2017-06-06 17:05:50

Anyone had dealings with CodeFactory's Eloquence for Windows? I got it a couple of weeks ago, and it was okay at first but it's now started this crap about please register this product. It wont activate or deactivate. I tried reinstalling with no luck. Anyone else had this problem, or even more importantly, anyone contacted CodeFactory and got a response? I've sent 3 emails and got nothing back. Even the message I sent prior to buying the product fell on deaf ears. Even the worst companies usually respond to sales enquiries. Starting to think they're a really shoddy outfit and am sorry I gave them the extortionate 59 euros.

2017-06-06 18:03:21

I've bought a license for the Eloquence for Windows product several years ago from Computer Room Services, which is the same Code Factory product, and the only problem I've ever had with it is that there is a 15 to 30 second lag before a program that uses SAPI starts up. There is no lag if I switch SAPI to use the default voice that comes with Windows 7.

I suspect the problem is the DRM system they are using. Having been a DRM system developer before I lost my vision, I can say from knowledge and experience that theirs is not very good.

And to answer your question about getting a reply from their tech support, unfortunately my experience with them is the same as yours, no reply at all.

Personally, I'd love to find a copy of their Eloquence for Windows with their DRM removed. Like you, I paid for it so I have a legitimate license to use it, I'd just rather not have to mess with their DRM.

2017-06-06 18:19:35

what I don't get is that if I click deactivate, it says there was a problem connecting to the server, please check your internet connection, but when I click activate, it says the server returned the message, all 3 activations have been used. Suddenly it's able to connect to the server.
The worst thing is the company is based in Spain so I doubt I'll have any luck chasing them up like I might in the UK. If only the checkout on their website had worked properly I'd have used paypal and I'm sure they'd have sorted out a refund. What a ramshackle organisation they seem to be. Losing SAPI eloquence isn't the end of the world, I just hate seeing these companies getting away with robbing people.

2017-06-06 19:55:17

@
flackers


Check your private messages.

2017-06-06 20:25:43 (edited by flackers 2017-06-06 20:28:47)

Thanks. I'll see what happens. For some reason your message went to my email. Must be my settings on here. Cheers

2017-06-06 21:20:38

No, it's not your settings, it's my memory. I hit the email link, then promptly forgot and thought I was send a private message. So, my mistake, sorry.

2017-06-06 22:29:59

Having the same problem. In my case I know what caused it. Lost one key due to an OS crash that forced me to reinstall without being able to deactivate the key. The other I lost to the recent Windows 10 Creator's update. The third key is on another computer but it's a little sad how easy it is to lose keys, especially without any way to get on some kind of web interface and remotely deactivate devices that no longer work.

2017-06-06 22:42:59

I've lost one for no apparent reason. It just sucks that you can't get them back. One of those DRM systems that stops the genuine user  from using the product. Jaws' licensing manager was a pain in the arse for a long time, but even back then you could at least get a reset easy enough.

2017-06-07 02:29:14

Unfortunately this won't help anyone who's out of activations, but here's a tip that can help preserve those precious activations.

Once you have Eloquence installed and activated, use Backup & Restore to make an image of your drive to some external media big enough to hold it. Then run the deactivation procedure and deactivate Eloquence.

Now for the fun part! Restore the image you just made with an activated Eloquence and you've just gained back an activation. To do the image restore I just ran Backup & Restore from the talking Windows PE that's available.

If you've lost a couple of activations, you can repeat this one more time.

Since you are given three activations when you purchase the license, I don't know what might happen if you try to go beyond having three activations on the server, so I've never tried. I have only one copy of Eloquence installed and activated, and two available activations on the server. That's all I'm supposed to have so I'm happy and won't push it.

2017-06-07 03:46:16

I also bought sapi eloquence. and I would very much like a version of sapi5 eloquence with code factory drm removed. its annoying.

2017-06-07 04:29:11

You should be able to contact Code Factory and request a activation reset.

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2017-06-07 08:40:14

That's the problem. People are trying to contact them and they're not answering.

2017-06-07 15:09:35

This is exactly the reason why I have been against the code factory eloquence ever since it came out.
I like eloquence the best out of all the tts sinths,and would pay for a sapi5 version willingly if it did not have the DRM,and a shitty DRM at that.
But alas as things stand now there's no way I can get rid of the DRM even if I were to purchase it,so its a moot point. and I do hope people don't go about wasting their $$ through buying this only to end up losing keys with  no way to get them back.
Even if you are super careful, through HDD crashes and the like you are more likely to lose a key no matter what,and what if codefactory isn't around to get you your keys back? that's $59 down the drain.

grryf

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2017-06-07 15:11:10

Right, using their tech support system is a joke because nobody ever replies. What I did that got a reply was to follow the contact us link and filled out the form it leads you to. Although that link might get you someone on their executive staff instead of someone in tech support. They might be able to help you get some help from tech support.

My approach to them is to be very careful with my activations, and use my image restore technique when something doesn't go right to get my activations back. And to keep my eyes open for a version without their shitty DRM, though I don't specifically go out of my way for that.

2017-06-07 22:08:55

How does that talking Windows PE thingy work? How involved is it, and what type of speech do you use with it? Does windows narrator work with it or something, or is there a specific accessible version? I'd love to be able to perform a recovery without sighted help.

2017-06-07 22:46:52

It's just a copy of Windows running in the pre installation environment with NVDA installed to provide accessibility.

You can either try searching these forums for "talking windows pe" or just get Brian Smart's versions at his web site here:

https://blog.bryansmart.com/talking-win … vironment/

2017-06-07 23:15:02

My question is, how did you get it working? Brian's website says you'll probably need to make bios changes in order to get the talking PE to boot, and I've never seen a talking bios.

2017-06-07 23:36:05

There's never been a talking bios, it's the low level firmware of your computer. No avoiding sighted help this time.

2017-06-08 00:54:54

That depends on who made your computer. Mine is a Dell Latitude laptop and one of the utilities dell makes available for some of their machines is a utility that runs in your browser as a web page that allows you to edit your BIOS settings.  When you are done you are required to reboot so your changes can be written to BIOS and then take effect.

That's one of the reasons why I'm reluctant to give up this machine, and when I do finally decide to upgrade my hardware, why I'll more than likely buy another Dell.

2017-06-08 01:51:16

I downloaded Brian's TWPE zip. Had a look, shouldn't have any trouble copying the image to a flash, or changing the boot order in bios with sighted help, but I'm still not sure what kind of environment PE is. Suppose I'll find out when I boot to it. Brian's readme doesn't say anything about the Talking PE itself, only how to copy it to a flash or whatever. I take it NVDA is already part of the system Brian has created, and starts automatically. As for Windows PE itself, the bits and bobs I've read on the web are clearly aimed at I T workers and are pitched over my head. They don't really say anything about using it to perform a recovery in a straight forward way. I'm hoping it's as simple as Windows backup and restore and I can just pick a system image from a partition and kick off the recovery that way.

2017-06-08 02:09:38

In a nutshell, the PE environment can be thought of as a very scaled down copy of Windows with only a few of the tools that normally come with it. And yes NVDA is installed and set up to start automatically. Once it's loaded, spend a few minutes exploring the start menu to see what is there. If you're familiar with Windows, the PE environment shouldn't be a problem for you to understand.

2017-06-08 02:37:39

Thanks for all your help. Looking forward to trying your trick on eloquence activations. And an accessible windows recovery is the holy grail. As a last resort, I had a sledgehammer approach that involved cloning an old hard drive. The PE method sounds way more acceptable.

2017-06-08 17:06:49

That bios editing thing sounds awesome.

Whilst looking for the talking PE, I came across people saying that in the latest windows update, that is, the creators edition, you can actually get narrator to work in the advanced startup options. I decided to try this and sure enough, a very basic form of narrator does indeed work. I was able to restore from my system image that way and now have at least 2 out of 3 of my keys back. It takes several hours to complete a full restore so I'm hesitating to reclaim the third key, but at least I know it works. Thanks for the tip, Orko.

2017-06-08 17:12:32

In the same boat re: codefactory.
I lost one key to an HD fail, the other two for unknown reasons (presumably automatic Windows updates). Submitted a support ticket on Sunday and got no response. I'll probably try contacting atguys.com as well and see if they are able to do something.
Codefactory states that re-activating on the same licensed copy of Windows won't use up an extra key... but clearly this feature is bugged to the point of nonexistence.

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2017-06-08 18:46:38

Maybe CodeFactory don't respond because with every licence they sell they get a support ticket in return and they're sick of them.