How do I activate ChessBase 12 with a serial number? It keeps saying "SerialNumber already used"

Question

My old PC died, so I bought a new PC.

I tried to re-install my chess softwares on the new PC.

I successfully re-installed Komodo 8 as well as Houdini 3 and activated them with my serial numbers. They work perfectly.

But there is a problem for ChessBase 12. I re-installed it successfully, but when I try to activate it with my serial number (File > Activation > Activate) it doesn't work.

Here is a screenshot of the problem:

So apparently "ChessProgram 13/14", "Engine: Houdini 3 Pro" and "Engine: Invalid" (no idea what "invalid" means) have been activated successfully.

But "CBase 12" (ChessBase 12) was not activated successfully.

I have re-tried to activate it many times, but each time the message says "SerialNumber already used", and then it also says "You can now open database files by double-clicking them in Windows". And "CBase 12" stays at "No".

So how do I solve this problem?

And don't answer me "buy another ChessBase serial number"... I have already bought ChessBase a few months ago, it costed a lot of money (around €370 I think), and I don't want to lose even more money...

Answer 1

I've had serial number issues in the past whe moving to new computer and after upgrading to a new version of windows without deactivating the serial number on the old computer. When that happens, I've contacted ChessBase support through the support form on their site. http://en.chessbase.com/support

They have always responded within 24 hours and resolved the problem.

I'm pretty sure they have to resolve it on their end since they have to update it on their licensing server. Just explain that you are moving to a new computer and the issue you are having.