Rain_man

I've tried discussing this w/ Hondata but they aren't open to it. This is a long post but relevant for those of you who are considering Hondata's RomEditor software or already own it.

For those of you who own a copy of RomEditor may be familiar with Hondata's copy protection scheme. Each install of RomEditor generates a random Installation ID number. You then email that install ID number to Hondata who gives you a Registration ID number to enter into RomEditor to unlock it. I think this is a great setup they have going as it makes it very difficult to copy RomEditor and I don't mind the small inconvenience of asking Hondata for a Registration ID number. They have always been quick to issue one.

My problem came up recently however. I was upgrading the hard drive on my laptop so I needed to install RomEditor again. I installed RomEditor and emailed Hondata asking for a new Registration ID. They informed me that I had exceeded the number of Registration ID's allotted for each Hondata System. The number is 3. In other words, you can only install RomEditor 3 times and that's it. You need to buy a new copy of RomEditor.

I paid 200 dollars for the RomEditor software when I bought it almost 3 years ago. And I have not reinstalled it 4 times like Hondata believes because one of the issued Registration numbers was to REPLACE one that stopped functioning when I upgraded to v3.5.5 of RomEditor.

Hondata was gracious enough to make an exception and issue me a new registration ID but said this was the last one. I tried to discuss what would happen when I would eventually need to reinstall RomEditor again in another year or two and they ignored my email.

I'd like to hear what you guys think. I have never installed RomEditor on more than 1 computer and the only reason why I need to reinstall it every year or so is because I reformat my computer to keep it clean.

DaX

iTrader: (1)

Dunno if this will help, but when dealing with Hondata, I prefer the telephone...it seems to get me the best customer service and the quickest responses and answers.

PM-Performance

i cant even deal with them anymore, too much attitude from them . i dont like their service. But yes it does suck. i have my old software that i have reused many times becuase if my computer takes a **** or something i reinstall it on another one to use for the time being , then take it off when im done .

seen4ever

I'm in complete agreement with you here. I called two weeks ago when the boot sector of my laptop went dead. I had to completely reformat and i lose all information including a slew of tunes I've done for people in my area (which isn't bad, i'll just pull it off thier chips).

When I called the lady informed me that this would be my last copy, I was dumbfounded. I told her that it was rediculous. I upgraded laptops last year and reformated the old laptop and then donated it to the goodwill. and I've used two copies on my current laptop. I did put one instant on my home PC which I now kick myself in the *** for, as I deperately need to change over to a new hard drive as that one is dying.

I think it would have been ok, if they would have told me this in the beginning, but i feel that I'm basicly getting the shaft here. I know that I won't be buying the software for a second time, as I've already done the upgrade to the s200 system. Autronic PnP may be my next step.

slowpokesi

thats bullshit, its amazing this company is still in buisness, There product kicks *** but they suck at taking care of there customers.

Rain_man

That is exactly the problem. You don't know that there is a 3 install limit until you are over the limit. Not only is it unethical to sell a product without informing the buyer of such a limitation, but it also unethical to take away something their customer has bought without just cause.

I bought Hondata instead of using Uberdata because I was willing to pay money for customer support. Obviously I was wrong and I wasted my money. At least there is a free option but I had to spend 1000 dollars to find out that it was the better option.

PolyPill

I absolutely hate this company and I've found dealing with them to be a head ache.

When I bought RomEditor I emailed them my code waiting for my activation key. I got nothing, I email again asking what happened. No reply. I call them, they tell me that I have to talk to the company I ordered it from to get my code, which I thought was odd, but ok. I talk to King Motorsports (where I got it) and they have no clue why hondata told me this and am told to call hondata back.

So I call back, tell them King Motorsports has no clue what they're talkign about. She informs me that a key was already issued, to who I have no clue. I make it as clear as possible that I just bought it and emailed to activate it but never received my key. So she finally makes me a new key.

Now that I read this, I'm wondering if I just used up one of my key regenerations. I think that's what she did.

BROOD

Hmm, limited installs. I would have liked to know about that ahead of time too. I bet I only have one left. That is something Hondata should revisit whether it is a good idea or not....

.....if not I guess I'll move to EMS instead

PM-Performance

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BROOD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

.....if not I guess I'll move to EMS instead</TD></TR></TABLE>

im right there with you

bomber

I am usually against people bringing up lawsuits for stuff...but if its true that there was no mention of this when you were purchasing the product maybe a lawsuit, or at least the threat of a lawsuit would be in order.

At least I have found one more reason that I am glad I went with AEM

Frozen E

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BROOD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....if not I guess I'll move to EMS instead</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I think this thread just made up my engine management choice for me. Thanks.

jmal1919

it's bullshit, but I guess it comes with the territory. I guess their trying to prevent people from stealing their product, but only pisses off those who purchased their product.

If one wanted to be a dick about it, they could always get the crack or keygen for the program and use it and not deal with them all together. I'm not promoting it, but it's just a reminder.

It just seems like a lack of software vendors in general to decifer between theft of their product and just re-use/installation from existing customers. Hard drives/os installations don't last forever, but they always forget that.

Like imagine it, you buy a cd, the cd that you buy is damaged later and you don't have the reciept. You can't take the damaged cd back to the store and ask for a new one, you have to buy it. You say **** it and download, or copy someone else's.

seen4ever

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BROOD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....if not I guess I'll move to EMS instead</TD></TR></TABLE>
autronic PnP &gt; EMS

actually i might just go to uberdata, hell ecu is chipped, just have to get the module to datalog.

true

Thanks Rain_man, I have had the EXACT same problem, but was too frustrated and annoyed to even bother giving Hondata another post or breath of mine. I was Hondata's first FI US customer (yes I always bring that up, because I had supported them during their startup, and have continually been treated like garbage, and been forced to pay for their bugfixes/upgrades), and have had nothing but the absolute worst customer service. I have never been anything but 100% professional when dealing with this company and there is no way they could say the same. I could probably write a book report on all the rediculous things I have gone through with Hondata over the years, but this sudden Installation ID 'limit' was the final step for me. I have a multiple laptops, PC's, and am always installing/reinstalling different operating systems, upgrading hardware etc.. A few months ago I called for my new installation ID, and they said they would not give it to me because I have already been given my 'limit'. The ONLY way for me to use RomEditor anymore is if I shipped them my laptop so THEY could install it. YEAH RIGHT. I had similar talks with them regarding how a NORMAL/PROFESSIONAL software company handles Serials/Keys such as using hardware serials to find out if it's the same hardware/computer etc. Their installation ID algorythm is a joke, and their responses are always very hollow. It's pretty obvious there is some sort of crazy Ego/lack of business sense/lack of professionism running rampid in the office, and I'm just glad I'm on the outside. I feel sorry for their employees...it must be difficult to work there considering everytime I have talked to someone in the company they always act like I am hastling them. They say they have to protect their software license, but there is nothing more rediculous than their license policy. Does anyone have a copy of the license handy by the way -- does it even exist? I spent only a few minutes of my life looking for it before I gave up and thought to myself that I will simply sell the headache before I bother calling them back. So basically, if your computer gets a virus a few times and needs reinstalls, or you do a system restore, or reinstall a different OS, it won't be long until they will hold your serial number hostage. After the amount of money for the unit originally, and having to pay (significantly each time) for all of their upgrades/bug fixes, this company will never get another dime from me, nor any of my friends who know how they run their business.


Modified by true at 4:09 AM 8/4/2004

Ehron

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bomber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am usually against people bringing up lawsuits for stuff...but if its true that there was no mention of this when you were purchasing the product maybe a lawsuit, or at least the threat of a lawsuit would be in order.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I bet it states the limit in the EULA that no one ever reads. If it doesn't they have a problem, however.

legendboy

Hondata is ******* bullshit. I had a similar problem when they accused me of selling a pirated version of their software. **** thoes guys.

On a second note, it took my friend (who knows a bit of assembley) less than 5 mins to disable the password protection on their older installation software. There should be lotsa guys here that can figure a way around their little "protection" bs.

I hope uberdata and all the other diy ecu mods put them out of business.

seen4ever

http://www.hondata.com/forum/v...#5569

i asked about it on the hondata forum, lets see if we hear any responses from them on the matter.

Rain_man

I've emailed this thread to Hondata. Let's see what they think.

I've just checked the RomEditor installer and CD. No EULA to be found. The software is not provided in a sealed envelope with a EULA either. It doesn't seem that Hondata has any legal right to limit the number of installs.

I offered to bring my laptop to them and format the hard drive to prove to them that I was no longer using one of my issued registration ID's. They said no. When a customer is willing to go out of their way to prove their innocence and a company slams the door in their face, then you know the company has customer service issues.

DC2R714

This is a good point. They have to look out for themselves but cases like this should be worked out. I haven't had this problem yet, but I am using my roomates laptop since I dont have one. Good thing I now know its only 3 times. They need to integrate the ID into the bluebox so it can be saved on the bluebox, and not have to worry about switching the software as long as one ID is issued.

slowpokesi

you should be able to show them a receipt for purchasing the software and that should be good enough. With the way its setup right now, you would basically never be able to sell your hondata with the software without the person buying the software having problems.

rage2

I'm a licensed Hondata RomEditor user as well. Have been recommending and tuning Hondata for friends for some time now.

I'm an IT geek, so I go through laptops quite regularly, always selling the old models before they're worthless, and buying new models to replace them. I too, went over the limit for new laptop installations. When I was warned about my ID request being the last one, I was pretty upset. There IS a workaround, and is legal.

I own VMWare workstation, for those who dunno what VMWare is, it's basically a computer emulator. I have a Windows 2000 Pro VMWare image that I boot up on my laptop specifically for Hondata. The nice thing about the VMware emulated OS image is that the installation ID never changes because the emulated computer has the same hardware regardless of what physical computer it's running on, making it portable (I can copy/move the image to my desktop) and use it anywhere I like. The drawback is it needs fairly serious amounts of memory/hardware to run at a decent speed, but I don't have that problem seeing as I replace my laptop hardware all the time.

Vmware is available at $99 (academic price) at your local university/college.

Since this episode, I've been tuning Uberdata for everyone now, so I really only use Hondata to convert people over. Uberdata has pretty much all the functionality of Hondata for free, so it's really a no-brainer.

slowpokesi

the new hondata products are only for obd1 and 2,

yes you are correct, uberdat is only for obd1 cars.

slowpokesi

The site admin replied, so there you go there isnt a limit, it sounds like a issue with the customer service dept, not wanting to do there job (provide customer service).

I can understand what they are trying to accomplish but theyre is a big grey area for those people that are legit, and are paying customers.

bomber

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rage2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm a licensed Hondata RomEditor user as well. Have been recommending and tuning Hondata for friends for some time now.

I'm an IT geek, so I go through laptops quite regularly, always selling the old models before they're worthless, and buying new models to replace them. I too, went over the limit for new laptop installations. When I was warned about my ID request being the last one, I was pretty upset. There IS a workaround, and is legal.

I own VMWare workstation, for those who dunno what VMWare is, it's basically a computer emulator. I have a Windows 2000 Pro VMWare image that I boot up on my laptop specifically for Hondata. The nice thing about the VMware emulated OS image is that the installation ID never changes because the emulated computer has the same hardware regardless of what physical computer it's running on, making it portable (I can copy/move the image to my desktop) and use it anywhere I like. The drawback is it needs fairly serious amounts of memory/hardware to run at a decent speed, but I don't have that problem seeing as I replace my laptop hardware all the time.

Vmware is available at $99 (academic price) at your local university/college.

Since this episode, I've been tuning Uberdata for everyone now, so I really only use Hondata to convert people over. Uberdata has pretty much all the functionality of Hondata for free, so it's really a no-brainer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I assume using Norton Ghost would be a decent way to get around this too...

rage2

Uberdata works with OBD1 ECUs.
Crome works with OBD1 ECUs.
TurboEdit works with OBD0 ECUs.

All a bit different, but really does the same thing.