Subject Re: dBASE Plus 2.8 From Mervyn Bick <invalid@invalid.invalid> Date Thu, 18 May 2023 13:40:54 +0200 Newsgroups dbase.getting-started On 2023/05/18 00:35, Dennis wrote: > This is a shot in the dark and I am desperately hoping a guru can assist me. > I have a very old custom developed dBASE Plus 2.8 application running on Windows 7. > The original author passed away 4 years ago and I am trying to get the program running on new computers.  I do not have any source data.  I do some installation files but have some questions (and problems). > Does the PLUSRUN.exe runtime only installation need a license key? If so, I may be in trouble.  Even though the author had a valid license, I don't have it. > When the custom .exe file launches it appears to start and I can see the main menu form, however, a dialog box pops up telling me I don't have a license to run the program. > I have spent hours trying to find out what this program is looking for.  I have tried comparing registries, tables, files, etc.  Used Procmon to monitor processes but just can't figure out what it needs.  I am just thinking that maybe I need to install the runtime with a license or something. > Any ideas are GREATLY appreciated and thank you for your efforts ....where Angels fear to tread. :-) As long as the correct version of PLUSRUN.EXE and the BDE are correctly installed on the new computer the custom EXE shouldn't need any special installation.  You can fetch the dBASE 2.8 runtime installer, which is free and doesn't require a licence, from https://www.dbase.com/support/updates-and-fixes/ Once the runtime files have been installed the custom EXE shouldn't require any special installation unless the developer introduced some form of anti-piracy protection. A starting point would be, after making sure there are no hidden files, to copy everything in the existing folder where the EXE is located to a similarly named folder on the new machine. If the developer wrote a file back to disk the first time the application was run on a machine if a licence number was entered you may be lucky.  If an entry was made in the registry finding it would be like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. If you've done all this already then I'm afraid you are going to have to start from scratch. :-( Mervyn.