Nothing like settling down to get some work done in Corel and the stupid thing won't start suddenly and you're greeted with this charming error message:

Product Installation Unsuccessful Please Reinstall Error 24

This is a problem we are all experiencing with the date change to June 1st, 2010 and pretty much everyone seems to be experiencing it and Corel is working on a solution as of right now.  The only solution for now is to set your PC clock to February (don't change the date or year), run the program to start it up, then change your date back.  There is a huge thread on this issue on the Corel forums and they have confirmed this is a program issue and they are working on a patch right now.  Gerard Metrailler says to keep an eye on the blogs for the patch when it's released ASAP.

I'll post an update as soon as the patch is released.

Take care!
Dan

UPDATE! Looks like if you have a demo version (which is what I have direct from Corel) or a naughty pirated version, you're SOL.  The issue doesn't seem to exist "apparently" for folks that have the regular retail edition.  You can read the official post HERE.  Looks like I'll be calling Corel tomorrow!

UPDATE 2! There is a patched dr14.dta floating around on the net that fixes the issue by replacing the old one on your system, however all known download links are no longer functional.  Please contact me if you have it (select contact the webmaster from the dropdown on the contact page)!

UPDATE 3 – Another solution!

Hey guys… ok here's a little something I just found that allows you to run an application under any date and time you specify but WITHOUT changing your actual system date.  It's called RunAsDate and it's free… unfortunately it will only run on 32 bit Windows versions so I can't use it myself as I am on 64bit Vista, but looks like a neat little app that won't mess with your system's actual date.  Check it out and download it at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/run_as_date.html

UPDATE 4 – FINAL FIX!

Thanks to everyone that has posted comments and links to the patch!  You can find it here: *link removed*

Simply overwrite the old one in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 or wherever your "All Users" is located.  In vista and Windows 7 it will be in C:\Users\All Users\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4

NOTE – If you do not see the "All Users" folder, it's because it's a hidden folder and you have your Windows Explorer set to hide hidden files and folders.  You can change that setting by going to Tools > Folder Options > View and then click on Show hidden files and folders.  Hit OK and you're good to go!

UPDATE 5 – For those of you using this fix and you have a legit version of Corel, you should still contact Corel directly to report the issue.  I just called them and they confirmed issues with buyers that purchased from legitimate big box locations, so this is a serious problem.  So please contact Corel directly if you have bought a real copy and you are having this issue, it's important.  For anyone that has a stolen/warez copy, come on guys…  help support the programmers that made this product and pony up for a legit version or haggle Corel for a NFR copy!

UPDATE 6 – Guys, just finished speaking with Corel about what's happening with my eval copy and the issue in general.  Please read my new post by clicking HERE. Please don't post links to the dta file in the comments as it's no longer needed… Corel will help anyone that is having the "error 24" issue and has proof of purchase for the software.  Just call them up and they will help you.

Hi all!  I think it's time I started paying attention to my blog again, what do you guys think?  I actually have a lot of people contact me through this site when they are trying to find me, so I think it's time for some TLC on my blog and get back in the habit.  I've been very busy in all my personal projects, but this past week and a half was the AMAZING Sideshow Spooktacular event, an online extravaganza that is very close to my heart.

For those of you that have no idea what Sideshow is or my little hobby (aka vice), let me explain Spooktacular for you a little bit… What is Spooktacular? It's Sideshow's annual Halloween and Horror online extravaganza of rotating discounts, spot giveaways, new product announcements, contests, and community interaction, plus much more!  Basically it's a week and a half of Sideshow Collectibles partying with their customers and fans in a MASSIVE online event that runs 24 hours a day for 10 entire days.  During those 10 days, they give away tens of thousands of dollars worth of prizes, announce awesome new products and we all have a blast.  The highlight of the event for me is the 10 day chat room they open up, where hundreds of fellow collectors and Sideshow enthusiasts can interact each other and compete for chat prizes via trivia contests and scavenger hunts.  It's a time for no sleep, minimal food and very little social interaction outside of the computer.  You eat, sleep and breath Sideshow, and hope that when it's over you're still alive and your wife hasn't filed divorce papers.

Some of you are probably wondering who the hell Sideshow is at this point.  For anyone that doesn't know, I collect science fiction movie collectibles, like statues and props and stuff like that from various favorite movies… I specialize in Predator related collectibles, but I also dig Terminator, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings etc.  Sideshow is probably the biggest company in the world that creates museum quality statue replicas and full size prop replicas and they are HUGELY popular for collectors like me.  So when a huge event like this comes around, you can rest assured that we go all out and try to take in as much as we can of the event.  Spooktacular is always held right before Halloween and ends on Halloween day… so the first week of November is always a brutal week for me lol!

I also do extended Spooktacular coverage on my other site, Predatorstuff.com and it's VERY busy for me while I try to post the latest Spookfest news AND keep an eye on chat and new contests etc.  It's stressing, but a lot of fun!  If you want to get a taste of what my work looks like, you can check out the Spookfest article category by clicking HERE!  You can also check out the main portal page on Sideshow's site for Spooktacular 2009 by clicking HERE.

And with Spooktacular all finished, I always put together a little written review of the event to talk about my thoughts on the event, but mostly just to thank Sideshow for spoiling us rotten and as a thank you to all my friends who hung out with me in chat over MANY long hours.  I'll be posting my review later this week, but I did toss up a quick thank you and shoutout video tonight if you're interested.

The video is available on YouTube in HD, check it out by clicking HERE!  Most of it you probably won't really understand what the heck I'm talking about, but it gives you an idea of the fun I had.

So yeah, that's where I've been for the last couple of weeks, hope everyone had a GREAT Halloween and hauled some serious candy!  I'll see you next post…

Take care,
Dan

not yet folks… soon

Happy Belated Birthday Dan <img src="style_emoticons//flowers.gif” style=”vertical-align:middle” emoid=”:flowers:” border=”0″ alt=”flowers.gif” />
hope you had a fantastic day and on behalf of everyone apologies for forgetting you.

You can put V5 up now I'm back lol

Hello gang, hope all is well in P2L land and everyone is ready for a new school year! As students head back to school and research/learning blogs increase website traffic dramatically, I want to tell you webmasters about a cool new service I was recently introduced to, with TONS of FREE content. The site is called Article Alley, and it contains literally thousands of articles and content you are free to use on your blogs and websites. In fact, they have over half a million pages of content and a network of over 90,000 authors!

One of the most critical aspects of any website is a contact stream of fresh content being posted, otherwise people will return a few times, find nothing new, then never come back again. With the increase of traffic we typically see after the summer, it's critical to keep a steady stream of content flowing on your site to grab and maintain new visitors and members. Unfortunately for many of us, we lack the time to be able to provide this steady content and this is where articlealley.com is an awesome resource. With just a couple of clicks, you can quickly find articles 100% relevant to your blog that you can use absolutely free as often as you like.

The other nice feature is the fact that you can track down favorite authors and specifically locate their articles… I was looking through their SEO articles and found a couple of awesome article writers that consistently had original ideas in their articles, not the usual "optimize Metas and get links" stuff that every SEO article in the world has.

If you do use their articles on your own website, the only rule of thumb to know is that the author information must be included with the rest of the article, which is typically a little blurb about the author and a link to their homepage at the bottom of the article. This is actually a fantastic tool for those of you that DO enjoy article writing because you can register as an author and submit YOUR articles to the database. If anyone uses your articles on THEIR blogs or websites, they have to publish your author information and link as well… this is a fantastic way to earn yourself one-way inbound links to your website.

On the other side of the coin, if you have a website but lack the time or skills to write good solid content, you can actually hire Article Alley authors to write articles specifically for you at very decent rates that don't break the bank. In fact if you order 11 or more articles, you pay $25 an article… if you've ever shopped around for content writers, you know that's a very good price.

So again, if you are looking for a HUGE database of articles that are completely free to use on your blog or website OR if you want to get in to article writing yourself, I highly recommend you check out www.articlealley.com.

Enjoy!
Dan