Trouble activating MS Reader

Elfwreck · 05-23-2009, 08:33 PM

Decided I should break down & install MS reader so I can get freebie Harlequin romances (from the normal site, not the 17 freebies for their 60th anniversary).

It's not working.

Steps:
--Go to eHarlequin.com. Put books in cart. Click "checkout."
--It says I have to install/activate MS Reader. Click link.
--Download Reader. Install.
--Open. Click "Activate."
--It tells me my browser doesn't support activation.
--Dither for a bit, before copying URL into Internet Explorer 6 instead of Firefox.
--It demands a "passport."
--Create MS Passport account. Agree to several who-knows-what TOS's that have nothing to do with ebooks.
--Login with Passport account.
--Click "Activate" again.
--Says I need ActiveX something-or-other, but doesn't tell me how to install it.
--Close several windows; re-open & attempt again.
--Says I need ActiveX again. This time, IE pops up a "download blocked!" bar, that asks if I want to install ActiveX. Yes, I suppose I do.
--Click "Activate" again.
--It gives me a short, quick Progress bar, and after about 20 seconds, it says "Activation components have been successfully downloaded to your device and installed."
--Go back to eHarlequin. Logout. Log in. Click "check out."
--It says I need to activate Reader to get MS Lit books.
--Repeat several aspects of this, several times.

What am I doing wrong?

ETA: Nevermind. Nowhere at eHarlequin does it indicate you must use Internet Explorer to download MS Lit ebooks. Activate, yes. Download, no.

No wonder ebooks are a niche market; the DRM "security" features are beyond ridiculous.

Nate the great · 05-23-2009, 08:36 PM

Before you went back to the site, did you restart your computer?

AnemicOak · 05-23-2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

ETA: Nevermind. Nowhere at eHarlequin does it indicate you must use Internet Explorer to download MS Lit ebooks. Activate, yes. Download, no.

No wonder ebooks are a niche market; the DRM "security" features are beyond ridiculous.

Yep, all DRM is a PITA. I had the same problem when I first started downloading LITs. It's the only thing I use IE for.

Elfwreck · 05-23-2009, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Before you went back to the site, did you restart your computer?

Found the problem: Harlequin's idiot message "you have not activated Microsoft Reader" will happen on any non-IE browser; they don't know how to tell the difference between "your browser won't work for this download" and "your computer doesn't allow this download."

koland · 05-28-2009, 03:59 PM

I can't activate Reader at all - the activation server is apparently down (what, they have only one?). Support said to try again after 24 hours ....

Let's see, I can read it in ereader format now, on the kindle in seconds, but MS wants me to activate the reader, but has a 24 hour wait for the server to _maybe_ come back online and let me do so.

zerospinboson · 05-29-2009, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koland

I can't activate Reader at all - the activation server is apparently down (what, they have only one?). Support said to try again after 24 hours ....

Let's see, I can read it in ereader format now, on the kindle in seconds, but MS wants me to activate the reader, but has a 24 hour wait for the server to _maybe_ come back online and let me do so.

Same here.

05-23-2009, 08:33 PM	#1
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,185 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	Trouble activating MS Reader Decided I should break down & install MS reader so I can get freebie Harlequin romances (from the normal site, not the 17 freebies for their 60th anniversary). It's not working. Steps: --Go to eHarlequin.com. Put books in cart. Click "checkout." --It says I have to install/activate MS Reader. Click link. --Download Reader. Install. --Open. Click "Activate." --It tells me my browser doesn't support activation. --Dither for a bit, before copying URL into Internet Explorer 6 instead of Firefox. --It demands a "passport." --Create MS Passport account. Agree to several who-knows-what TOS's that have nothing to do with ebooks. --Login with Passport account. --Click "Activate" again. --Says I need ActiveX something-or-other, but doesn't tell me how to install it. --Close several windows; re-open & attempt again. --Says I need ActiveX again. This time, IE pops up a "download blocked!" bar, that asks if I want to install ActiveX. Yes, I suppose I do. --Click "Activate" again. --It gives me a short, quick Progress bar, and after about 20 seconds, it says "Activation components have been successfully downloaded to your device and installed." --Go back to eHarlequin. Logout. Log in. Click "check out." --It says I need to activate Reader to get MS Lit books. --Repeat several aspects of this, several times. What am I doing wrong? ETA: Nevermind. Nowhere at eHarlequin does it indicate you must use Internet Explorer to download MS Lit ebooks. Activate, yes. Download, no. No wonder ebooks are a niche market; the DRM "security" features are beyond ridiculous. Last edited by Elfwreck; 05-23-2009 at 08:43 PM.

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05-23-2009, 08:36 PM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Before you went back to the site, did you restart your computer?

05-28-2009, 03:59 PM	#5
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	I can't activate Reader at all - the activation server is apparently down (what, they have only one?). Support said to try again after 24 hours .... Let's see, I can read it in ereader format now, on the kindle in seconds, but MS wants me to activate the reader, but has a 24 hour wait for the server to _maybe_ come back online and let me do so.

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