Visual Studio 2013 - Dreamspark - License Expiring

Question

Hi,

My copy of Visual Studio 2013 which is licensed through Microsoft's Dreamspark program says it is expiring in 1 day.  I have been advised by Dreamspark support that the license is only valid on 2 machines (and I have it installed on 3).

Is there any way of deactivating the license on one of my machines?  

I'm assuming this is why I am receiving the activation error, I couldn't think of any other reason.

Thanks

Answer 1

 I have been advised by Dreamspark support that the license is only valid on 2 machines (and I have it installed on 3).

Is there any way of deactivating the license on one of my machines?  

There is no way to deactivate a license at user level. If you uninstall an instance of VS, there is no notification to the licensing system.

You best bet is to uninstall one VS instance, then contact DreamSpark for assistance with licensing your (now) second instance.

It seems to me that they (DreamSpark) could listen to your situation and simply allow you to get a second license after you uninstall VS from one computer, but I have no access to their system, and so, cannot help further.

Answer 2

Noe that with the free Visual Studio 2013 Community Edition, I see little reason for sticking with the Dreamspark version.

Answer 3

Hello, Samlighty.

Brian Muth makes an excellent point. Why hassle with DreamSpark when you can download the VS 2013 Community Edition free? The Community Edition has the same functionality as the Professional Edition, so it should work fine for you.

Be aware, however, that you cannot install both the Community Edition and the Professional Edition on the same machine, so you would have to remove the Professional Edition before installing the Community Edition.