This page refers to key-based licenses — a legacy license type used in TestComplete until version 15.48. For information on the current, ID-based license type, see SmartBear ID-based Licenses.
After installing and activating your TestComplete license, the License Manager saves the activation information on your hard drive. This information may be lost when you are installing a newer operating system. This depends on the mode in which the operating system is installed.
The Windows operating systems can be installed in the upgrade mode. In this mode, the installation program can preserve the files, applications and settings you use on the previous OS. So, if the installation preserves the files, applications and settings, then renewing the TestComplete license is not needed. If the installation does not save your files, applications and settings, you will have to perform special actions for renewing your TestComplete license.
So, before updating the operating system, you need to check whether it can be installed in the upgrade mode or not. If the upgrade mode is unavailable, you will have to deactivate the TestComplete license before installing the operating system and activate TestComplete after installing the newer OS. See below for more information.
How to determine whether the upgrade is possible?
Typically, Microsoft operating systems can be installed in upgrade mode on previous versions of the OS. For instance, Windows 8.1 can be installed in upgrade mode on Windows 7, and Windows 10 can be installed in upgrade mode on Windows 8.1. That is, if you upgrade the operating system from Windows 7 to 8, or from 8 to Windows 10, there is no need to renew the TestComplete license.
Some versions of the Windows operating system cannot be installed in upgrade mode on the operating system you use. For instance, you cannot upgrade a 32-bit OS to a 64-bit version, or upgrade from a higher edition to a lower one (like from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8.1 Home Basic). For more information on whether the installation in upgrade mode is available, see the operating system’s documentation.
Renewing TestComplete License
If the operating system cannot be installed in upgrade mode, follow these steps:
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Before installing the operating system: deactivate your License Manager as it is described in the Deactivating and Moving Licenses topic.
Deactivation will unbound your license from the License Manager PC. After this you will get the new license key, which you can obtain on the TestComplete page of the My SmartBear section of our web site.
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Install the newer operating system.
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Use the new license key to activate your license on the License Manager PC. See Activating Licenses for detailed information on how to do this.
| Note: | If you have the Floating User license, you will need to perform these steps only if you are updating the operating system on the License Manager PC. There is not need to do anything on workstations, where TestComplete is installed. |