maxjones2000 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi, The other day, I turned on our Pearl Tiger at school to find that it would not load the OS and therefore I needed to re-intsall the software from the Avo website and apply for a new License code. However, when the code came through, I put my USB stick into the back of the desk (it had the OS on it), entered the new license code and it just said "Bad License Code. Click Enter to Restart". So I thought it was just a fluke, and then tried again today and the same happened (I tried about 3 times).. :blink: So I emailed Avolites Support, and got an out of office reply from Nick saying he had left Avolites, and that someone would contact me shortly (this was at about 1.20pm). I still havent recieved a reply, but am now getting a bit concerned as we have a show on Thursday and need the desk set up and running tomorrow afternoon at the latest. So, I was wondering if any of the Avo Gurus such as Niclights and Emma know whats wrong and how to fix it?:DLooks like MagicQ PC and MagicDMX might have to save the day again!! Thanks, Much Appreciated! :** laughs out loud **: :** laughs out loud **: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I'm surprised you haven't picked up the phone yet. It's always the quickest way. If at all possible do it now. I'm sure there will still be people there for a while yet. Probably best to try getting through to software. They'll appreciate me saying that. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 http://www.avolites.org.uk/support/support.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 ANY desk not booting the OS properly or at all in your case, definitely warrants a phone call. Don't be afraid to call someone at a Manufacturer when there is a problem. After all they happily took your money when you bought the product, this not only paid for it but it allowed you the right to call and ask for after support. In this case, I would call Avo Direct first thing tomorrow, explain the problem and express your concern. Avo are pretty good for support and customer relations (I found this out recently myself) so I would be willing to guess that you will have some sort of solution by the end of tomorrow should you act fast. I know how much of a worry desk woes can be ;-) Hope it all gets sorted... Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Just worth mentioning that it could be better to get one of the technical staff to make contact with Avo, even if they pass the call to you. You won't be there for ever, and if they need a school contact, it really needs to be one of the staff, not the students. There could also be a cost implication at some point, so when they offer to do something, you might not pick up on the fact that you just committed the school to spending money, and it could get very awkward. At my old college, a student did very similar things with a Strand control, and the thing that he couldn't get to work turned out to be the fact that kaleidoscope wasn't installed. They asked if this was something he'd find useful and they could give him the code over the phone as it was important, and send the floppys the next day in the post. He said yes. The floppys arrived next day with his name on it c/o perf arts dept. One of my colleagues found them in her pigeon hole and gave him the disks. He got it up and running that afternoon, and although I was away, all went well and the lights went flashy flashy with the midi input working nicely. Next week, the invoice arrived - and it wasn't cheap. His name in the order number box. He didn't know these kind of upgrades were not free - they didn't know they had talked to a student who wasn't authorised to place orders. I'm glad I was away, because my colleague got the flack from this - simply because she gave him the floppys. She had no idea about this kind of thing. Just take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Hill07 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 +1 for picking up the phone. No better way of contacting someone than speaking straight to them.. anything can go wrong with emails, but if your talking to someone in the flesh it's always easier to get your point across too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lampyfromliverpool Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I've emailed Lee in Repairs with the URL to this thread. It sounds like the battery on the motherboard in your Tiger is running flat which is causing the license data to be lost. Lee's the expert in terms of hardware faults though, so if you ring him he'll help you confirm my half baked theory over the phone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaThompson Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sorry Max our internet speed has been pretty diabolical for 2 days whilst changing systems - so although I got the email notification of a PM I haven't been able to reply :( Never be afraid to give us a call - licensing problems like this you need to speak directly to the Lee or Tommy in service about, call the office on 0208 965 8522. We also have out of hours numbers on the website :) You can also email any of us direct - our contact details are on our website, or mine if you ever need help is emma@avolites.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Hi EmmaAre Avolites normally happy to deal directly with students, on behalf of a school, or would you prefer to deal with teachers for the reasons listed above, to avoid any unpleasantness regarding bills being racked up by unauthorized students? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjones2000 Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone - really helpful! The urgency is now gone due to the hire company (who is supplying the lighting and also the lighting technician) have thrown a Pearl into the package for free (which is nice!), so I dont need to worry about fixing ours until next week B-) Just worth mentioning that it could be better to get one of the technical staff to make contact with Avo, even if they pass the call to you. You won't be there for ever, and if they need a school contact, it really needs to be one of the staff, not the students. There could also be a cost implication at some point, so when they offer to do something, you might not pick up on the fact that you just committed the school to spending money, and it could get very awkward. At my old college, a student did very similar things with a Strand control, and the thing that he couldn't get to work turned out to be the fact that kaleidoscope wasn't installed. They asked if this was something he'd find useful and they could give him the code over the phone as it was important, and send the floppys the next day in the post. He said yes. The floppys arrived next day with his name on it c/o perf arts dept. One of my colleagues found them in her pigeon hole and gave him the disks. He got it up and running that afternoon, and although I was away, all went well and the lights went flashy flashy with the midi input working nicely. Next week, the invoice arrived - and it wasn't cheap. His name in the order number box. He didn't know these kind of upgrades were not free - they didn't know they had talked to a student who wasn't authorised to place orders. I'm glad I was away, because my colleague got the flack from this - simply because she gave him the floppys. She had no idea about this kind of thing. Just take care. Thanks Paul, I hadnt thought of that!! That could have proved to be expensive.. :D I've emailed Lee in Repairs with the URL to this thread. It sounds like the battery on the motherboard in your Tiger is running flat which is causing the license data to be lost. Lee's the expert in terms of hardware faults though, so if you ring him he'll help you confirm my half baked theory over the phone! Thanks Lampyfromliverpool, thats really kind of you, I'll drop him a phonecall either friday or monday. Thanks!! Sorry Max our internet speed has been pretty diabolical for 2 days whilst changing systems - so although I got the email notification of a PM I haven't been able to reply :( Never be afraid to give us a call - licensing problems like this you need to speak directly to the Lee or Tommy in service about, call the office on 0208 965 8522. We also have out of hours numbers on the website :) You can also email any of us direct - our contact details are on our website, or mine if you ever need help is emma@avolites.com. No problem Emma :) Thanks for the phone number and email - I'll give them a ring in the next few days. Thanks again!!! :D Thankyou everyone for your help - its really kind :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Hi EmmaAre Avolites normally happy to deal directly with students, on behalf of a school, or would you prefer to deal with teachers for the reasons listed above, to avoid any unpleasantness regarding bills being racked up by unauthorized students? Cheers Hi David: I can't speak for Avolites as it's been many, many years since I did Tech Support for them in the Middle East, however from a Tech Support perspective, I wouldn't ever have been concerned about who it was that was calling me, as long as it was someone that knew the console and could therefore understand and carry out the instruction that I was giving them. Student or Teacher wouldn't matter, the interest lies in getting the problem resolved to an acceptable conclusion for all, with the priority being the show going up. Assuming that the issue was one that was affecting a current production. As for bills being racked up, I'm not sure that I follow. In cases of tech support calls, then the only cost involved is that of the phone call, and wherever I have been in the world (often using temporary pre-pay phones) most console manufacturers have always been happy to call me back if the credit ran out or if I explained that I was using someone elses phone. The only time costs would be incurred would be if the console needed to be RTM'd or if parts were needing to be shipped out, in either case a Purchase Order would likely be required and so the ability of a student to incur costs on behalf of a school should be extremely limited. Cheers Smiffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaThompson Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Hi Max - Glad you're sorted! Don't hestiate to get in contact with Lee on Friday to get your desk sorted though :) David/Smiffy - tech support is always free of charge - I really can't believe that there are companies out there who would charge for helping people out?! If a console needs repairing, in terms of parts or labour, then yes there may well be costs involved, but you would always be told about this prior to anything being charged! Like Smiffy says, anyone that knows the desk is welcome to call up - if the student knows the console, it's often better them calling us up than a teacher with buying power who knows nothing about what any of the buttons do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior8 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Like Smiffy says, anyone that knows the desk is welcome to call up - if the student knows the console, it's often better them calling us up than a teacher with buying power who knows nothing about what any of the buttons do. Sorry but speaking as an ex Teacher and HOD, that simply isn't, and legally can't be, the case. There is no way a school student or indeed any kind of student should be ringing suppliers about and/or entering codes in equipment owned by their institution. Full stop. They may well have more knowledge - and when I was school student in the 1970s I certainly did - but that isn't the point. It isn't their equipment and they have no legal responsibility for it. Frankly if there is not a member of staff on the premises who is capable of dealing with the issues then perhaps they shouldn't have the equipment at all. If I was still in teaching and found that any firm had been giving technical support on my gear direct to a 16 year old there would be hell to pay. And while you may not charge for technical support another may well - and assume that the person phoning is entitled to make a financial commitment. The unexpected charge situation Paul outlined may not be common in this field but I can recall a preservation charity being let in for a very big bill in very similar circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 It isn't their equipment and they have no legal responsibility for it By that logic then I should never have updated or regressed any software on any of the Moving Lights or Consoles that I have ever rented. It was never owned by me, and the legal responsibility for it was the hirer's, usually my client. When dealing with the major brand manufacturers, I would be shocked to discover that any of them should charge for over the phone support. I would be equally surprised to find any that were not willing to assist any user that calls up with an issue. Re-Activating a console is a fairly straight forward process, although far faster if the person you are talking to doesn't need to have the location and the purpose of each button explained to them over the phone. In the case of re-activating a Tiger, then I fail to see how it should matter whether a student or anyone else should do it. If the console is not working, then without being a complete and utter moron, there's little that they can do by entering a code to make it work less. Cheers Smiffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 It's not so much the support being charged for - this is almost always free, but the status of the person you are talking to is actually quite important for other reasons. If while carrying out tech support procedures a client actually makes the situation worse, then in normal circumstances, you would assume that your liability would be limited, because the person was an adult and had to accept personal responsibility. How about if the control was actually fine, and the attempt to fix it wasn't actually necessary, and as a result it put the control out of action, and they had to hire one in. If you were speaking to a pupil, they have no responsibility at all, so could the school claim off you for their loss, because you provided information, with the best intentions, to somebody who had no business doing this. I'm not saying this was the case in this example - but it's potential for problems seems pretty solid. No proble with dealing with the staff, who then put the student onto the phone - but then the teacher has accepted responsibility, haven't they? It's been suggested that a battery backup issue is at the heart of the control dumping the software - but at some point in the conversation this would seem to entail expense of some kind, and is the student authorised to respond by saying "Ok, we'll send it to you". Obviously Avo are happy talking to the students - and that's credit to them, but there are risks, as we've been discussing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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