THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:
SYMPTOMS
When attempting to register and activate CuteFTP, the following error message is encountered:
Single machine registration limit exceeded. Your serial number has been used too many times.
CAUSE
This error is usually caused by insufficient Windows user account privileges on the local computer.
The CuteFTP activation process requires that certain system information be converted into a unique machine ID and that a registry entry be sent from our registration and activation server back to your computer and merged into the Windows registry. In most cases this process is completely automated and transparent to the end user.
During the activation process, if the user does not have the Windows user account privileges to write to the HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT portion of the registry, then the registration serial number is accepted by the program but it enters into an Unverified state.
Upon entering this Unverified state, CuteFTP will function fully for some time but will automatically attempt to complete the activation process silently every time CuteFTP is started. If unsuccessful after multiple silent attempts, the error message shown above is displayed and the activation process must be completed before CuteFTP can be used again.
RESOLUTION
To correct the problem the activation process must be allowed to complete in entirety. Follow these steps to complete the process:
- Contact the Suoort and describe the error message precisely. The customer service agent will make an adjustment to your account on the registration and activation server. After the adjustment is made, CuteFTP will again attempt to complete the activation process silently every time it is started. At this point it is crucial that you proceed to Step 2.
- A user with sufficient privileges to write to the HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT portion of the registry (an administrator or power-user) needs to log on to the computer and then start CuteFTP so that the silent registration can complete.
- To verify that the activation process is fully completed, on the Help menu, click About CuteFTP. If the About box still indicates Unverified, then try again.