: drive. I've noticed in a few that you have to use your original free download version and the license key you buy will only work with that version. I have bought a couple of programmes like this, but the supplier of the programme also gave a burning programme to burn the original download and license key onto disc when the application was paid for, so the license key was associated with that version. Most suppliers offer you to also buy the software on disc which costs more again and if you don't buy the disc, there is a chance that the license key cannot be given again as some suppliers do not keep these records. I have found one now that I want to try with a view to purchasing later, but I would like to download it to disc/flash drive instead of C: drive. I have never seen anywhere to change the location to download to, just to the folder on C: drive where the programme is to be stored. Most software tells you it will be downloaded to C: drive, but I have never seen an option anywhere to change this location. This cropped up when I reinstalled windows and discovered that because I had moved my AV, Firewall, Spyware Installation programmes etc to another disc on my pc, the properties of the programmes were changed and when I moved them back to the C: drive after reinstall, they would not work/could not be found. If the files are downloaded to C: drive, both for free/paid software, does burning with Nero or similar change the properties, or will the programmes still work when moved to the C: drive again. Thanks for reading and in advance for any help offered. hedley

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#2 appleoddity

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 03:40 PM

To make a long story short, you can't do this. Yes, most programs DO offer the ability to install in any path or location that you want, including a flash drive. I'm not sure why you are missing the ability to do that, as most programs have a step during the installation process where it asks you to verify where it is going to be installed which is usually C:\Program Files\<program name>. This is when you change that location. You must be missing the fact that you have that option at that time. However, during the installation process possibly hundreds of registry entries and files are modified on the system. Special files are added to Windows to make the program run right, and they are not stored in the program files folder. You can not transfer programs like this between computers, nor after a reformat and reinstall. Some, but very few, can be. It would be so rare, you might as well not even try. The ability to move the program between one computer and another, or to use it after a reformat is based strictly on the limits the creator of the software has imposed for licensing. If they have "locked" the license information to your computer (based on the computer's unique serial numbers, etc.) then you will probably have to call the company to obtain a new license number in the case that your hard drive fails and you have to reinstall, etc. Programs like Microsoft Windows do this in order to make sure you don't try to reactivate the software on a different computer. Many programs though will allow you to reinstall it as many times as you want (under the license agreement, you may be limited to only using it on one computer at a time) as long as you keep the original installation file and the product key/activation key that you are given when you purchase. In this case, transfer the original downloaded installation file to a CD or flash drive, and also add a notepad or word document to the drive where you typed in the activation and product keys. Save both files to the same location so the next time you need to reinstall it, your product key is right there on the same disc or flash drive for you to look it up. This is the way things work, and whenever you need to use a program on another computer, or need to use it after a reformat of your hard drive, you will need the original disc, or installation file to reinstall the software. I hope I understood your question clearly, and have answered it sufficiently.

Edited by appleoddity, 25 June 2009 - 03:43 PM.

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#3 hedley93

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 04:32 AM

Thanks for the reply, appleoddity.
My apologies. I think I might have been confusing in my post. I realise the programmes have to be installed on the C: drive and I do have the option then to change the location that it is installed to. What I was asking was if I could download the programme & license key to the C: drive (my docs, desktop etc), and then burn it to disc so that I could use it if I have to reinstall for whatever reason, or would burning it to disc (taking it off the pc/moving it) change the properties. This is what I was told when I asked why my security programmes wouldn't work on reinstall, it was because in moving them from one drive to the other, I had changed the properties, so they would no longer work with the license key I was given, even though these particular programmes were free. I had to download & install them again and ultimately got a different version, so my license key wouldn't work with them.

I thought if I could download them straight to a cd/flash drive that I would have still have the original version when I went to reinstall and therefore the license key would work with them. Then I could reinstall them onto the C: drive to use them again.

You mention about phoning for a key again after reinstalling, but in the cases of the purchased software I mentioned above, I can't ask for my license key again because the company does not keep a record of license keys when they are distributed and these are paid for license keys. But I only found this out after I had paid for the software and installed it. Luckily enough that was the company that provided the burning programme to put the software and license key on cd at the same time it was installed, but not every company offers this and you're not told until after you have made your purchase.

I'm maybe making my question more complicated than it should be, but I thought I'd give the whole picture. Sorry again for any confusion.

Thanks for the help.
hedley

Edited by hedley93, 26 June 2009 - 04:33 AM.


#4 appleoddity

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 08:01 AM

This makes much better sense. If you copy a file from one location to another, it doesn't change the file at all. So, in essence, no, it does not change the properties. It could modify the access, or modification time stamp but this is irrelevant and would always be changing anyways based on several different things. You were basically told wrong. You can copy the file anywhere you want if you want to save the installation file for backup purposes or for any other reason. But, the same thing holds true as I stated previously. If the activation number or key is "custom" generated for specific properties of your "computer" (not the installation file) then it may not work after a reformat, because those properties have changed. You would recognize a product that does this because the procedure would be as follows: 1) You install the demo product 2) The product provides you a "key" (numbers and letters) to provide to the vendor, or it goes on-line and activates itself when your purchase it 3) The vendor provides an activation key to type back into the product after you purchase your product. This procedure is most likely the procedure you would see if the product were "locked" on your computer only. Basically, if the product has to go on-line to activate, or require that you provide information (a custom generated code) to the vendor in order to activate, it is probably locked to your machine. If you can just go on-line, to the vendor's website, and buy a "license" key or file then it will probably always work for that version of the product. If the software is locked on your computer, after a reformat, your computer could appear to be "different." This would require that you contact the creator of the software, and provide proof of purchase and insist that they re-activate the product that you legally purchased. Most vendors will not have a problem doing this if you explain that your hard drive crashed, or whatever. The only way to find out for sure is to try and install the software on another computer with the same product key or activation number. This would be fairly definitive proof that you could continue to reinstall and activate this software if you had to reformat your hard drive. But remember, legally, most programs you purchase are only licensed to run on one computer at a time. In other words, if you install it on one machine, you need to uninstall it from another to stay within the licensing agreement. The details of the licensing issues would be provided to you by the creator of the software. I hope this helps.

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#5 hedley93

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Posted 27 June 2009 - 07:43 AM

Thanks for the clarification. After my last reinstall I was able to reinstall several programmes that I had purchased and received an activation code for by email, but most of these I also bought a backup cd for. I usually do buy these as I think it's better to be safe rather than sorry in the long run. Those I don't have a backup cd for (weren't offered), I have been able so far to use the activation key that I received by email as well, with a couple of exceptions which I haven't had the need to reinstall to date. Hopefully they will work ok. I downloaded the programme I spoke of onto a flash drive and installed it ok, so I'll see what happens when I purchase it, whether or not I have to just use an activation code to make the install file the full programme or whether it works another way. I'll probably end up buying the backup cd anyway. Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated. :thumbup:

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