Deactivating FrameMaker 2015 no longer possible?

[Be.eM]

I'm trying to deactivate FM 2015 on one computer in order to transfer the license to another computer, however, FrameMaker insists that it isn't connected to the internet. Well, it surely is, all other web related commands in FrameMaker work as expected.

Is deactivating/logging off also corrupted by no longer supporting communication of the activations servers with old Internet Explorer versions? So how am I supposed to transfer my license?

Bernd

[Jeff_Coatsworth · Accepted solution]

Quite possibly - I'd give the FM folks a ping - see https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#framemaker for your Adobe Support options. I'd recommend using the tcssup@adobe.com e-mail address as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including FrameMaker.

[Be.eM]

Thanks, Jeff,

however, this is what happens when I send a mail to TCS support. Not really encouraging…

Bernd

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Just tested this morning & didn't get any message back - maybe try again?

[Be.eM]

Thanks for testing it. I tried it on two different computers, to no avail. The critical component might be… Windows 7. All these licenses reside on old Windows 7 computers (that's why they need to move), and I know that an installation is no longer possible on Win 7 (not even with the corresponding setup.exe patch). But at least deactivating them should somehow be possible, to free up the licenses.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

If you try emailing them again, I suggest using a subject line like - "Transfer of FM Licence - Deactivation Help Required" & skip any mention (initially) of Win7

[Be.eM]

Done. Curious to see if it makes a difference. "Windows 7" is not a bad word per se 😉

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Ok, they just responded to me - let me know if they get back to you.

[Be.eM]

Yes, they did, thanks. They gave me instructions to deactivate devices via https://account.adobe.com/activated-devices, however, my account doesn't show a single activated device of any software (although we've got lots of activated licenses of FrameMaker 2015, 2019, TCS, Acrobat, CreativeSuites, etc., all perpetual). Possibly this only works with subscription versions.

A second option they gave me includes deleting certain files locally, but I don't see how the Adobe activation servers would know that I did that, thus allowing me to activate the licenses on new computers. I've asked that question and I'm waiting for the response before I delete anything.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Sounds like what I got too:

Greetings from Adobe! Could you try the following steps:-

• Login to:- https://account.adobe.com/activated-devices
• Use the same ID where the product is registered.
• On the manage account page click on Plans & Payment and click on Activated Devices.
• On the next window, it will show you options to deactivate the devices.

In case the issue persists,  close all Adobe applications and try the following steps.

• Go to the location:- C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\SLCache
• Delete all files inside the SLCache folder
• Go to the location:- C:\ProgramData\Adobe\SLStore
• Delete all files inside the SLStore folder
• Open FM again, in case you get the sign-in window means your device is deactivated.

In the latter scenario, I think it's the presence of the login window when you fire FM back up that indicates that it's been deactivated. If you run into any difficulties activating the new machine, contact them again - traditionally they've been quite good at handling moving licences around from machine to machine.

[Be.eM]

In the latter scenario, I think it's the presence of the login window when you fire FM back up that indicates that it's been deactivated. If you run into any difficulties activating the new machine, contact them again - traditionally they've been quite good at handling moving licences around from machine to machine.

Yes, the same mail. But since every server communication from FM in Win7 reproducibly fails, I don't expect  "…the presence of the login window… indicates that it's been deactivated" being a reliable way to tell activation servers about the deactivation on that specific machine. Whatever Win7 would like to communicate, it happens via the now ignored (by Adobe servers) and outdated IE.

So I'll better wait for their response to my last question. If they tell me "go for it" I'll do so 😉

[Be.eM]

I've now marked this answer as the correct one (because communication is always a good start), although some things were left without a reproducible answer or solution. I've deactivated the licenses on two old computers as described with the offline solution (2nd solution), however, I seriously doubt that the activation servers had a chance to take notice of this deactivation. An irreversibly broken communication channel to the activation servers (in Windows 7) won't start communicating again just because of a deactivation workaround (outside of the normal process).

Anyway, I have been able to activate the licenses on the new computers, so all is well for now. I'm just afraid that these activations were only possible due to some "tolerances" of the activation process, not due to a reproducible deactivation/reactivation process running correctly from start to end. So this solution may have its limits…