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#3606485 - 07/13/12 07:42 PM Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues)  
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EinsteinEP Offline
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NOTE: This post discusses issues logging into DCS World multiplayer and managing the multiplayer database of serial numbers. It has nothing to do with purchase records and StarForce. If you have issues with activation or purchases, please submit an ED support ticket.


Trying to log in to the Masterserver for some DCS World multiplayer action and getting an "Invalid Serial Number" error? Here are some things to try:

1) Ensure you have valid serial numbers for the DCS modules you own.
Go to the DCS website, log in, then click the "Payments" button near the bottom of the left column of the page. This will list all the products and their serial numbers that you have purchased with that account. If, for some odd reason, you have multiple DCS accounts, you'll have to log into each to check all your serial numbers. I strongly recommend only having one DCS.com account or, at a minimum, only buying your games through one account. This will save you headache later. Haven't bought the product yet? Go to the DCS E-shop and pick it up!




2) Make sure the serial numbers are all bound to the same account.
When you login to the ED Masterserver or resister an account through Multiplayer, the serial number of the product being used gets registered (aka "bound") to the login info you used. When the DCS products were standalone, you could use a different Masterserver login for each one and still access multiplayer without problems. With DCS World, all your products need to be bound to one single account. If they aren't, you'll get the dreaded "Invalid Serial Number" error and you'll need to unbind numbers from your other accounts. Go to the ED Serial Number Management website and log in with the same DCS.com account you used to purchase the products. You'll see a list of the serials that are bound to that account. If you don't see all your products it either means you haven't bound them yet (see step 4 below) or they are bound to a different account. If you have other accounts, check them to see if they are bound there. You can also unbind serial numbers from other accounts on the same site. Once you've got your serial numbers unbound from your other accounts, go log in to Multiplayer and log in with your DCS.com account to bind your products to that account.




3) Ensure the correct serial numbers are activated.
Start DCS World, then, while holding the shift key, start multiplayer. Keep holding the shift key down. A serial number activation window will pop up. Verify that number in the box matches the serial number you have for that DCS module listed in the window title (see step 1 for getting those serial numbers), then click Next. If the product is already activated, a dialog box will pop up, asking you if you want to continue without using another activation. Press "Yes". Whichever path you go, be sure to keep the shift button pressed when you click the button, and continue to hold shift down to bring up the activation window for the next product. Repeat for each product. If you don't see an activation window for a product that you know you own, it either hasn't been installed to DCS World, or there was a problem with the installation. Re-install it and try this step again.




4) Log in to the Masterserver with your DCS.com account to bind the serial numbers to that account.
Use the same login information as with your DCS.com account. You don't need to register the serials to the account separately anymore - this will happen automatically when you log in.




5) Still having a problem?
Submit a support ticket at this site and the folks at ED will get back to you as soon as they can!


Serial Number Management: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/myserials.php
Submit an ED Support Ticket: http://support.lockon.ru/en/
DCS E-shop: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/index.php?end_pos=1322&scr=shop&lang=en
DCS World download page: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/in...uct&lang=en
DCS modules download page: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/index.php?end_pos=136&scr=products&lang=en

Last edited by EinsteinEP; 07/18/12 05:54 PM.

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#3606626 - 07/13/12 11:25 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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Lucky812 Offline
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I bought A-10 from a different account as BS2, P-51, and CA. This would give me the serial invalid message for everything in DCS World multiplayer. I started a support ticket, they responded and are going to merge my accounts into one login. It took a few days but appreciate the support from ED.

EDIT

Holy cow this fixed my problem with different accounts. I unbound my A-10 from the first account, used the shift key to rebind all of the programs and it works great!

THANKS!

Last edited by Lucky812; 07/13/12 11:44 PM.

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#3607441 - 07/15/12 06:25 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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Wrecking Crew Offline
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Hey, EinsteinEP,

Thank you for this post! I've had a crossed install with raven who flies off the same computer. Since June, when I try to login with my second computer for Jette I got Invalid Serial Number, and DCS said it was because my SN was bound to raven. I think we were just about at the point where DCS was going to reset Jette, but I was able to correct the problem today with your notes about unbinding.


One thing though, on my account and also raven's, when I click on Payments I see the Home screen info about buying the modules, not my transaction info. I have never seen the screen you show for Payments -> Order History, and can't get to it.

Instead I was able to use your link to the ED Serial Number Management website, unbound my SN from raven, and then was able to login Jette's install. Now when I look at my account on the SN Management site I see my two SN's.

Excellent!

Wrecking Crew




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#3607444 - 07/15/12 06:33 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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Wouldn't you know it - now the Payments screen works. Go figure...

WC

#3607730 - 07/16/12 04:56 AM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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d0o0m Offline
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DCS World crashes (DCS has stopped working) after i do this for a10, BS2 and P51... i never gett to the login screen.. frown

#3607903 - 07/16/12 03:14 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: d0o0m]  
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Originally Posted By: d0o0m
DCS World crashes (DCS has stopped working) after i do this for a10, BS2 and P51... i never gett to the login screen.. frown


Can you fly a mission in single player mode?

I say uninstall and reinstall.

Were you having Invalid Serial Number issues?

WC

#3607908 - 07/16/12 03:18 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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d0o0m -
Here's a post from MaceUK that may help you -
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3606823/DCS_World_permanently_crashes.html#Post3606823

Check the link back to the DCS Forums in the post above ^^

WC


#3608249 - 07/17/12 01:02 AM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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Thanks WC - I'll check that thread out. Yeah , i am having the Invalid Serial # issue.

Checking TEZ's post at DCS forums, I can see that only my BS2 and P51 serials are bound to my d0o0m account. I use the forums under dooom - which i purchased FC2 under. dooom has no serials bound to it. A10C was not bought as a module but i did uninstall the standalone before installing DCS world and the A10C module as suggested.

I have tried both unbinding the BS2 and P51 keys from d0o0m as per TEZ's post and doing the shift solution but i either get a crash or the invalid serial prompt.

I can play in single player all titles through DCS World - only MP doesn't work.

#3608675 - 07/17/12 07:27 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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d0o0m -

Next time you try MP look at the Registration button on the login form - you should see your serial number there for the module you are trying to start.

If you have unbound the BS2 and P-51 serial numbers then you need to get those bound again before either module will work in MP. Hopefully you can get those working again, and then go on to the A-10C module...

I am not an expert here - but have been in the login screen links several times over the past 6 weeks while trying to get a second instance of A-10C working in MP. It does sound like you have something similar where your A-10C is under a different user name? Before any of your modules will work you need to have each one bound - and to the same account if you can do that.

WC

#3803878 - 07/02/13 10:11 AM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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Tengah Offline
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Hello to all,

Please accept my apologies for yet another DCS World Module Manager / No Key / Multiplayer / Invalid Serial Number post, and I hope you do not mind me posting this here seeing as it's a copy of a post I made over at the ED forums.

I have followed Einstein's post here as close as possible to no avail.

I bought DCS A-10C a while back as a pre-DCS World download. Flew it a while then after a PC rebuild failed to reinstall Having seen the wonderful advancements with DCS I recently bought the P-51 module, downloaded DCS World installed along with A-10C and P-51. Of course I was flying them offline and very happy.

A group of friends decided they would do the same so off we went to fly multiplayer, how ever in the mean time I bought the UH-1 Module and then when the sale came about I bought Combined Arms and Flaming Cliffs 3. The time came to fly online, to my dismay I received the dreaded "Invalid Serial" error when connecting to multiplayer so off I went to explore Module manager and found that A-10C showed "No Key" when the serial number tab was clicked whilst all my other modules displayed their serials perfectly. To end this part of the story short I am left with only Combined Arms and P-51 modules showing as activated both in the Module Manager and as "Bound" to my account on the DCS website all the others refuse to show a serial and of course Multiplayer isn't allowing me any where near.

Looking at the Payments section of my account I see all products with serials and I only have the one DCS account.

Out of desperation I uninstalled DCS World, even went as far as to wipe any DCS related Registry entry. Re-installed everything, no joy. Then, out of total abandonment today I re-installed Windows as a last measure of hope (Windows 7 64bit). After spending the afternoon bringing my Windows some what back to how it was I reinstalled DCS World and the modules... Yeps, you guessed it... Only Combined Arms and P-51 are giving me serials... I have tried all the possible fixes and work around's listed on various forums to no avail. I submitted a Ticket to ED highlighting the issue together with a screenshot of my Modules Manger last Thursday but to date have not had a reply (I realise it has been a weekend so I am not upset... Yet.).

The reason for this post is to a) Highlight the ridiculousness of the DCS World Serial Number system, by that I mean how obviously buggy it is seeing as so many people have had the same issues as myself (personal frustration rant over) and b) to pick the brains of the forum populace and with cap in hand to ask for any assistance, suggestions, advice... Maybe some one from ED might read this post and be able to help.

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to read my post and if you reply know that I am truly grateful, this has had me pulling the last of my greying hair out!


EDIT: Please disregard this post. I now have it fixed. I simply made a new account and unbound all my DCS titles from the old one and followed Einstein's directions on his post. THANK YOU SO MUCH Einstein!!!!

Last edited by Tengah; 07/02/13 06:22 PM.
#3804171 - 07/02/13 09:19 PM Re: Serial Number Management (or How I Shook the "Invalid Serial Number" Blues) [Re: EinsteinEP]  
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EinsteinEP Offline
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Great to hear you got it sorted, Tengah! Does that mean we'll see you during the DCS World Fly-In?


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