ChemDraw keeps asking to reactivate when I move my computer location.

Keywords: activation, Host ID, volume serial number, cmd, settings.ini, hostID, ethernet, wifi, docking station, repeat error, vol, wmic

While switching between wifi and ethernet, or moving between home and office, ChemDraw repeatedly prompts with the activation dialog. 

As of v17.0, activation information is not stored on the machine.

Also, as of v19.1.1, we use the Mac address of the wifi/ethernet port as the Host ID. Since there may be a variation of mac id (switching between wifi and ethernet), you may get prompted with the activation dialog even though the product was already activated using a previous port.

Please try the following steps to use v18.x Host ID as a workaround.
1. Close and exit ChemDraw fully.
2. Browse to C:\ProgramData\PerkinElmerInformatics\FNE\ folder and delete the 17.0/18.0/19.0/20.0 folder (if it exists), but leave the Settings.ini file in place.
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[If the C:\ProgramData folder is not visible, it needs to be made visible.
To make the \ProgramData directory visible:

Open Windows Explorer.
Select organize / folder and search options from the menu bar.
Select the View tab.
In Advanced setting / Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden file, folders, and drivers.
Click OK to save and close the window

View hidden files and folders in Windows 10
Open File Explorer from the taskbar.
Select View Options Change folder and search options.
Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives and select OK.]
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3. Right-click on your Windows Start button.
4. Select "Run" and type cmd and click the OK button. It will open the Windows Command Prompt.
5. Type the following and select Enter:   wmic diskdrive get serialnumber
This will determine the disk drive serial number as follows
SerialNumber
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (where X is any alphanumeric code, including hyphens)

Note: If you have more than one HDD/SSD then you will get the more than one serial number

If you are not sure about the HDD/SSD serial number then run the following command: 
wmic diskdrive get model,serialNumber,size

This should present a code similar to the following:

From the Harddisk model as well as size information, you are able to get the correct Hard disk serial number (which contains the Operating System).

5. Right-click on the Command Prompt window header to find the Edit menu to Mark.
6. Highlight the Serial Number value in the Command Prompt window.
7. Use the Edit menu again to Copy the serial number in the Command Prompt window.
8. In the C:\ProgramData\PerkinElmerInformatics\FNE\ folder, open the Settings.ini file (with admin privileges), and paste in Host ID where required.  After version 23, the file is located on "C:\ProgramData\RevvitySignalsSoftware\FNE"
9. Save the Settings.ini file.
10. Close the Command Prompt window.
11. Restart ChemDraw again.
12. When prompted, enter the activation details: name, email, activation code.

Alternately, the following steps may also be used to manually fix a PC's hostID and prevent the repeated activation prompt. These steps will work regardless of version (v17 and above).

1. Close ChemDraw activation dialog, (if it is still open). Exit ChemDraw. 
   
2. Determine the volume number of your hard drive:
   Type "cmd" on your search bar and click the Command Prompt option.
   Go to your C drive by typing C: and hit enter.
   Type VOL and hit enter to view your volume number.
   Use only the numbers and letters of the volume number. Remove the "-" in the middle.
3. With full admin privileges, edit the local settings.ini file at the following location:
   C:\ProgramData\PerkinElmerInformatics\FNE\Settings.ini
   (After version 23, the file is located on "C:\ProgramData\RevvitySignalsSoftware\FNE")
4. Change the 1st line to HostID=XXXXXXXXX (insert the volume serial number of your C drive without the hyphen) and save it. Again, the settings file should be saved with Admin privileges.
5. Run ChemDraw (right-click and Run as Admin) and activate again. 

NOTE1: these instructions will only work when performed with Admin privileges.