Is There Any Way To Unlock Older Software That Won't Unlock Because The Company Went Out Of Business

My laptop PC recently died, and about a year ago, my older Macintosh also died. So I've been gradually trying to reinstall software I legally own and had purchased onto newer computers. I have the serial keys.

But some software just won't unlock because the companies that published them no longer exist and they must have been set up so they will only unlock after the software communicates with the publisher over the internet. And since the publisher no longer exists, the software will not leave trial mode.

One software I have that's doing it is Living Cookbook. I had it full of recipes that I can no longer access (I had backed it up, too). Another is Manga Creator from Planetwide Games.

On the Mac side, I have a much older version of Fontographer (which I had also backed up). But when I open the backup, the serial key just won't work (I have a Mac laptop that runs system 9 as well as OS X). And I had purchased it way back before the internet was big, so I don't think the software would have been set up to contact the publisher over the internet to unlock it. And I don't think I ever had this problem before when I had to reinstall after that old Mac crashed.

I keep thinking there has to be a way around this. It just doesn't seem right that I should lose the ability to use software that I legally own.

 

One more thing I forgot to mention: I also tried to do a Google search to see if anyone else out there found a similar solution for Living Cookbook, and I found a thread where where someone said the software's file format (.lcb) was really just a zip file, and if you manually change the .lcb to .zip, you can access the database with Open Office's answer to Microsoft Access. I tried it, and it almost worked, but Open Office asked what kind of Java the database used, but I had no idea and don't know how to find out?

 

Most licensed software is sold for use on one machine, so won't install on a second machine. Is there no hope at all of reviving the old machine?

 

I found an ad for software that will unlock your Living Cookbook recipes recipes. It cost $9.99.
Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/living-cookbook-rescue/9n5d57qhnx7m?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

In the future, it might be better to save recipes in docx format. That isn't going away any time soon. Or perhaps, as pdf files.

 

Nope. It wouldn't even turn on. I think the PC repair place said the circuit board was fried. They said I could pay them to replace it, but they said it might be cheaper to just get a new laptop. Plus, I figured, if the circuit board had reached the end of its life, how long would I have before other parts of the laptop started to fail too?
So I had them rescue as much of the data off the hard drive.

 

Thanks. Yes, I found that too. I found it mentioned in a thread where a programmer had the same problem, so he wrote that software to solve it. Apparently, it was free when he originally posted his message. I went ahead and paid the $9.99, but when I tried to download it, I got an error message that said it wasn't compatible with the laptop I was downloading to (I'm still using Windows 7 because I was worried a lot of the software I have wouldn't work on 10). I do have a Windows 10 tablet, but for some reason I've never been able to figure out, that tablet and my cell phone can't see my home's wifi.
So I emailed the Microsoft store and asked them if they could just give me a link to download the software onto my Windows 7 laptop, and then I could manually transfer it to my Windows 10 tablet with a USB adapter I have for it. And if they couldn't or wouldn't do that, I wanted my money back. They haven't responded.

I do have a lot of recipe and cookbook docs, PDFs, and epubs in Calibre (I had copied and pasted a lot of the recipes from them into Living Cookbook), but it's a lot handier if I have a lot of the recipes in the same database so I can search for recipes with ingredients I know I already have on hand. Living Cookbook also allowed you to change the number of servings and it would automatically recalculate the amount of each ingredient for you. It's really handy because I'm single and most recipes you find are for 4 or more people, and I've always sucked at math, especially when it includes fractions.

 

I do not think you are alone. I have been told 4 out of 3 people don't understand fractions.

 

This will import the living cookbook files:
https://recipesage.com/#/welcome
Or if you have the living cookbooks fix file then you can import this into Recipe keeper:
https://www.microsoft.com/p/recipe-keeper/9wzdncrdknkb?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

 

Have you tried using a program like "RecoverKeys" by hooking up the HDD to another machine?

 

Thank you, but I've looked at RecipeSage and I just checked that Recipe Keeper link and it looks pretty much the same; they both look like they are websites you have to upload your recipes to. I'm not sure I like that option for two reasons. First, as I mentioned above, I usually can't access the internet through my home wifi using my Android phone or tablet, or even my Windows 10 tablet, so I wouldn't be able to access them on "all devices" as advertised. Second, and more importantly, websites can go out of business just as easily as a software company, and it's worse, because I wouldn't even have the backup files. Also, if I remember correctly, I think RecipeSage is subscription based, so the longer you subscribe, the longer you'll be paying until you may eventually have paid thousands of dollars. I could see maybe doing that if I owned a restaurant and I was earning money from those recipes, but not for home use.

And I'm not sure what you mean by the living cookbooks "fix file"? If you mean that Living Cookbook Rescue software I tried to download, I still haven't been able to get Microsoft to send me a link I can use to download the software to save to a thumb drive that I could use to install onto my Windows 10 tablet. And they haven't offered to refund the money I spent on it either. When I tried to download it to my Windows 7 laptop, it refused because it said it was "incompatible with your device". It's possible the app isn't compatible with Windows 10 any more than it was with Windows 7; maybe it's an Android app. I have no idea, because the description of the software on the Microsoft store site I tried to download it from said nothing about what device it was written for or what it isn't compatible with. If it had, I wouldn't have downloaded it and spent the money they won't refund. I can't even find a customer service number for them.

I unfortunately discovered that a lot of the recipe software that says they can import Living Cookbook actually means that they can import recipes exported from Living Cookbook into their native file formats (they both begin with .fd but I always forget the rest). Problem is, you have to have a working version of Living Cookbook to export any of the recipes. And since the software can't register itself by contacting its publisher's servers, LC is forever stuck in trial mode. And the trial version will not export anything. So, all the apps that can import Living Cookbook recipes are no good for me.

I also have a copy of Cook'n, and I found their website has a plugin to translate LC recipes, but unfortunately, they again meant recipes exported from a working LC database.

I found a thread that said that the Living Cookbook database is really just a zip file, and if you manually change its file format to a zip, you will find a Microsoft database inside. I got a friend who has MS Access to try to open it, but it required a password. Another post in that thread found the password (I forget it now, but it was pretty unoriginal, something like LC2010admin). So he re-saved it for me without the password and I managed to open it in Open Office Base. But it had separated every little part of the recipe into separate cells, all in one continuous line, so it's really difficult to read. I tried opening it with Open Office Calc, thinking I could save it as text from there and that it might be slightly easier to work with that way (not much easier). Still, at least I have access.

Finally, I discovered a solution, but it's pricey. Seems MasterCook will take a Living Cookbook database and translate it to MC for $75. Turns out, the full version of MC is also subscription based now, and it costs $100 just to buy the subscription. I did find they offer an older, non subscription version for $14.00, so that's what I got. I may go for the $75 translation, just because of all the time it would save me.

 

I'm sorry, this may be a stupid question, but by "HDD" do you mean the hard drive of the dead laptop? I haven't tried it, but I'm not sure it would help. Because I did find the serial key in an old email from when a previous PC died and I had emailed the company (that hadn't gone bankrupt at that point). Problem is, when I put it in and tell the software to register it with the company, it doesn't work because the company server no longer exists. So the serial key doesn't help. What's worse, is it also looks like LC is querying the company's server to send something besides the serial key, that it calls an "unlock key" that is something different. So, the company obviously can't send that unlock key, whatever it is, so it won't unlock. I actually wonder if that "unlock key" is actually the password to the Microsoft Database inside.

 

Recipe keeper is an app so isn’t web based by the looks of it.
No, it is the database for the recipes, you would import this into the software which would then be able to open the files.
Did you download the Microsoft store app & try it?

 

No, as I said, I can't download the Microsoft Store app. I got an error message that said I can't download it because it's not compatible with the device I was attempting to download it to (a Windows 7 laptop).

I tried to email the Microsoft store to get help or get a refund, but they have not responded. I can't find a phone number for them either.

The description of the app on the Microsoft store did not say what kind of device or OS it was written for.

Frankly, I'm surprised it won't let me download an installer so I could copy it to a thumb drive and try to install it on another device, but the Microsoft store hasn't responded to me about that, either.

My Windows 10 tablet, my Android cell phone, and my Android tablet can not connect to my home wifi for some reason I don't understand, so I can't download the app to any of them.

I have been able to connect to the internet on my Android phone when I'm at work, but I found it won't let me download any new apps or even update old ones for reasons I don't understand either. So I can't download anything new or update any apps on that phone either.

Seems I'm screwed no matter what I try. If you have any suggestions on how I can fix any of these problems, I would be happy to try them.

 

Unfortunately I’m out of options.

 

The latter is why I suggested RecoverKeys. Perhaps it logged the key you need, perhaps not...

 

the mekanic, knowing the key won't help because the software needs to go to a server and check the validity of the key. The problem is that when a software company goes out of business and takes down the server, the program will not activate. It is no longer useable,

I've recently run into the same problem with a game I purchased years ago. I know the key and have all the emails showing to whom it was registered, the key and the purchase price. Oberon went out of business and the assets were acquired by iWin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberon_Media

Unfortunately, the game no longer works. I emailed iWin and this was the response

Now BigFish sells this game. I'm not sure I want to buy it again.

 

I was going for the long shot that a verified key was stored.

Oh well...

 

Well, I'm here to report that I had success. I sent an email to Big Fish, telling them how I bought a game in 2007 and the company that bought out the original gaming company did not have customer records.
Big Fish emailed me a code so I can download and install the game again without buying it a 2nd time.

 

That was generous of them.

 

I found this thread during a Google, Living Cookbook search.

The Living Cookbook program contains a licence registration encryption module. The licence keys were created on the Radium Technologies licencing server, downloaded by the program registration process and encrypted by the program. The Radium Technologies licencing server is defunct, there is no known method to decrypt the registration keys.

I am using a functional Living Cookbook 2011 as archival. All the recipes were transferred to MasterCook 15 format using Living Cookbook Rescue. The program converted 165,000 recipes with 6 recipe errors. Those errors were all bad Living Cookbook 2011 recipe formatting.

https://groups.io/g/RecipeHoarders

Recipe Hoarders is a recipe exchange group. You may find Living Cookbook support at the forum. They share recipes in the Living Cookbook format.

http://recipetools.sourceforge.net/joomla3/index.php/cb2cb

The cb2cb program is a free tool to convert recipes from one format to another. The program works well. I have converted exported Living Cookbook recipe formats to Mastercook format.