Bashed by CadLink for dongle escape

[adkmaid]

i recently had my dongle escape out a hole in my briefcase and i thought hmmm i will just get another one for a couple hundred, my loss. think not was treated like some imbecile at cadlink basically was told that all of us sign people are careless and irresponsible. i have been able to keep track of this dongle for about 20 years and have paid for numerous upgrades and set up three other sign shops with this same SignLab sign programs. i would think that customer loyalty would have counted for something but i guess not. So now all of my 20 years of boat lettering designs and signs are locked into a .cdl black hole until i cough up another $1295 for a new program and dongle. Needless to say i am more than po'd at cadlink for not even helping me a little. i would never expect a handout but to just get bashed like i am some irresponsible brat was totally uncalled for. So anyone have any suggestions to either get back up and running dongleless or some program other than signlab to open .cdl files???

 

[gabagoo]

Thats not right!!!!!

Call the company you purchased all these Signlab upgrades from and get them to do the talking. They must have provisions for lost or stolen dongles.

 

[jiarby]

Are you complaining because they will not replace a dongle that is 20 years old?

Try one of the Dongle Replacement websites... HASP/Aladdin Security dongles can be replicated in some cases.

 

[adkmaid]

the salesman in Mass. was the one who called me irresponsible and careless, he was no help so i have contacted the company and complained and still nothing. i have had the same dongle for almost twenty years i have to use it for each upgrade so they program the thing into the program so it will work and i have tried to have a new dongle replaced the only problem is they need the original dongle to replicate it. Hmmmm rock.....hardplace

oh they have programs for replaced dongles alright its called business insurance that i am suppose to have for just this sort of thing

 

[jiarby]

Your options are more limited if you no longer have the dongle, but for the rest of the people that will be reading this thread for the next 5 years:

Backup your dongle! You can read & download the HASP passwords from the dongle and then later use that data to write a replacement dongle. I know my RIP cost me $2k. I would be mad if Onyx decided that my version was no longer supported and I had to upgrade to replace my dongle.

LOTS of software vendors operate this way.. especially super high end design software (3D modelling, CAD/CAM, etc....). I am not advocating piracy, just protecting yourself from a loss like the OP is experiencing.

http://dongleduplicate.nsys.by/


Oh yeah... and start exporting those CDL files to EPS. Make it part of your routine whenever you save a file. Save the CDL and also export it to an EPS.

BTW.. The CADLink/Signlab HASP Password is 56C9:3067

 

[signage]

The reason they will not replace it is because of all the cheats that would say that to get a free copy! Now if you would have had insurance on it you wouldn't be complaining! BTW if feel sorry for you, it's not good to loose things that are worth a lot of money!

 

[R08]

Excellent advice.

your options are more limited if you no longer have the dongle, but for the rest of the people that will be reading this thread for the next 5 years:

backup your dongle! you can read & download the hasp passwords from the dongle and then later use that data to write a replacement dongle. I know my rip cost me $2k. I would be mad if onyx decided that my version was no longer supported and i had to upgrade to replace my dongle.

Lots of software vendors operate this way.. Especially super high end design software (3d modelling, cad/cam, etc....). I am not advocating piracy, just protecting yourself from a loss like the op is experiencing.

http://dongleduplicate.nsys.by/


oh yeah... And start exporting those cdl files to eps. Make it part of your routine whenever you save a file. Save the cdl and also export it to an eps.

Btw.. The cadlink/signlab hasp password is 56c9:3067

 

[James Burke]

I feel your pain.

I've also been less than impressed by CadLink's customer service. I just upgraded to SL8 last year, and I'm definitely going to consider their competetors when the time comes to make the next change.

I absolutely HATE their call back "service". I think any reputable company should have a live human within easy reach of customers who plunk down serious cash to purchase their wares.

They need to look to ULINE for pointers. They have perhaps the best customer service I've ever experienced anywhere...period...and they're selling $.15 plastic bags, for crying out loud.

 

[iSign]

this has nothing to do with customer service... it's like losing your ATM card... like Brian said... people could just "say" they lost it, but they rreally sold it.. wake up... THIS IS NOT NEW PEOPLE... that is the entire reason dongles exist.. hello??? don't people know that yet?
come on federal reserve.. just print me more... I swear it was burned in a fire... just replace the cash, because the other cash is gone...

 

[gabagoo]

the problem is that he is a licensed user. If he has had the dongle for 20 years with no problems or losses then one can assertain that he probably lost it. I am not telling you to go online and find a cracked version, but if I legitamately lost mine and never had such a problem in 20 years ,and was what one might call a good customer, I wouldnt hesitiate to go find a crack with the BS they are telling you.

Now having said that. When I upgraded to signlab 8, I was offered a usb dongle in replacement of the serial dongle I had had for 20 years. I think it cost me $75.00 to switch, but cant remember if I had to send in the old dongle or not

 

[joeshaul]

this has nothing to do with customer service... it's like losing your ATM card... like Brian said... people could just "say" they lost it, but they rreally sold it.. wake up... THIS IS NOT NEW PEOPLE... that is the entire reason dongles exist.. hello??? don't people know that yet?
come on federal reserve.. just print me more... I swear it was burned in a fire... just replace the cash, because the other cash is gone...

Few problems with that equation. First of all, once the bank verifies my identity and that I actually have an account, they either get me a new card, or close and open a new account and get me a new card. Second, dongle protection is like putting laminate on vinyl. Just because it's there doesn't mean the decal is impenetrable, it's just another layer of security.

 

[James Burke]

Dongle issues aside, I still think their customer service needs improvement.

 

[gnemmas]

Isign, what are you smoking this time?

Plus 1 for Joe.

20 years old, is that a parrellel port dongle? I have one Expert version 5, you can have it if it will help.

Been using Corel & signcut, no dongle needed.

 

[adkmaid]

the problem is that he is a licensed user. If he has had the dongle for 20 years with no problems or losses then one can assertain that he probably lost it. I am not telling you to go online and find a cracked version, but if I legitamately lost mine and never had such a problem in 20 years ,and was what one might call a good customer, I wouldnt hesitiate to go find a crack with the BS they are telling you.

Now having said that. When I upgraded to signlab 8, I was offered a usb dongle in replacement of the serial dongle I had had for 20 years. I think it cost me $75.00 to switch, but cant remember if I had to send in the old dongle or not

yes you did because i had to do the same thing, i would have never lost that bigger one but this tiny little purple thing was way too small, if they wanted to go small they should have gone as small as those micro hasps so i could keep it in my laptop without it hitting the sides of the briefcase. oh and thanks for seeing things from my point of view even tho i am a 54 yr old woman LOL

 

[adkmaid]

hey isign fyi i even had two of their salesmen verify my honesty and integrity and they still refused to help. Also found out that the salesman that i bought my upgrade from in Mass. never let the parent company know and oh wait everytime i emailed him he wouldnt respond to my emails then he would call me to have me email his personal email not cadlink company email hmmmmmm. this jack wad wants me to purchase whole new program and dongle from him????? ah fool me once. and fyi i am not a guy.

 

[adkmaid]

isign

Few problems with that equation. First of all, once the bank verifies my identity and that I actually have an account, they either get me a new card, or close and open a new account and get me a new card. Second, dongle protection is like putting laminate on vinyl. Just because it's there doesn't mean the decal is impenetrable, it's just another layer of security.

oh and just for info burnt money can be replaced.

 

[BobM]

the problem is that he is a licensed user. If he has had the dongle for 20 years with no problems or losses then one can assertain that he probably lost it. I am not telling you to go online and find a cracked version, but if I legitamately lost mine and never had such a problem in 20 years ,and was what one might call a good customer, I wouldnt hesitiate to go find a crack with the BS they are telling you.

Now having said that. When I upgraded to signlab 8, I was offered a usb dongle in replacement of the serial dongle I had had for 20 years. I think it cost me $75.00 to switch, but cant remember if I had to send in the old dongle or not

When I upgraded to a USB Dongle they sent it next day and I had to return the original within 7 days.

I've never had a problem with SignLab Customer service. They always call back promptly and spend whatever time I need to solve my problem. I e-mail them with questions and receive an answer back usually within an hour.

 

[BobM]

hey isign fyi i even had two of their salesmen verify my honesty and integrity and they still refused to help. Also found out that the salesman that i bought my upgrade from in Mass. never let the parent company know and oh wait everytime i emailed him he wouldnt respond to my emails then he would call me to have me email his personal email not cadlink company email hmmmmmm. this jack wad wants me to purchase whole new program and dongle from him????? ah fool me once. and fyi i am not a guy.

I have also delt with SignLab's Massachusetts Rep and found him to be professional and very helpful. SignLab is mearly protecting access to a valuable asset, as you should have protected your dongle.

 

[geb]

adkmaid, I have signlab and a 24" cutter at the homeland, if I can be of help in the short term let me know.

George

 

[Gino]

I hesitated reading through this thread, knowing what was probably taking place.

I had a problem with Gerber some years ago where I lost nothing, but my password from some many years prior. We had a computer crash, built a new one, put all the programs back on and when we loaded Gerber, it asked for a password. Well, it was about 11 years since we needed it and two shop moves later, and we simply couldn't find the password. Called Gerber and had all the proof I needed to prove we were the legitimate users/owners, but their records didn't go back that far and they refused to look it up since it was more than I believe 7 years old at the time. We were told we could either buy a new program with no way of upgrading because our old program was so old... or just go away. I chose to go away after many attempts of appealing to them. Even a member here at s101 tried to help, but Gerber wouldn't budge.

I now realize that once you remove the emotions from your problem, it all boils down to taking care of your own interests and being smarter about taking care of things. Probably would've been cheaper to buy a new briefcase without holes in it then to lose all your valuable files. I also don't think it matters if you're male or female.... we all feel it the same.... in our pocketbook.