Installation and Activation Support

All installation, serial number and activation questions are handled by email. This page provides instructions for contacting technical support for assistance with any question or problem involving installation, serial numbers, Activation keys, System IDs or other matters related to activation of Manifold System. Please read this entire page. No technical support token is required to obtain assistance with activation questions if you follow these instructions. Activation questions for Runtime or License Server licenses require a developer level support token. Activation support is provided only for the current edition of Manifold System, Release 8.00.

Very important: All serial number and activation questions involving additional activation keys, whether free or procured via the Extra Activation Keys product require a standard tech support token. Follow the procedures in this page and in addition provide a technical support token. Questions involving additional activation keys for Runtime licenses or License Server installations require a developer level support token. See the Additional Activation Keys page for details.

Holidays: See the Holidays page for a list of holidays observed by Manifold. Technical support is not available on holidays.

Quick Troubleshooting before Contacting Technical Support

It is faster to solve a problem right away than to exchange emails with tech support. Here's how:

Installation: For installation, locate the original serial number email that conveyed your license to you. That serial number email contains installation information for the license you procured. Read that entire email carefully and apply the instructions for installation. Do not skip any words or skim. Read the email attentively from beginning to the end. If you do not have that serial number email, you might be able to recover it using a Key Recovery Service if available on the Manifold Online Store. Note that if you do not have your original, full and complete serial number email you will not be able to obtain installation or activation support for free.

Almost all installation problems arise from one of two situations - the person installing Manifold was given a serial number but not the full serial number email with installation instructions; or, the person installing Manifold has the serial number email but hasn't read it attentively and thus has missed one of the simple steps involved. If you don't have the original serial number email, get it. If you have the original serial number email, read it. If a diligent reading does not help, use the free procedure in this page to get installation support.

Activation: Before seeking assistance with activation, please visit the Activation Guide page for a quick guide to activating your Manifold license. Reading that page carefully will answer 90% of activation questions.

If reading that page does not immediately solve your problem, please visit the Activation Troubleshooting page for a quick troubleshooting checklist. Applying that checklist carefully solves 99% of activation problems.

Almost all requests for activation assistance are covered by the short checklist in the Activation Troubleshooting page. Focus your maximum RTFM skills on reading and applying the short checklist carefully. Do not assume any of the points in the checklist. Actually check each one to confirm it is not the problem. Almost always the point you do not actually check but just assume is OK will be the problem. Note that you will need all that information for the free support process anyway - applying the checklist diligently is much quicker than a round trip email exchange with tech support that does the same thing.

If an attentive and diligent application of the tips in the Activation Troubleshooting page does not help, the fastest way to solve any activation problem is to read and apply the instructions in the Activation Keys and Serial Numbers help topic. Although tech support responds very rapidly to activation questions it is faster to read even a long topic carefully since that will usually solve the problem right away.

If you have already read that topic, see the Activation Frequently Asked Questions page for a comprehensive list of questions and answers. This page reprints the FAQ from the end of the Activation Keys and Serial Numbers help topic.

Check your Serial Number

Before seeking assistance, please check the status of the serial number you are attempting to use on the Status Page. This page will report the product authorized by that serial number and how many activations are left on that serial number.

• If a serial number is invalid, that usually indicates a typographical error. Please make sure to copy and paste the serial number from the original serial number email message.
• If you have used up all of your activations you'll have to get more by paying for a new serial number, an upgrade or the Extra Activation Keys product. The least expensive way of getting more activations may be to purchase an upgrade, such as the Upgrade to x64 product or an upgrade to a higher edition. For example, if you have Personal Edition you can upgrade to Personal Edition x64 for a low fee. That gets a fresh serial number and five more activations. Or, you could upgrade from Personal Edition to Professional Edition. An upgrade may be purchased at any time. Another option is the $50 Extra Activation Keys product that may be purchased for the current edition of Manifold once per year beginning one year after your serial number has been issued.
• If a serial number has been revoked, that usually indicates it has been traded in on an upgrade, such as an upgrade to a newer Manifold product or to a higher Manifold edition such as a Professional serial number being upgraded to Enterprise. Locate the serial number obtained by upgrade and use that serial number instead. If you didn't keep track of the upgrade you might be able to recover it using the Extended Key Recovery Service product if available on the Manifold Online Store. See the Activation Frequently Asked Questions page for a list of other reasons why serial numbers may be revoked. If you don't remember what you did to get your serial number revoked, tech support is happy to investigate that for you at the cost of a standard support token.

Assistance Provided by Email Only

All serial number and activation questions are handled by email questions sent to tech@manifold.net. Email confirms identity and provides a written record of information that captures exact details that telephone or other contacts cannot. Do not contact manifold.net by letter or telephone if you need assistance with any questions or issues involving serial numbers, activation or software installation, as that will result in an automatic charge of a support token but cannot provide support.

Technical support processes email inquiries from 9 to 5 Hong Kong time on business days and responds to installation, serial number and activation questions conforming to this page's instructions before any other questions. Installation, serial number and activation questions which do not conform to this page's instructions will normally get an automatic response but such responses may be delayed until after other valid tech support inquires are processed.

You do not need a technical support token for activation questions for licenses other than Runtime or License Server licenses if you follow the instructions in this page. Any serial number, activation or installation question involving Runtime or License Server licenses requires a developer level support token. If you do not want to obtain free support by using the instructions in this page, please provide a standard technical support incident for each question tech support will have to ask you to obtain the information that is required by this page.

Contacting Tech Support: Required Information

For assistance with any serial number and activation question you must provide the following information in your initial email message:

• You must write from the email address to which the original serial number email was sent. Support services for any assistance of any kind involving installation, activation or serial numbers are available only to the original licensee at the original email address.
• Please use a subject line that includes the words Manifold and either installation or activation. This will assure your message gets through any spam filters and receives maximum priority for a reply. Installation, serial number and activation questions are answered before all other questions.
• Please do not use any attachments. All information must be provided in ordinary text form within the body of your email message. (Attachments are removed enroute by spam and security filters.)
• Please do not use HTML mail. Send ordinary text mail to be sure all information gets through.
• Please do not cc any third parties. Serial number, activation and installation questions are confidential.
• At the bottom of your email you must include the full text of the original serial number email that provided your serial number for this license. Copy and paste this text into the body of your email. Do not attach it as an attachment. Possession of this serial number email is proof you have licensing rights to this license. If you do not have that serial number email, you might be able to recover it using a Key Recovery Service if available on the Manifold Online Store.
• Specify the full name of the installation file from which you installed Manifold.
• Confirm you have logged in as the Administrator account. This is especially important in Windows 7 and Windows Vista. See the Administrator Login page.
• Specify the exact version of Windows you are using. If you have installed or are using any other systems software (virtualization, antivirus, network utilities, registry protectors, etc.), specify all such software you are using.
• Give the system date and time as reported by your system at the time you try activation.
• Include in your email the exact serial number, Activation key and System ID you are using. Use copy and paste to insert these into email message to avoid typographic errors.
• State exactly, step-by-step what you are doing. Report the exact error messages displayed or provide a detailed description of the problem if no error messages are displayed.

Very Important: All of the above information is important. Without all details an engineer cannot solve the problem quickly. Please provide all of the above information within a single email. If you do not provide all of the above information and receive a form letter from tech support asking you to provide all required information, please re-submit your question as a new, complete, standalone email that includes all of the above information in a single letter. Tech support will not try to parse threads you forward from other people. Contact tech support using a new, original email message so all information is clear.

Additional Information

When writing to tech support, please make sure to send email only from an email address that can accept a reply from manifold.net email addresses and which is the email address that was used to receive your serial number email.

Support is available only to customers who have acquired Manifold licenses in a direct transaction with manifold.net, using the original email address provided for the license. If you did not acquire Manifold directly from manifold.net you must contact whoever provided you with a Manifold license with any questions. If you are in an organization the designated licensee is the sole and exclusive contact with manifold.net.

Tech support may contact you with questions as part of the processing of a request for activation assistance. Please respond within two business days to those questions, answering all questions asked. Incomplete responses or tardy responses will not allow rapid assistance.

Very important: Free support is available only to licensees who cooperate with technical support in good faith. If you would like to take advantage of the free service, please do not argue with tech support - follow the support engineer's lead and answer all questions as accurately and completely as you can. If you do not cooperate tokens must be charged. See the Support FAQ for information on when tokens will be charged automatically for uncooperative contacts.

Runtime licenses are for tech professionals who have programming expertise, substantial web mastering skills and Manifold skills. Any tech support questions involving Runtime or License Server licenses require a developer level technical support incident. This includes questions about activation, which normally do not require a tech support incident for other types of licenses if the procedure in this page is followed.

For general information on technical support for Manifold System, please see the main Support page.