Where do programs 'hide' their data?

[reiss]

hi
a while ago, i downloaded a trial program to do some simple converting.
as it was a one off, there was no need to purchase the software.
the converting i did was for a friend who then lost the CD.
so, downloaded the software again, reinstalled & it told me that the trial period was over??

so, uninstalled, ran regedit & checked every entry relating to the program, deleted them. reinstalled the program - same thing, trial over.
where the hell is it hiding its data as i can t find it anywhere after extensive searching.

thanks for any help.

PS. am actually trying to convert Real audio files to wav using wisecroft ripper.

[samwichse]

Well, some of them hide it in the boot sector of the hdd (somewhere NO PROGRAM should be writing data IMO).

Arcsoft panorama maker does the same darned thing, and I've formatted, even repartitioned and it still says "trial period over." I'd suspect you'd need a hex editor or a special utitlity to completely ditch that (even fdisk /mbr won't do it).

Sam

Hey guys, I realize you're probably not meaning anything by it, but you can't discuss or ask how to circumvent what the software is designed to do.