"This program is freeware, if you paid for it you have been scammed.."

[aryx]

I'm using utorrent on 30 machines on a LAN, I'm using utorrent to transfer course-materials each week.

This message should only pop up the first time you use utorrent, right?

So I start up the program, use the utility sysprep.exe before making an image to use on all the machine (sysprep makes a new SSID among other things)

But anyhow, when utorrent starts after the computers have been ghosted up I recieve the same message. So I have click OK on every machine each time.

Is there a way I can solve this? disable something under advanced or something?

Since I'm automating everything under the installation this function screws up my system :-S

How can i fix this?

[DreadWingKnight]

This message should only pop up the first time you use utorrent, right?

This is correct.

[aryx]

[quoting the previous message is spam - quote removed]

Well since I use utorrent in an image it pops up each time I start the computer for the first time (which is during the automated setup), even if i started it once before i made the image.

[DreadWingKnight]

The code that detects this detects if it has been launched on the specific computer. The new computer (even after the image) is still a new computer not the old one.

[aryx]

So it checks the computer-name or something like that?

Couldn't you make a switch called utorrent.exe /thisisafreeprogram which starts it without this textbox, and instead place the message in the titlebar or something :-S

Or better yet, have a text in the main window that states that this is a free program?

[Ultima]

If ludde did that, then people who try to sell µTorrent can easily pack the executable inside another one that runs the real utorrent.exe with that parameter. And the text is there in the About window about it being free, but the popup is there just in case people don't open the About window. It gets obtrusive and annoying if such a message is placed in the main window.

[aryx]

Then how about it "popping" up inside the program once, but in another way so the program starts and functions like it normally does, there are several ways of doing this - but it isn't as easy as just having a message box.

If the box had been independent and let you switch between the program and the box.

A text is displayed the first time the program starts (but not in the form as a message box)

Text can be displayed with a 5 sec timer in the titlebar

Text can be displayed with a 5 sec timer in the main window.

Use another type of messagebox that dosn't stop and wait for ok before countinuing

etc etc

If it is possible it had been great for me. Since i'm now going around and pressing ok on 30 machines every week. I might have use for the exercise, but it had been great if it could be fixed.

[µtorrent-Guest]

aryx

I do not know how µtorrent decides to display it, but i guess it is the settings.dat file that matters. Afaik the content is user/maschinename dependent.

So have you tried to "install" µtorrent selfcontained with the exe and all .dat files in one directory that will be always the same on everymashine?! (e.g. NOT %appdata%/µtorrent)

Than you have the "out of the box" experience once before you create the image. And if this directory is later exactly the same there is no difference in the filelocation and no popup should occur again.

[Ultima]

@aryx: Hm, timed messages defeat the point of the message, as some people don't notice the message then.

[Firon]

Use an AutoIT script to auto-click OK.

Since it's a new install afterwards, and it doesn't keep the settings, it will show up again.

[aryx]

Yeah! AutoIT must be the way to go, had almost forgot about it... I guess there won't be another way to do this without you having to rewrite the entire message box =]

µtorrent-Guest I've placed utorrent under %programfiles% and I have runned it once before making the image, but the computers that have the image installed will get a new security identifier and a new computer name, so i guess utorrent uses some of that information to check if it's the first time it starts up.

[Callifo]

Having a problem here, since updating my windows (updated win2k -> windows XP not clean install; was done because bluetooth wouldnt work in win2k) I get this message almost every single time (maybe not everytime, but at least 2/3 of the time) uTorrent starts. Any ideas what I can do, as this is on a download box and so has no real user interaction interaction. Its basically breaking the function completely.

[Firon]

Delete settings.dat and settings.dat.old with µT closed, start it again, close the dialog, and exit. Wait 30 seconds before opening a new one.

[Callifo]

Ill see how that goes, cheers.

[Titus]

settings.dat seems to have ABSOLUTELY no effect on this extremely annoying message popping up every once in a while...and even if it did it's not really acceptable to delete your settings every time utorrent gets confused.

just fix it, better yet get rid of it, who cares if people payed for it, you really think they are gonna get money back from the bastards who asked money for it?

[DreadWingKnight]

Actually, considering the charge is fraudulent, they CAN get their money back from their credit card issuer.

[µtorrent-Guest]

Titus, if it STILL happends to you, then maybe you should look into what windows is doing to your sysem; something must be broken within YOUR windows installation since thousands(millions?) of other µT users on windows installations don't have this issue!

Logic, or not?

[Badsecurityforum]

I get this message window lately also.

For some copy protections of games i disable my PATA-controller. Yesterday i played a game where i had to do it. And IIRC it is just then, when utorrent began to give me that message box.

I think utorrent checks for some basic hardware configuration and then decides whether it is a new install or not.

[myndzi]

I found this thread via a google search trying to get rid of the damn dialog. It was popping up every time uTorrent started, or so it seemed. Must be severely tied to network config because I've been trying to get ICS to work for a laptop. After exiting and relaunching when I hadn't changed anything, I didn't get it.

To the authors: That dialog is a stupid idea. It is only an annoyance to users, and you are kidding yourself if you think it will stop someone from selling uTorrent. 1) The mechanism can be discerned and compensated for and 2) the check or dialog itself can be edited out of the code. If you are taking into account someone competent enough to wrap uTorrent into another application to launch it with that switch, it's not all that much farther to popping open ResHacker and changing the text, for example.

Sheesh, you'd think someone writing a program to *download files* would be familiar with the fact that everything can be cracked. Don't make your real users pay for hypothetical situations and don't get your panties in a wad. If you catch someone trying to sell your stuff, sue them or something. Nothing else is gonna work.

[Lord Alderaan]

The message is because a lot of people will have paid on a 'scam' site for being provided a link to this free program. µtorrent gives this popup so people realize they didn't read the fine print somewhere and maybe are able to do something about it or at least wizen up.

Most of those scam sites are theoretically legal and generally wouldn't do something like wrapping µtorrent to remove that dialog because that WOULD be illegal. These people are on the fringe if criminality and wouldn't risk actually taking that step even if hardly anything could come from it.

I don't know how µtorrent checks if it has been used on that machine before. Either it just pops that message whenever it makes the µtorrent folder in %appdata% or it keeps track of which computer/user it was started on in the settings files in that folder. In either case deleting those (maybe automatically) files or changing from user would cause this problem . Try moving the files from the %appdata%\utorrent folder to the location where utorrent.exe resides and see if it solves your problem.

[µtorrent-Guest]

ja, it is associated with the network adaptor.

In some other thread we ellaborated that IIRC.

I was able to reproduce it, by disableing the lan connection and reanableing it.

[Ultima]

someone competent enough to wrap uTorrent into another application to launch it with that switch

1) What switch do you speak of?

2) The people making those scam websites don't care to modify the executable, and don't need to -- they're selling µTorrent with a thin veil, saying that they're only selling information about µTorrent. In the end, the people still think they paid for µTorrent itself.

3) Enough people have come to the forums complaining that they wanted their refund. Not so hypothetical a situation, is it...?

[myndzi]

If ludde did that, then people who try to sell µTorrent can easily pack the executable inside another one that runs the real utorrent.exe with that parameter. And the text is there in the About window about it being free, but the popup is there just in case people don't open the About window. It gets obtrusive and annoying if such a message is placed in the main window.

The "website" thing wasn't clear in the previous response, and I hadn't read the entire thread if it happens to be in there. I can accept that much more easily. I apologize.

Still there is no need to be overly complicated about it for that purpose -- a simple registry line would be fine. If someone was "selling" uTorrent in such a fashion that they could alter that registry key, then they are equally able to do whatever else they wanted. The irritant for me was doing network troubleshooting which necessarily involved stopping uTorrent and seeing the nag box every time I restarted it.

[jtomm]

I have to agree that this box popping up is a pain.

One poster said that no one else is having trouble with it. Not true. You have to keep in mind that it's a hassle for people to even find the forums. Most users do not come here. Then registering for yet another site is another hassle. And then it takes time to make a post. People are busy. Every user I know is seeing this nagging freeware dialog box everytime they start utorrent. Deleting the dat files did not fix it.

Please don't penalize most users constantly with a nag screen just because of a few people may have paid money. Please make it stop.

[DreadWingKnight]

It's not just that they paid money that forced us to put the screen in.

It's that they paid money then DEMANDED we pay them back when we didn't charge them in the first place.