Problem - Game won't activate or allow me to play after 3rd jan '10

I've just hit a nightmare scenario. I got to 3rd Jan in first season playing the game on my Mac and suddenly after clicking continue game, a screen came up telling me I needed to re-start the game and then activate it using a code, as though I had been playing a demo version or something. It said, "you need to activate your game to continue to play" and basically the screen became a blown-up version of the picture on the front cover of the CD box.

I installed using my FM CD. Legally bought etc. I am playing on a Mac. I had been playing without the CD in the drive, which might be something to do with it, but even once I put the CD in the drive and loaded up my save from a few days previously, it still cut out and went to this 'demo/activate' screen.

Needless to say I'm not best pleased. I can see this being a real SI classic whereby I lose all my progress and have to re-install, presumably losing the edits I have made on the editor too.

I have tried using the Steam code to activate it by clicking on the button on the bottom left of the main screen which says 'Activate' and is currently highlighted in white. However, I get an error -214.... and told it is the wrong number of keys. Which, given I am not using STEAM or connected to the internet on that computer is no surprise.

Can anybody please shed any light on this? Is there another activation code somewhere? Is this the end of my game and therefore the end of me ever playing FM ever again? I assume I am not the only person who is at the end of their tether with a company who spend a year making countless, ahem, 'improvements' but cannot even do something as basic as make the game actually work!

Help massively appreciated.

Where exactly did you get your game from?

Have you tried installig any patches?

It sounds to me that you are actually playing the demo.

Sorry, I don't know the solution, but stick your save games/edited databases on a USB or something before removing any FM files etc, just in case

I have seen and just replied on another thread I've found where somebody else seems to have had the same issue. Whereby after installing the 10.3 eseller patch, the game got to January then demanded activation. I've checked my 'game status' and it says 'not purchased' and 'not activated' so clearly there's an issue there. Just tried on a mate's Mac and holidayed through using the same patch and the same thing happened.

My questions now are, where exactly do I find my saved games and databases? And more importantly given I'm using an edited database, what will happen will I install the 'new' 10.3 patch? Will I have to re-edit it? Won't the new patch affect my edits? And crucially will my existing save game still work?

Thanks for the help.

Saved games and databases are stored away from the game files in ypur Documents folder. Ypur save hgame will be compatible with 10.3 so there should be no issues with the patch.

If you have installed the wrong patch, you will need to uninstall, reinstall and repatch, but uninstalling will not affect any of your personal settings

i,ve just purchased a copy of football manager 2009 from blockbuster,having uploaded the disc im having trouble activating the keycode.it wont activate via the internet and the phone number supplied for a phone activation is on permanent engaged tone.if any one knows what to do be happy for you to e-mail me at lancesaville@live.co.uk

download the newest patch for it. There is a link to it in the forum header. It takes away the need for activation

i,ve just purchased a copy of football manager 2009 from blockbuster,having uploaded the disc im having trouble activating the keycode.it wont activate via the internet and the phone number supplied for a phone activation is on permanent engaged tone.if any one knows what to do be happy for you to e-mail me at lancesaville@live.co.uk

FM09 doesn't need activation anymore.

Download & install the 9.3.1 patch linked at the top of the forum and you'll be able to play from the disc.