I haven't used my Dress Shop software a lot lately, but it seems almost every time I open the program the printer icon has a red X on it. I have to put in my codes to re-activate it. Is anyone else having this problem?

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I haven't used my Dress Shop software a lot lately, but it seems almost every time I open the program the printer icon has a red X on it. I have to put in my codes to re-activate it. Is anyone else having this problem?

We have not had any reports like that. It sounds like a issue where the saved activation codes are not being found when you rerun. That would suggest a system registry issue. Easy fix if that is the problem, but you should send in a problem report (see the Help menu for that) to be sure.

It can also happen if you load a program you do not own or use a tool you do not own. Basically, if the text under the garment illustration is in red and states that the pattern is a preview, rather than owned....

I have never been able to use MPD on my Win7 pro laptop. It is always a "Demo" even after activation. DS on this same laptop works fine. They were downloaded one after the other with "as administrator" selected. I would really like to get MPD working soon - my XP desktop is getting old and when it dies I probably won't replace it.

Anyone else have this problem?

Joan in Concord, CA

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I have never been able to use MPD on my Win7 pro laptop. It is always a "Demo" even after activation. DS on this same laptop works fine. They were downloaded one after the other with "as administrator" selected. I would really like to get MPD working soon - my XP desktop is getting old and when it dies I probably won't replace it.

Anyone else have this problem?

Hi Joan,

While this specific problem has not been reported, it does sound like one of the typical symptoms of registry corruption. There are generally three broad categories of issues that I hear about with either Dress Shop or MPD. Those are:

1. Some flaw with the pattern draft logic. These have been very rare in recent years.

2. Bad patterns produced from some measurement issue. These are common and easy to fix. I just have to track down which measurement needs to be retaken and revised.

3. Problems with the system registry. These are VERY COMMON. Typical symptoms are problems printing, saving data, or reloading data. Any of those symptoms is usually caused by corruptions in the Windows system registry. This is very common, which is why there are so many free registry clean and repair tools out there. I use Glary Utilities, but others work just as well. You can get the free version of Glary from here: http://www.glarysoft.com/

After you download the utility, install it, run it, and tell it to fix the hundreds of errors that it always finds. You will then need to reinstall some recent version of your program. It is during the install that registry entries are created. So, even if the program is there and working, you still need to install to get those registry entries restored.

That's it. 99.9% of issues related to printing, loading, or saving will be fixed by this. That other .1% - you need to send in a problem report for a more personalized look-see...

So do I send in the help report while the red X is there or reactivate by inputting my activation codes & then sending the report?

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Originally posted by WendyKay:
So do I send in the help report while the red X is there or reactivate by inputting my activation codes & then sending the report?

When the red 'X' is up is fine. It may just indicate that you have not activated. But, if you know you have activated, yet it is not then activated the next time you run, it just means that your activation codes are not being saved and reloaded. And, that just means a registry problem. So, if you have not cleaned the registry and reinstalled a recent update, you really should do that first. Or, you can send in the problem report and get the same advice and do it later. Up to you....