If you enter your product key in Surfer or Grapher, click Activate, and get an error saying the license string could not be saved, this article will help you resolve it in a few simple steps and explain why it happens.
The error you’ll see
When you enter your product key to activate, an activation error occurs and you see this error message:
Error encountered during activation. The activation is complete, but the license string could not be saved. For assistance, please click the ‘Create support file’ link below and contact Golden Software support.
This most often happens when:
You've just installed Surfer or Grapher on a new computer, especially a newer laptop, or
You're re-activating after installing recent Windows updates.
Why this happens
Perpetual licenses for Surfer and Grapher are tied to a hardware “fingerprint” on your computer. On many existing licenses, part of that fingerprint is based on your computer's network (Ethernet) adapter. Two recent changes have made that fingerprint harder for the license to read:
A Windows security update released in late 2025 / early 2026 changed how Windows reports certain hardware identifiers, including the network adapter your license relies on.
Many newer laptops no longer include built-in Ethernet hardware at all, so the identifier the license expects simply isn't there.
When the software can't read that value, it has nothing to lock the license to, so the license string can't be saved.
How to fix it
This issue currently requires help from our Customer Success team, although we are working to implement a self service tool in the near feature. For now, here are the steps to get this resolved:
Click the Create support file link (bottom-right of the activation dialog where you saw the error) and save the .zip file.
Contact our Customer Success team at support.goldensoftware.com, fill out the web form and let them know you're getting the “license string could not be saved” error on a new computer or with a recent Windows update. Make sure to attach the support .zip file from the previous step.
Our Customer Success team will issue you a replacement license so you can continue using your license normally. The new license will have a new product key and support code, but everything else about the license will be exactly the same (including the expiration date and version of software you are entitled to). This license will also replace your original license in your Golden Software My Account.
Related articles
- Activate your Golden Software products
- Solutions to activation error messages
- Getting set up guide for installation and licensing
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