Topic: Technical Support Sucks (Isn't Any)!!!! (Read 4461 times)

jodoan1 · « **on:** January 30, 2002, 01:13:53 pm »

This is ridiculous that I have to post to these forums in order to get support on this software. I backed up my license as told to do so, I rebuild my machine, restore the license and then I am asked everytime I start as to whether I want to buy it. What a load of crap!!! On top of that, the website says $9.95 to upgrade from version 5. I upgraded, paid, $24.95 and still problems. I guess, I will have to deal with my credit card company to have the charges removed. All I wanted was a little technical support!! Is that so much to ask??

RAVMAN · « **Reply #1 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:21:33 pm »

Support is rather good here IMO.

KingSparta · « **Reply #2 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:22:33 pm »

RAVMAN

I agree

Gatobrit · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:22:46 pm »

I take it you moved your license file to a floppy and the restore failed?

kitfox · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:26:20 pm »

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>This is ridiculous that I have to post to these forums

I disagree. I think that you'll find that most people here prefer getting help from the compaany CEO and other employees, as well as from countless fellow users to listening to some script-reading "tech support" flunky. In fact, it was a major facter for many of us in chosing to use this program.

During the past year and a half of reading this interact board, I've seen many many people who've come here to ask for help get that help, both from fellow users and company employees. Sometimes this even happens when the person asking for assistance starts out heavy on the threats and sarcasm. Sometimes.

Did you check the FAQ or do a search of this site for issues relating to liscense restoring problems?

Michael

Doof · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:49:50 pm »

Yeah, I think if you'll give it a chance, you'll find the tech support here to be very good. Rather than, as MHorton described it, a script-reading flunky, you get to talk to the people who actually wrote the software, and a lot of knowledgeable users, many of whom have extensive PC knowledge.

Of course, you have to remember the old saying "Garbage in, garbage out." People here will only treat you with as much respect as you treat them.

alan ([former member] in disguise? - same MO) should take a lesson from that.

But regarding your particular problem... some things that have factored into this in the past...

Was the license being restored from a floppy disk? For some reason it sometimes works better if it is.
Have you tried uninstalling MJ and then reinstalling it and then restoring the license from a floppy?

What version of Media Jukebox are you trying to restore your license to?
What's the name of the license file?

KingSparta · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2002, 01:59:41 pm »

I think he was not running version 5 when he tryed to upgrade

and since it was not registered, maybe due to a problem with his registration file it made him pay.

I think I would have noticed a diffrence between $9.98 and $24.98

if he was sent a registration file i wonder what it is called, and what version he is now running.

it is kind of hard to tell with no info to help

Doof · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:24:36 pm »

"KingSparta is really JimH."
And you're apparently really [former member]. Only he keeps posting things (over and over and over) that the forum moderator obviously doesn't want here.

"P.S. I do not flame unless flamed upon first"
I seem to recall being called "Doofish" without provocation. My only input into the thread was to point out that Microsoft also beta tests software.

Oh, yeah, I did say something about not understanding anything that [former member] ever said. If you consider that a flame against you, then you just proved my first point.

But to address your other "point" and zenith's (are you him to?)

How do you know what kind of process goes on behind JRiver doors? How do you know that there isn't a very formal bug database that is added to with every build release? And why would you think that programming yet another piece of software that is somehow supposed to execute keystrokes and see the results? Do you have any idea how long that would take? And how nearly impossible? Not to mention that you'd have to make sure this magic bug testing software would have to be bug free. So you'd need to write another piece of software to help debug the debugging software. And it would still fail unless you had it running on all of the many PC configurations that are being used by the userbase.

KingSparta · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:27:48 pm »

>>KingSparta is really JimH. He deletes your messages and sculpts his own forum. Not real

JimH I did not get my pay check this week, What'ssss Uppppp?

john · « **Reply #9 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:30:38 pm »

From R&D Innovator Volume 3, Number 10 October 1994
The War of the Words...

"When I think of communications problems, I think of the tough-as-tumbleweed jailer in the classic Paul Newman film, Cool Hand Luke, who explained the facts of life to Luke (Newman), a newly arrived convict who had been arrested for unscrewing the heads of parking meters. From behind his mirrored sunglasses, the jailer drawled words that were simple, direct, and oddly appropriate to the present discussion: "What we have here--is a failure to communicate.

The prison guard knew he had to subdue Luke's independent streak if he wanted to communicate that his word was law. In business we see four types of communication barriers: 1) the words themselves, 2) the frame of reference the parties use, 3) the interpersonal connections between the parties, and 4) attitudes between departments."

KingSparta · « **Reply #10 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:33:11 pm »

>>The War of the Words...
I have the movie, and the original radio show in mp3 format

JimH · « **Reply #11 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:41:25 pm »

Let's give the guy(s) a chance to see if he can find his meds.

Charlemagne 8 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 30, 2002, 02:46:33 pm »

Thanks Alan for the dictionary link. It helped.

>"I do not flame unless flamed upon first. I would really prefer to be constructive."

Not so buddy-o. Seems like you flamed first by being personally insulting to the sycophants. Made poor Doof change his name to Stoopid Dummy Head.

If you don't like how things are run, please go away.

Main Entry: sy.co.phant
Pronunciation: -f&nt also -"fant
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin sycophanta slanderer, swindler, from Greek sykophantEs slanderer, from sykon fig |PLS| phainein to show -- more at FANCY
Date: 1575
: a servile self-seeking flatterer
synonym see PARASITE

- sycophant adjective

KingSparta · « **Reply #13 on:** January 30, 2002, 03:02:49 pm »

>>Let's give the guy(s) a chance to see if he can find his meds.
He might be out of meds, it might be a long night for him

AndrewD · « **Reply #14 on:** January 30, 2002, 03:14:00 pm »

With all due respect to the "regulars" here as well as the JRiver employees, if you guys avoided the cutesy replies to the flames or the rude people and just responded to legitimate requests for help, I'm pretty sure a lot more would get done.

I did a completely and admittedly unscientific count in the forum of the number of posts that have received 0 replies in the past few days; that number is well over 20. Translation: at least 20 instances of people asking for help have gone answered (2 of which are mine, by the way). I am being both patient and polite because:
a) I want this program to work - it seems better than anything else despite the fact that it does confusing and undocumented things on a regular basis
b) I paid my $25 already and am not inclined to walk away from that investment.

However, a bit less yucks around the forum and bit more answering the requests for help would surely make us "non-regulars" much happier PAYING CUSTOMERS of this company's product.

KingSparta · « **Reply #15 on:** January 30, 2002, 03:21:08 pm »

AndrewD

I did notice your question, sounds more like a MS question..

only found one from you

doof a "bar fly" also has a unanswered quesion.

JimH · « **Reply #16 on:** January 30, 2002, 03:25:18 pm »

AndrewD,
> a bit less yucks around the forum and bit more answering the requests

Ever watch M.A.S.H.? The reason I ask, is that it's a lot like that here. Everyone comes in wounded, sometimes screaming with pain. Humor keeps us going.

Sorry if you didn't get your question answered. It usually happens when nobody knows the answer. Sometimes it happens because we just miss the post. When it happens, add a blank reply to "bump" it to the top.

Scronch · « **Reply #17 on:** January 30, 2002, 04:01:59 pm »

> a bit less yucks around the forum and bit more answering the requests for help would surely make us "non-regulars" much happier...

A bit less whining would surely make me happier.

Scronch

Harry The Hipster · « **Reply #18 on:** January 30, 2002, 05:29:57 pm »

Man has a point.

HTH

AndrewD · « **Reply #19 on:** January 30, 2002, 05:56:40 pm »

JimH: I understand completely the need for humor, and I don't begrudge the levity among the folks who have built up relationships helping each other out here. My point was simply that in the absence of any other way to seek help for a product that I purchased, it was frustrating to see threads of jibes and inside jokes growing while legitimate requests for help went unanswered. Since this is a mostly "volunteer army" doing the helping here, I tried to be polite about it; if I was too heavy-handed, I apologize (except to Scronch ....). As for my earlier unanswered post, I will do as you suggest and "bump" it to the top again.

I also understand that in some cases, no one has a clue what the answer might be. Diagnosing software is not as straightforward as troubleshooting a dishwasher - too many variables. If that's the case, perhaps a quick reply saying so would be more helpful than no reply.

Doof: Thank you for your assistance - your suggestion worked. I can safely say that never in a million years would I have thought of looking where you suggested - I just do not know the registry well enough to have thought of it. I appreciate you taking the time to find a solution to my problem.

Doof · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2002, 06:04:20 pm »

Hey, no problem.

I think you'll find that people here do their best to help out as much as they can. It just gets really busy in here around beta time, and I think a lot of people get so wrapped up in the beta testing that we don't read as many of the other posts as we usually do. At least I know that's how it's been for me. Plus I've been really busy at work, and I've been trying really hard to finish up the work I need to do to attain my Divemaster rating. I've become an MJ addict as of late, spending more time trying out new features, suggesting new ones, and reporting bugs than I have doing what I should be doing... I actually feel like I spend too much time here sometimes. Next Page

But yeah, generally if your post goes unanswered, it's because it either got lost in the rush or because nobody knows the answer. Either way, just bump it up every so often and sooner or later, somebody will take a stab at it.

AndrewD · « **Reply #21 on:** January 30, 2002, 06:08:31 pm »

Ahhhhh .... a fellow diver. You can always count on a compressed air addict to come through.

Cheers.

Doof · « **Reply #22 on:** January 30, 2002, 06:55:49 pm »

Hey, it's nice to know I'm not alone here. Next Page

Let's see how addicted you are...

Do any ice diving this year? Next Page

Scronch · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2002, 07:29:20 pm »

I must vehemently object to the inside diver commentary being professed herein. Nay, it adds nothing to the humorless solution of the various participants' problems.

>if I was too heavy-handed, I apologize (except to Scronch ....).

That's OK, you're probably a 49ers fan, anyway.

>I also understand that in some cases, no one has a clue what the answer might be. ...
>If that's the case, perhaps a quick reply saying so would be more helpful than no reply.

Well, now that's just plain silly. Think about it. How is someone supposed to know that no one has a clue? And if every reader replies with "duh, I dunno", this forum will be totally unusable. Even if all the JRiver guys reply, it'll be a mess. I think you've earned this award (Don't take it personally; I'm still PO'd about the Packers...)

Regarding that diving stuff, I'm a diver of sorts myself. I posted a link to the lyrics of a nice song about it, but JimH decided they didn't belong here.

Scronch

kitfox · « **Reply #24 on:** January 30, 2002, 07:54:17 pm »

hey!

knock it off, darn it!!

I'm tired of sifting through all this levity and utter nonsense!!!

when all I want to do is come here and read page after page after freakin' page

of people asking for solutions to the same old problems

(that could be answered a hundred times over by conducting a site search--or even by looking for a nearby thread with the same name)

or posts complaining about things

(that could be answered a hundred times over by conducting a site search--or even by looking for a nearby thread with the same name)

e.g. very next-day thread called "No technical support!"

Without all this extracurricular activity, this forum has the potential to read just like Microsoft's fine Knowledge Base of technical articles

(see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;kbinfo)

and keep in mind, many others are quite happy with Microsoft tech support

see, for example http://www.bmug.org/news/articles/MSvsPF.html (a study which found that MS tech support compared favorably with the Psychic Friends Network in troubleshooting problems with MS products over the phone--their conclusion: "In terms of technical expertise, we found that a Microsoft technician using Knowledge Base was about as helpful as a Psychic Friends reader using Tarot Cards.")

Based upon my own experience with MS tech support, I'd have to concur with the findings of the above research, but I'd have to say that the tech support at Roxio, ACDSee, Real Jukebox and Roadrunner (cable internet access) would not fare anywhere near as well.

Michael

Scronch · « **Reply #25 on:** January 30, 2002, 08:33:49 pm »

Yeah, what he said!

jodoan1 · « **Reply #26 on:** January 31, 2002, 01:51:02 am »

Sorry for the strong words. I was and still am a frustrated individual. I am still having problems restoring my license.

Here is the story:

I am running Windows 2000
I have an IBM T20 laptop with PIII 600 MHZ, 256MB RAM, 20GB HD.
I loaded Media Jukebox v5.x (came with my NexII Player)
I upgraded to MJ 7.2 and bought the license
I had to reimage my machine (Started with fresh install of 2000)
I reloaded MJ7.2
I restored License and I still got prompts asking me to purchase
I upgraded to MJ8.x because I thought it would help
I have removed MJ8.x
I reinstalled MJ7.2
I restored the license from FLOPPY
I still have problems.

If I go to the purchase screen, all of my personal and credit card information are stored.

JimH · « **Reply #27 on:** January 31, 2002, 03:38:45 am »

Try erasing info in the buy button section. Right where you'd normally enter a credit card.

Then try the restore again.

Doof · « **Reply #28 on:** January 31, 2002, 04:57:42 am »

Here's the ultimate Microsoft Knowledge Base article. I suggest you all read it immediately.

http://www.microsoft.com&item%3Dq209354@hardware.no/nyheter/feb01/Q209354%20-%20HOWTO.htm

kitfox · « **Reply #29 on:** January 31, 2002, 06:36:51 am »

Doof

Funny. Did you write that?

jodoan1

do a site search for license issues. in the past, other with this problem have found that characters in the .rrg file were corrupted or something, and they were able to easily make changes by using a text editor. I don't remember the details, so you might try a search using "license" and "edit text" (or something similar, but without the quotation marks). I hope you get the problem solved, and if so, hopefully you'll be one more voice here to help others in the future.

Michael

Doof · « **Reply #30 on:** January 31, 2002, 08:50:24 am »

No, I didn't write it.

jodoan1> If you do decide to try and fix your license, make sure you make a backup copy first in case the one you're working on get's hopelessly screwed up.

Scronch · « **Reply #31 on:** January 31, 2002, 09:04:46 am »

Doof,

RTFM was one of our favorite responses when I was an IBM SE.

jodoan1, I hope you find the problem; do follow Doof's advice about making a back up. I'd make three.

Scronch

jodoan1 · « **Reply #32 on:** February 01, 2002, 09:01:04 am »

I've found the simplest way to solve the problem was to buy the program again. $50 invested now. Oh well....

Thanks everyone who tried to help!

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: Technical Support Sucks (Isn't Any)!!!! (Read 4461 times)

jodoan1

RAVMAN

kitfox

john

AndrewD

Scronch

Harry The Hipster

AndrewD

AndrewD

Scronch

kitfox

Scronch

jodoan1

kitfox

Scronch

jodoan1