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Software loses activation when rebooting and/or moving virtual server to new physical hardware

Robo-FTP and Robo-FTP Server activation status is based on checking certain machine information to verify the software is still running on the same hardware where it was installed.

This can pose an issue in virtual environments where the Windows installation on which Robo-FTP is installed can be moved from one physical machine to another, such as VMWare, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix, Terminal Server, etc.

Robo-FTP Enterprise Client and/or Robo-FTP Enterprise Server are required for use in such virtual environments in order to avoid losing activation when the virtual machine is moved to a new physical server.

In other editions such as Robo-FTP Client Standard, Robo-FTP Client XE, and Robo-FTP Server Standard, you may see this error when trying to re-activate the software:

Unexpected error in ActivateLicense(1) => -8

If you encounter this error, click the restart button in the activation dialog.

This will reset the activation data so it will not get this particular error again.

When you attempt activation again you should get a different (correct) error message saying this serial number has been previously activated and a form will be displayed requesting an explanation of what has happened.

Complete and submit that form.

Article last updated: 2021-10-01

Tags: activation, virtual, Robo-FTP, Robo-FTP Server