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Participant
July 22, 2007
Question

Authorisation of DRM books

  • July 22, 2007
  • 17 replies
  • 2119 views
I have quite a few books which I purchased some time ago (2003/2004). They have upgraded successfully right the way from V4 and can be read using Adobe Reader V7 on my main PC on Windows XP SR2.

Unfortunately my new laptop runs Vista. I therefore installed the new version of Adobe Reader V8.1 and the new digital editions. However it can't open any book which is digitally protected. The answer given is to download the book again. This is impossible as so many date from years back and are no longer listed on the site where I purchased them (assuming I can remember the site)

Please can you provide a solution - is Adobe Reader V7 supported under Vista and should I revert to this
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    17 replies

    Participant
    January 13, 2009
    Sorry for being negative. I managed to pursuade Adobe to activate Adobe V7 on my Vista laptop but it took a number of telephone calls and their support was useless. This means that I can read my old DRM ebooks on my laptop now. However, unlike Micrsoft (which allows a new free activation every 6 months) Adobe seem to have an absolute limit. This is easily exceeded if (like me) you started reading ebooks in 2004 and have had a number of PCs/ Laptops

    I have never been able to activate Adobe on my smartphone (using Windows Mobile V6) and have given up completely. I have got to the stage that the overall time and expense just isn't worth it.

    I reiterate, the only long term solution is to stop using Adobe and opt for another software solution
    Participant
    January 13, 2009
    I have just got a SONY reader for Christmas.
    Just got round to installing all software for it and buying a couple of books from Waterstones now I cannot transfer my eBooks from Adobe Digital Editions to my SONY eBook Reader because of DRM protected content!!!
    I have tried talking to SONY who told me to call Adobe then called Adobe who said it was Waterstones i feel like i have been shoved from pillar to post and all i want to do is have a couple of books on my reader (as this is what the thing is for!!) is this really too much to ask?????
    I am at the end of my teather and would really appreciate some proper help as im sure its not that hard for someone who knows the software to tell me why it is not working correctly!

    Angie
    Participating Frequently
    January 13, 2009
    This exactly is replay of what Sony did with their ATRAC music format..loaded it with DRM and prevented us simple folks from doing something restricting transfers to your own desktop of your own music..does the Adobe DE team have people from Sony working for them..this is too much of a coincidence..this exactly how ATRAC used to behave..and you know what..ATRAC lost out to MP3 and Sony killed it..Adobe..is it your intention to kill DE..there is a lesson to be learnt from ATRAC..you cannot RESTRICT or prevent the purchasers of ebooks from using them..the DRM is for illegal usage..why are you tormenting genuine buyers instead...capisce ??
    Participant
    January 13, 2009
    I also have quite a collection of ebooks that are completely worthless because I cannot access them!!!!

    I have open two open web cases (#0180655783 on 1/8/09 and #0201592044 on 12/22/09). They both state: "open pending response from Adobe", but I can't get a response (although my case do note that they have been updated???).

    When I contacted Adobe via phone they informed me that I could only get assistance by opening a web case. I was assured that I would get a response within 24 Hours! What a bunch of crap!

    I really have to have access to my ebooks. I have quite a lot of money invested in books that I cannot access. Some of them I need
    for school.

    I had been quite happily downloading Adobe ebooks to my Palm using an older version of Adobe, then I was told by Efictionwise that all current and future Adobe ebooks could not be accessed without the new version of Digital Editions.

    So I downloaded the new version, then found out that it does not support Palm. So I uninstalled it and reinstalled the old version (Adobe 7.0).

    Now, all of my ebooks show up, but when I try to transfer my ebooks to my Palm I receive an error message stating:

    Your Adobe software cannot be activated.
    A bad session ID was used in the header.
    Eden Info: (0x18) A bad session ID was used in the header.
    Soap Info: Client: A A bad session ID was used in the header.
    Adobe DRM Activator error (server code 24).
    Fault location: 12
    Contact customer support.

    The knowledge base states that Adobe is aware of this issue and I have to contact support.

    I uninstalled and reinstalled the program a couple of times but I had the same error message.

    Please HELP!

    Operating System: Windows XP Home
    Browser: Microsoft IE
    Participant
    January 12, 2009
    I now absoluttely refuse to purchase any Adobe book. I now use either Mobibook or Microsoft Reader.

    As a by the way, it isn't just me. TSO (The UK Stationery Office) originally issued all their books using Abobe. However, they have now swopped to Mobibook because Adobe DRM is so unmanageable. Luckily they gave me a free Mobibook subscription to the new ITIL V3 books because of this
    Participant
    January 12, 2009
    Well this is over a year later and I can tell you nothing is improved.
    Inspiring
    October 31, 2007
    We are working to improve Digital Editions (one reason I have been absent from the forum). If you are continuing to have problems, please submit a support incident at www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions/
    Participant
    September 9, 2007
    I did receive an email from Bill McCoy, and appreciate his response. I do feel that in streamlining this product, there is a strip down of the facility of ebooks in Acrobat. I hope Adobe will make Acrobat an option for DRM downloads.

    I find the book mark process in Editions somewhat distracting from the reading process. At least make it available with a right click. I like to read on my Tablet, pen in hand, with that immediate ability to highlight, underline keywords, make a mark that may have meaning only to me, underline words within highlights, draw arrows, and otherwise personalize the text without considering the handwriting recognition. Also when an idea pops into my head, and I want to know who said something or where they said it, the universal between-volume search in Acrobat has become an integral process in the way I work.

    Acrobat is so adaptive to learning styles that I think this product pales in comparison. Please give us an Acrobat option for e-books.
    Participant
    September 9, 2007
    As a technology educator, I am at a loss to express my disappointment in this product. I have been a proponent of e-books and Adobe Professional for educational use.

    Our state's P-K and education schools have a tablet initiative. In a recent professional development session, I enthusiastically demonstrated to other faculty the usefulness and efficacy of e-books in Acrobat on the tablet.

    Then I bought several new texts for which I was forced to download Digital Editions. I actually expected improved facility. I cannot highlight or annotate. Attempts to validate and open in Acrobat fail repeatedly. This product is an embarrassment to Adobe and those who have previously supported their e-text initiatives.
    Participant
    September 7, 2007
    What about those of us who are disabled? And use a PDA? None of the Digital Editions will import using Adobe for Palm. I can't sit up for more than an hour, if that... so all those ebooks I bought to read, are useless to me. Adobe needs to wake up and smell the roses... or they could be sued for making their new products non-accessible. And THAT runs into a lot of money, especially, if you're in a state that awards damages.

    Dana