When buying a used original Cubase install disk without...

…without a dongle or registration code to make Cubase actually run, what is the proper procedure to obtain both an activation code, dongle and/or license transfer process?

These are supposed to be ‘original’ & ‘legitimate’ install disks of various versions of Cubase. Where these specifically came from and what happened to their dongles & codes I have no clue, they never said. If one buys such a legitimate Cubase install disk for basically peanuts, what does it cost to then get a dongle, activation code and/or license transfer?

The only thing that matters is having a dongle with a license on it. It’s the license that you would buy from whomever. Have a look at the how to sell Cubase wizard on the SB website.

There is no need to purchase Cubase install disks. They are available from the support team. Anyone selling Cubase disks without a license to go along is just ripping people off. They may as well be selling blank, but unwriteable CDs for all the value they offer.

Ah thanks Steve.I.C, possibly whoever originally bought these various Cubase versions may have copied their own disks, kept that, along with their USB dongles/lisences & of course activation codes.

I gather from what you’re saying is that, IF you ALREADY have a legitimate license/activation code, it’s only THEN can you actually download the various Cubase install programs (?). And someone who does not currently have say, a certain version of Cubase cannot just go to Steinberg’s website & purchase any version of Cubase ‘less than’ Cubase 7, along with a license, activation code, dongle etc…
As a specific example of the above, say one has a Cubase legacy version VST 4 or 5, and they want to get the much newer Cubase but not current version of 4, 5, or even 6…I’m assuming that a legacy user cannot just go to Steinbergs site & purchase any of those newer/non current versions…THAT IS, unless you have Cubase 7.

And IF the above is all true, can a Cubase 7 owner go and download all previous Cubase versions? Version, 6, 5, 4, all the SX versions’s, all the VST version’s …Atari? :laughing: And if THAT is so, I’m assuming that all licenses can be merged onto a single dongle (?)

Of course, I understand that if you want to run more than one version of Cubase, or even the same version of Cubase on two machines for whatever reason, you need to own 2 separate dongles/licenses… whatever THAT costs…?

One could have multiple Cubase licenses on one dongle but it is redundant because a Cubase license will allow that and all previous versions. So a user only needs a license for the most recent version of Cubase he wishes to actually use.

Another point that should be made is that once an Activation Code is used, it is also, basically, useless. Once the license is downloaded to the eLicenser, there is really no good reason to even save the Activation Code. The license is really all that matters.

HTH
J.L.

Cool thanks jaslan, I didn’t think about the redundancy thing, being one recent version license works for previous versions.

I did spend quite a lot of time sifting through the Steinberg site, it’s confusing and didn’t quite find the specific answers I was wondering about. The main one being if someone can actually purchase a license to use a slightly older version (say, ver. 5 or 6) if you do not buy/use Cubase 7.
I ran onto these original Cubase install disks for sale, and were so dirt cheap I was ‘considering’ it against what it may cost to obtain a dongle & license to run it, but if that’s just not possible…

Anyone looking for an older copy need to receive (and the seller MUST provide) either a dongle containing the license or an unused Activation Code. The latter not really easy to verify for the buyer.

Any Cubase Full license allows to run any previous Cubase Full versions down to SX. Previous VST/VST Score versions used a different system and are not included. As a Steinberg Cubase X user, one can ask Support to receive previous versions’ ISO images. Minor versions work otherwise, as the Artist/Elements, Studio / Essential and SL/SE are considered to belong to different product “ranges”.

As Steve and jaslan wrote, it is the license that matters, and is the one you pay for. So absolutely check it is provided, as disks/boxes/manuals without a license are worthless.

Thanks Fabio, ok it’s sinking in now… Steinberg simply does not/will not sell a license to someone when just buying a used Cubase install disk …and if they really want or have to have a particular previous version, one will either have to wait for one to come along, or just buy a current version and ask support for an ISO of that previous version.

No wonder they were only asking less than $10 for an install disk in it’s original case! And I guess it would only be useful to those who already have a license to run it if they don’t have an original disk for that version, as opposed to downloading an ISO from the Steinberg site.

Well, it was worth asking…and I learned something along the way.