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Capture NX2 Update - Caution! (And plea for help)


nsfbr

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<p>I'm not sure if all the Capture NX2 users saw that it has been updated. I did, and I downloaded and installed the update. Now, for the first time in all the updates I've gone through, this one has asked for my product key. </p>

<p>Of course, I have no idea where this is. Blech.</p>

<p>So, if you update your s/w, make sure BEFORE YOU BEGIN, you have your product key. I've already gone to Nikon's website and there it is, plain as day, "This is the <strong>Capture NX 2.3.0 software download</strong> - This software updates Capture NX 2 to version 2.3.0. When this updater software is run, it may be necessary to enter the product key again to confirm ownership of previous version of this software. " No, I did not read that when I grabbed the update. </p>

<p>Here is the plea for help. If anyone knows where the product key information is stored, I'd love to know. The reason is that I although I haven't backed up too recently, I do have a Time Machine backup that should have it. I've never actually gotten anything out of Time Machine, but have used it to make backups once in a while and if this license is kept in a specific file, I can go get it...I think.</p>

<p>Thanks for any help, and by the way, I do know that I should keep my original DVD in a safe place. Having toddler twins sometimes means more chaos than is preferable, and my focus (heh) is on keeping them out of my camera gear.</p>

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<p>I don't know that finding the location of the key will help. Some products store only a truncated version which is useless for product registration purposes, and NX2 may be one of them. My product key shows on the splash screen when NX2 starts up, but the last 5 digits are missing. Not to say it's not in there somewhere in its entirety, but it could well be encrypted if it is.</p>

<p>I assume you also have no receipt from your original purchase either, so your only options are A) to roll back to your previous version using Time machine. Not being familiar with the Mac I don't know how to best go about this. On my Windows machines, it would likely entail a complete overwrite of the system drive with the restore function of imaging software, or maybe a careful file replacement and registry hack strategy... ick.</p>

<p>Option B) is to contact Nikon, but I've heard conflicting reports on how helpful they might be.</p>

<p>FWIW, I don't let NX2 phone home because I view that as a source of mischief such as you are experiencing. Via my firewall, it's a blocked app that can never contact Nikon unless for some reason I want it to. To date, I've never been asked for a product key except for the first time I installed it — and that includes the most recent update.</p>

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<p>Joel,<br /> sorry to read you lost your product key. The original DVD would not have helped ypu either i think, since the product key is on the plastic cd-box it was packaged in ( at leat this is the way i have it.), so if you could find the box, you should be save....<br /> If you can get the previous version back though, then the key is shown whn you open the =>Help , ==> About screen, there it shows in the bottom left corner along with the name you used to register...</p>

<p>oops , howard types faster.. my key is shown full length on ths splash screen as far as i can tell though..</p>

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<p>Thanks all. I contacted Nikon before I posted here, but my assumption is that is less than a 50-50 shot. </p>

<p>Howard - see if the s/w has been phoning home, since I got it (virtually as soon as it came out, and NX 1 before that) Nikon should know full well that I bought it. I assume I bought it on line (Amazon or B&H) and can probably find the record. The really irritating thing is that I've been holding off updating to Mac OSX Lion, because Capture has had questionable compatibility until this version. </p>

<p>If I recall correctly, the key is on the plastic clamshell that holds the disk. I should have written it down somewhere, but didn't.</p>

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<p>I don't think the serial will be stored in plain text anywhere in the computer by default. If it's there at all it'll most likely be "hashed" or have had some sort of rolling encryption/decryption applied to it.</p>

<p>The original serial number is on the back of the CD box if you bought a retail copy, or will have been emailed to you for a downloaded version. It's always sensible to copy serial numbers into a plain text file for later use and stored with a backup copy of the software, or stored somewhere else reasonably crashproof.</p>

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<p>Les, there is no Mac version of Belarc according to their website, but thanks.</p>

<p>Michael, thanks for that info. I retrieved the purchase record from Amazon, and attached that to my inquiry with Nikon. Hopefully that will help.</p>

 

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<p>If you purchased it on Amazon, you can retrieve your invoice. I can see all my purchases on Amazon back to 1996.</p>

<p>I make it a habit to enter any software I purchase and the activation codes in my Household Inventory database. That database is backed up monthly to an off site backup as well as backed up daily and weekly on site.</p>

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<p>Another thought: did you register the purchase with Nikon when you installed it? If so, you might be able to log on to the Nikon website and retrieve the product key. If not, at least you have some evidence of purchase.</p>

<p>I downloaded my copy of NX2. I have a little paper file where I store printed copies of the e-mails containing product keys, serial numbers etc.</p>

<p>I have updated NX2 several times (including the latest one). Every update has the warning about possibly needed the product key, but I've never been asked for it.</p>

<p>Good luck - hope you get it sorted out.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

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<p>I agree with Stan. If you have a version of windows that is 32 bit, like windows xp pro, and you download NX2 2.3.0, during Install, the 32 bit version is installed and you do not need to re-enter your (25 digit ??) product key. If your machine is win 64 bit, and you choose or your pc chooses the 64 bit version, you will have to reenter the product key. I found mine on the jacket of the CD rom case that contained the original version of NX 2 I purchased. <br>

If I no longer had that, I would contact Nikon using whatever info I had about my license number.<br>

While in NX2, if you click on "Help" and then "About NX2" you will see your registered name and four groups of five numbers. That is part of your license key. <br>

Joe Smith</p>

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That software is expensive. I immediately made a back up CD of the original software and also wrote the key on both the original and

back up cds. When I upgraded to 2.2.8 on my 64bit vista it

did ask for product key.

 

Look around, man. I am sure that product key is somewhere in your computer or house.

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Found it! Like others who had chosen the upgrade path it, fortunately was with my NX disk. (Oddly, not the copy I

purchased, but the copy that came with my D300, which isn't the one on my computer - I have both installed as I never

removed NX when I added NX2.)

 

So, to recap, MAKE SURE you have all the keys for your Capture NX if you upgrade to the latest version. Now if only we

had NX3...

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<p>Luckily I'm an email packrat, so I was able to get my original Capture 4 > NX product key upgrade from 2006, which sufficed as the original product key, and then enter my Capture NX2 upgrade key as well. Honestly, though, it seems crazy of Nikon to blank out the serial numbers for a point update rather than a version upgrade. <br>

Still, there may be a sensible explanation. I know there was something about Nikon previously setting up the serial number of Capture at a very low level of the operating system as a kernel extension on the Mac, so maybe this also has something to do with Lion compatibility -- as the old arrangement was not really an appropriate way of doing it, digging too deeply into the core of the OS. Lion's security improvements have significantly changed the access developers have to the core of the OS, and maybe Nikon effectively had to force entering the serial numbers this one time as part of achieving Lion compatibility.</p>

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<p>Also for me it took a while to fin the disks with the keys, although they were within 1 meter from my keyboard. I remember to have put all the disks from Nikon in the NX2 box, but the box was empty ....... the disks were in the book case ....now are back in the NX2 box, i learned from your message</p>
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