registering an unregistered Sibelius

[Mazartinvienna37]

Hello. I hope I am asking this in the correct place. I know very little about the technical aspects of computers, computer software, and other computer-related matters, and as a result I had someone take advantage of me in a matter concerning Sibelius software. I need some advice from some folks like those who go on forums like this one in order to clear up my problem.

To digress briefly, my first time with Sibelius was about 12 years ago when I had Sibelius 3. After while I upgraded to Sibelius 4, and later I upgraded to Sibelius 5. I used #5 off and on for a few years. Finally, I decided to upgrade to a newer version of Sibelius. I was discussing it with a musician I met a while back and he told me he could take care of that for me. He said that he already had Sibelius 7, which was much better than Sibelius 5, on his computer. He further said that he could download it into my computer for a fee.

At first, despite my ignorance of computer-related matters, this did not sound right to me. In the past, I had always paid an upgrade fee to move to a new level of Sibelius and I told him that. He said that yes, paying the fee was standard practice and that if I paid him the upgrade fee he would in turn send it, along with my Sibelius serial #, to the Sibelius people, saving me the trouble. I was still a little leery. But he finally convinced me it was on the up and up. Well, now I realize that he was full of it. Soon after the software was in my computer a little box popped up telling me that it was an unregistered version of Sibelius 7 and that it was no longer usable. Needless to say, at that point I could no longer find the musician I mentioned and there is no doubt in my mind that he pocketed the so-called upgrade fee I gave him.

I have a few questions. First, how do I go about registering the Sibelius properly to my own name? Also, once it is properly registered, will it start working normally? In addition, does anyone know the approximate cost of doing this? Should I send my name and serial # to the Sibelius headquarters? Finally, what is the email address and/or phone number of that headquarters? I tried finding them online but had no luck. And that's why I turned to this forum. Thanks so much for any help someone can give me on this issue. Don

[andyg]

Firstly, do realise that this is not the official Sibelius forum. The official Sibelius Chat Page is at http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcen ... ?groupid=3

Secondly, as I'm sure you realise now, you've been had. You won't ever be able to register that copy of Sibelius 7 in your name. Sibelius activation requires a System ID number and an activation code, neither of which you have. Avid support won't be able to help you, I'm afraid.

You can't buy Sibelius 7 anymore. The latest version is 8.2, and you'll have to pay the full price for it, or join Avid's new subscription system, where you pay a fee each month to use the software. Check www.sibelius.com for details or look on the official chat pages I mentioned earlier.

I'm sorry you've been caught out by this.

[bobp]

I think it's worth a shot going to Avid Support with your story. Your account should be able to verify the last valid version you owned. And they should be able to track down who has hijacked your software.