I have lots of software on my computer that I bought... some many years ago.

I havn't used my main computer for a few months now, because I've been moving around and working other places.... But now, I need my software, and some reason every time I open up a program, Its as if I never registered the program... All my software is telling me to reinstall.... WHY?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

How do I fix this!?

Your licenses may have expired.

On every single one of my programs? I don't think so.

And licenses for Photoshop and Flash and the like don't expire and then ask you if you would like to try the 30 day trial.

Something broke.

Had you fiddled with the registry at all?

The only thing I have done is clean up unsed files, and moved some things from my C drive to my F drive, and not used my computer for 3 - 4 months.

Anyway, looks like I won't be using my computer for a while, too many other important things to do. And I can use the trial versions for hte month.

But if anyone figures anything out, in the next 30 days, please let me know.. Thanks!

You could try rolling back to before you fiddled with the computer?

Is the CMOS battery still good? I suppose it could happen if its somehow reset yer system clock back to 1999 or something.

I would bet on that too. If not that then maybe some kind of virus, but i never heard about anything like that before.

Oooh good thinking!

Although, I've always had the interenet define the time...

And I can't roll back the computer to the way it was, because the last time I fiddled with it was 3-4 months ago.

Are the programs that don't work the ones you moved from C to F? It sounds very much, to me, like something got corrupted in your registry.

With a lot of expensive programs like Photoshop, if you change the path to the executable file, then the registry doesn't sync any longer and it acts as though you've never registered it. This could mean moving everything to a different hard drive, or just moving them out of Program Files into subdirectories of C.

I'm assuming you didn't move/delete the registry files or you would have a lot more issues than your programs not working properly.

Your CMOS battery dying theoretically shouldn't affect anything besides timed trials, which tend to die instantly if you mess with the date/time. That's just my thoughts though, so it is, of course, definitely possible.

Edit: P.S. Linux fixes almost everything. So there.

And dual-booting Linux and Windows solves 99% of the ones that Linux alone misses.

Only read the title, nothing more and I was wondering if you've considered Linux yet?

I have linux on my machine that is broken.

Heh, I was only being sarcastic.

Why were you moving it from C to F anyway? Lack of disk space?

Sometimes I think Windows programmers are paid for the kilobyte. Compare the size of the Gimp to the size of a full installation of Photoshop.

C drive is 20GB and about 8 years old.. I fear its going to die on me