Problem: Unable to activate or renew a SurveyGold subscription or register a SurveyGold application
- You register your SurveyGold application, but an error message appears.
- You successfully enter your activation code to register your SurveyGold application, but the expected expiration date does not appear in the About SurveyGold panel in your SurveyGold application.
- You received an email notification indicating that your SurveyGold subscription has been renewed, but the new expiration date does not appear in the About SurveyGold panel of your SurveyGold application.
- You are a team user with an Ultimate subscription, but the About SurveyGold panel in your SurveyGold application does not reflect this.
- You attempt to purchase a SurveyGold subscription renewal and receive an error message.
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #1: Proxy Server
If you are in an institutional setting where your computer is managed by information technology staff, then ask them the following question (even if you do not understand what you are asking):
- Do we use a proxy server to access the Internet?
(Note: A proxy server in your computer network allows computers like yours to access the Internet.)
- What is the proxy server TCP/IP address?
(Note: The address is a series of numbers separated by three periods.) - What is the proxy server port number?
- What are the username and password (if any) used to gain access to the proxy server?
- Launch the SurveyGold application.
- Select Help in the SurveyGold application toolbar.
- Select Change Application Preferences.
- Select the Proxy Server tab. Ensure that the proxy server settings are correct and select OK.
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #2: Firewall on Your Computer
A security setting on your computer may prevent the SurveyGold application from communicating with the surveygold.com subscription server via the Internet.
The most likely culprit is firewall software running on your computer. Some firewall programs interpret SurveyGold's attempt to access the Internet as suspicious, blocking its attempt to connect with the SurveyGold online services server via the Internet.
To resolve this, access your firewall software and create rules to allow the following programs to access the Internet, both outbound and inbound.
- surveygold.exe
- rteng9.exe
- update.exe
- Windows 32-bit: "C:\Program Files\SurveyGold"
- Windows 64-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SurveyGold"
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #3: Antivirus
Another likely culprit is antivirus software running on your computer. Some antivirus programs interpret SurveyGold's attempt to access the Internet as suspicious, blocking its attempt to connect with the SurveyGold online services server via the Internet.
To resolve this, access your antivirus software and create rules to allow the following programs to access the Internet, both outbound and inbound.
- surveygold.exe
- rteng9.exe
- update.exe
- Windows 32-bit: "C:\Program Files\SurveyGold"
- Windows 64-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SurveyGold"
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #4: Corporate Firewall on Your Company Network
If you are in an institutional setting where your company moderates your access to the Internet, the SurveyGold websites could be blocked by a corporate firewall. Contact your IT support staff and ensure that the following websites are not blocked:
- surveygold.com IP address: 206.72.194.40
- surveygoldcloud.com IP address: 206.72.194.52
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #5: Missing Windows Operating System Component
Another factor could be the absence of a key Microsoft Windows software component related to a technology known as XML. Please download and install msxml.msi from the Microsoft website as follows:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15697
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #6: Administrator Privileges Required for SurveyGold Application
If you are in an institutional setting where your company moderates your access to the Internet, the SurveyGold application could be restricted from accessing the Internet due to the application running with too low a security privilege as defined by a network administrator.
Work with your IT support staff to elevate the application to run using Administrator privileges. This can be done by having your IT support staff affect the security settings on these two applications:
- surveygold.exe
- update.exe
- Windows 32-bit: "C:\Program Files\SurveyGold"
- Windows 64-bit: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SurveyGold"
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE #7: User Account Control Settings Need to Be Relaxed
The root cause may be attributable to a Windows security feature called User Account Control (UAC). UAC is why Windows sometimes prompt you to ask if you are sure you want to open specific applications.
UAC can be set to stringent levels (where it pessimistically blocks interactions between applications and questions many of your choices to launch applications) or very relaxed levels (where you hardly even know it's there but still monitor application activity).
The issue may be resolved by setting UAC to a more relaxed setting than its current setting. This is done via the Windows Control Panel.
Changing UAC settings is not usually required to resolve this issue. However, due to security settings in your computing environment, changing this setting may prove to be the difference-maker.