David Monkhouse Posted August 20, 2012 Share #1 Posted August 20, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Email to Leica Dear Sirs, I purchased an M9P in April of this year and duly loaded Adobe Lightroom 4 onto my computer. I have over the weekend rebuilt the computer reinstalling Windows 7 following a hard disc failure. Following your instructions I downloaded for the second time Lightroom 4. Since your explanation of how the software can be downloaded says “you can download to two computers” but also says “can be download only twice”. I assumed these two statements were linked so I checked what would happen if I tried to download a third time and a message appeared telling me to contact yourselves. It would now appear that if anything goes wrong with my computer I can no longer download the software. This is really unacceptable and having paid in excess of £5000 for the camera I feel very hard done to. My M8 came with a Capture One disc and I still use the software in a much later version having paid for the upgrades. If I rebuild the computer as I have in the past it is a simple matter to download from the Capture One site and without restrictions and they, despite being dropped by yourselves, support the M9 series. So what do I do now, my suggestion is that you supply me with an Adobe Lightroom 4 software disc and before the next computer failure. Yours sincerely, David Monkhouse And the reply… Dear Mr Monkhouse Thank you for your e-mail. Each M9-P is sold with 2 downloads of Lightroom included in the cost of the camera. Unfortunately, we are unable to supply copies Lightroom on a disc. Kind regards, Leica Client Care Team So my question is this, why not have an Adobe Lightroom 4 disc in the M9P box complete with a registration number so that in the event of a computer failure a reload is easily available. I would suggest that the person who negotiated the deal with Adobe doesn’t have a computer. If he/she does then perhaps he/she should be removed from the negotiating team. £3000 and you get a software disc and no problems, £5000 and you get two downloads and after using both, a computer failure means you have to go out and buy the software. Now that’s what I call customer service… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Hi David Monkhouse, Take a look here So this is what Leica call service.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted August 20, 2012 Share #2 Posted August 20, 2012 Hold on - You should register your Lightroom with Adobe. Then, if anything happens, you can deactivate your license on their website, download again and reactivate your new copy. Obviously you cannot download more than two active copies, whether Leica supplies it with the camera or if you buy it yourself. Any problems should be taken up with Adobe Customer Service being the software supplier. A disk is superfluous as the full version can be downloaded from Adobe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted August 20, 2012 Share #3 Posted August 20, 2012 BTW, Apple allows only two downloads as well from their AppStore. However, for example they grant permission to install their OS on all Macs belonging to one family household. That's why I keep copies of everything and have multiple backups. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted August 20, 2012 Share #4 Posted August 20, 2012 Another suggestion: get yourself a portable HD and a copy of Acronis Tru-Image. It will save a "snapshot" of your computer's HD to the portable, so if your computer's HD becomes unreadable, you (or someone in data recovery) can get you back up and running without having to re-install all your software. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybob Posted August 20, 2012 Share #5 Posted August 20, 2012 If the LR4 activation number is available, perhaps in an email from Adobe or in the M9 kit, just redownload the product directly from Adobe and reinstall. If deactivation of the dead hard drive is needed, that's a 3 minute call to Adobe's toll free number. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted August 20, 2012 Share #6 Posted August 20, 2012 We are pushed around too much by software companies and their restrictive practices these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 20, 2012 Share #7 Posted August 20, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I don't see this as restrictive. You buy two copies, you get two copies. If one or both are lost, you can download, reinstall and reactivate in DIY if you registered or with help of the Customer Service if you didn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bybrett Posted August 20, 2012 Share #8 Posted August 20, 2012 It's as easy, and important, to back-up the personal computer as it it is to archive the images... now that's what I call peace of mind. Even more so for Mac owners as Apple continue to discontinue disc drives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted August 20, 2012 Share #9 Posted August 20, 2012 To be honest, it's not Leica's fault if customers don't back up their computers. It's a basic requirement as HDs fail. And Adobe are just as entitled to protect their product from bootleg installs as anyone running a business is entitled to lock their office door at night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Monkhouse Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted August 20, 2012 Nowhere did I say that I had not backed up the software, I have two external backups and one internal backup hard drive. I was just making the point that customer service would have been better if the M9 had followed the M8 "in the box contents" by including a disc. I was also making the point that Capture One have a simple system of reinstalling software from their servers which to doesn't seem like rocket science. And for those who think that to register the software with Adobe guarantees a download they are very much mistaken. And I think it is unreasonable of Leica to assume that everyone who buys an M9 is going to know how to backup, copy etc. for when the disaster happens. They probably assume that if can afford the camera you can afford to buy replacement software. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted August 20, 2012 Share #11 Posted August 20, 2012 Do you save the installer to a Cd or memory stick, David? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashGordonPhotography Posted August 20, 2012 Share #12 Posted August 20, 2012 Why on Earth would you need to download the software from Leica when Lightroom is freely available for download from Adobe? All you need is the serial number that Leica issued you. Since Lightroom is updated so frequently a disc would be quie pointless. Had Leica put a disc in the box, you would have received a brand new shiny copy of Lightroom 3 as that's what was available when the M9 was released. By having a download you got the latest version. In addition there is no activation/deactivation process for the current versions of Lightroom. If you have a hardware crash you just re-install. Activation is not required. Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted August 20, 2012 Share #13 Posted August 20, 2012 As everybody else has said, you should deactivate one version of Lightroom which will allow you to download it afresh. It doesn't matter if you buy a hundred PC's one after the other, you deactivate it on the last one and install it again on the new one. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Monkhouse Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share #14 Posted August 20, 2012 Andy, Two external Iomega hard drives, easy to lock away in the fire proof safe and a two Western Digital hard drives within the computer, a 750GB running the system and a 1000GB acting as a backup with insync by Dillobitts doing the work. Enough capacity until called to the Grand Lodge above... and as a post script and to generate more comment, never use the Lightroom 4 software, poor when compared with Capture One v.6.4.3 and Adobe Photoshop 7. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybob Posted August 20, 2012 Share #15 Posted August 20, 2012 I'm TOTALLY biting my tongue.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted August 20, 2012 Share #16 Posted August 20, 2012 I blame Leica for my spitting my tea over my keyboard while reading this thread... Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 21, 2012 Share #17 Posted August 21, 2012 never use the Lightroom 4 software, poor when compared with Capture One v.6.4.3 and Adobe Photoshop 7. So you decided to waste Leica's time, and yours, by requesting a LR 4 disc? Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arild Posted August 21, 2012 Share #18 Posted August 21, 2012 I don´t know whether this is possible with a Win7 computer, but in Mac OSx, since Snow Leopard, the user has had the ability to do Time Machine backups, which basically mirrors the system disk(s), so if the HDD fails, all you have to do is install OSx and use the Time Machine image last saved to restore the whole system. I´ve done this multiple times, no fuzz with PS or LR3 registrations, as the computer is recognized as the one and same as before the crash. When you do a clean reinstall of the whole system, it´s recognized by Adobe as an independent, "new" computer. No idea if it helps or not. I´m not a huge fan of Apple, but the ease of backup and restoration is one thing that keeps me in the choir. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptorboy Posted August 23, 2012 Share #19 Posted August 23, 2012 I just got my M9 last month and I don't believe I got a disk in the package...I'm using Photoshop CS4....would Lightroom do a better job ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted August 23, 2012 Share #20 Posted August 23, 2012 I just got my M9 last month and I don't believe I got a disk in the package...I'm using Photoshop CS4....would Lightroom do a better job ? Welcome to the forum! If you bought new you should register online. You then can also activate a serial number for LR4 and download the software. I have both CS4 and CS6. CS6 has some new worthwhile features. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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