How To Reinstall Trial Software After the Free Trial Has Ended To translate this article, select a language. Even a file uninstaller might not get every registry entry, particularly if the setup and uninstall programs were designed to leave a registry entry hidden somewhere to prevent double-runs of the trial software.Skip to main content. Many programs will leave traces of themselves in the registry, even if you use the included uninstaller.
The Windows registry is an enormous database of stored values describing just about every aspect of every piece of software and hardware on your machine. If the trial program leaves a certificate file or other resource to prevent reinstallation, these apps should find and delete it.
Using a third party uninstaller such as Revo Uninstaller or IObit Uninstaller removes every file from everywhere. So predictably, uninstallers will often miss or ignore entries in the registry and on your hard drive. Nobody normally needs an uninstaller to get every last file, and nobody ever made a software purchase on the basis of how well its uninstall program worked. The uninstaller that comes with your software is usually pretty sloppy. You can then forensically uninstall or delete every file once you uninstall the trial, which should allow you to reinstall trial software after the free trial has ended. It has the advantage of being free, and it tracks everything a program installs and the locations where the files are installed.
Mirekusoft Install Monitor is one install monitor that you can use to perform this function. Ordinary uninstall programs, provided by the software manufacturer, leave traces all over your computer, whether through sloppiness or design. By using an installation monitor when you install a free trial, you can get an exact catalog of what it installs. An installation monitor is a piece of software that exactly records every action taken by a setup or install program - every file transferred, ever registry entry changed or created, every checkpoint created and every icon installed. You will have to experiment with each to find what works for you. Not all methods will work in all circumstances, as different developers use varying methods to track trials. Other programs will track the date internally or use more sophisticated methods of enforcing trial periods.īelow are just some of the ways you can reinstall trial software after the free trial has ended. Some leave a file or file or marker in the registry or in Program Data Windows telling the software how long it has to live. However, it is far more common for applications to attempt to detect and block cheating behaviors. Some application time trials run on the honor system - if you reinstall the program, the trial will run again. There are a number of different techniques that will allow you to reinstall software. Use these techniques only to evaluate software, not to steal it. Note that the intention of this article is not to allow you to continue using the software indefinitely that would be unethical. In this article, I will show you several techniques for reinstalling trial software after the trial has ended.
This gives users the full experience of the software soo they can make a much more informed buying decision. Imposing a fixed time limit of 7, 14 or 30 days and letting customers experience the full program is more popular. Time-limited trials are much more effective at generating sales than are crippleware offerings. It is this second type of trial that we are addressing today. There are two basic approaches to this: either offer basic features only, or release the full program with a time limit that only allows the use of the trial for a fixed period of time. One of the most common models of software sales these days is the use of the free trial.