Selected game theme not license, HELP

[rush00]

Hello all, my IGT G20 was slowly failing so I replaced the AVP box. I swapped the bois and boot chips over to the new cpu. After the fresh install I keep getting selected game theme is not licensed, when I go to select a game there's a red lock on the games and it says invalid license.  I've setup a few machines before but never with this issue. But then again I've never swapped out the cpu's before, just a reinstalls and added games. I do have the E-key0007

[rush00]

Here's another picture

[sixcardmark]

Try swapping PCI cards

[rush00]

Thank you, I'll try in the morning

[rush00]

It didn't work 😕 😪

[sccarlso]

The only thing I'm aware of that would cause this is.

1.  You are loading the wrong OS version to the machine.

2.  The bios chips you installed are normal bios chips, and not show bios chips.  If the chips you installed are flashed with show bios, it ignores the licensing dongle checks so you would never get a licensing tilt.  Without show bios you need a USB dongle for each game you install plugged into the USB farm on the backplane where there are like 9 or so USB plugs to license them.  If you have any USB license dongles plugged in at all.  That would indicate the machine doesn't likely have show bios installed as well, as you shouldn't have any license dongles plugged in as they aren't needed when you have show bios chips installed.


What OS version are you loading?

This FB post below shows how you can get the info from the ekey menu as well after it has booted up.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Newlifegames/posts/26215622301393438/

There is an example pic on the FB post of the menu showing this info.  Take a photo with your phone of what is displayed on that same screen and post it here.
 
I believe you can also see the bios versions installed in the bios setup screens.  One is the bios for the motherboard, and the other is the bios version on the chip for the PCI card that is plugged in.

To get into the bios setup on your machine, plug a USB keyboard into one of the USB ports on the box that are by the video ports, not the ones behind the metal door.  Only one USB port should be available, the other has the cable that connects the brainbox to the backplane plugged into it already.  Then power on the machine.

As soon as you flip the power switch, immediately start pressing the DEL key on the keyboard about 2 times a second which will stop it from booting and display the bios menu.  It will ask for a bios password.    Type in the password, which is simply the word    sevens   

And press enter.  You can navigate the bios menu and either at the top of all the bios screens (I can't recall if it's displayed on the top of all screens, or a certain menu in bios that it should display the bios versions.  But the bios versions should be in there).    Take a photo with your phone of the bios versions and post it here as well.

When you're done.  Anytime the motherboard bios battery is removed or replaced it reverts the bios settings to "manufacturer" defaults (which isn't IGT).   So before you exit the bios, you can ensure the bios is set to IGT recommended values since you're already in the bios setup.

On the main BIOS menu, select "Load optimized defaults" in the main bios menu and press enter.   Then select the option to save and exit and your brainbox bios will have all the bios settings configured to what they should be for an AVP.   

[rush00]

Hello all, I figured it out. The BIOS chip or show boot chip somehow went corrupt. I ordered a new set and it worked.
I'm running OS AI014B0E on gameking 8.3R
I did another fresh install on everything after the new chips just to make sure something doesn't mess up the new ones.
I'm going to send out my corrupt ones to get reflashed for a backup set.

Thank you for the support!!!!

[Stayouttadabunker]

I've never had any one of those two important chips get corrupted.
Did you put any of them in backwards in their socket, when you swapped the CPU's?

[rush00]

I don't think so, at least I hope I didn't. LOL. I'm not sure which one went corrupt, the pci showboot chip or BIOS. I replaced them both. I know on the motherboard the BIOS chip can go in only one way because of the one corner. Maybe there was some oxidation on one of the pins that didn't make contact when I changed out motherboards It's all good now and the machine is running really good, I also did a fresh install. 

[Stayouttadabunker]

I agree...you really cannot put in the BIOS chip in any other direction, but that PCI card chip...it's possible.
Oh well, at least you have it working again. 

[sccarlso]

While I have yet to have a bad motherboard myself.  If it was confirmed the motherboard was dead in one of my brainboxes.  It's usually harder to find just the motherboard.  And sellers frequently charge almost as much for just a motherboard than a complete, tested replacement 660 brainbox. 

It's also a lot of time and effort to remove/reattach all the other components that are in the way just to be able to remove/reinstall a motherboard.  Also, it can be easy to miss "something" when installing it.  Or accidentally break something else in the process or overlook something so it doesn't boot when done.  That would drive me nuts if I took all that time to remove and replace the motherboard in a brainbox.

I'd just get an entire replacement 660 brainbox that's complete and tested, has a working 80GB IGT SSD with the OEM SSD holder, and since they don't have on-board video, they all have the E4690 PCIe video card in them from GET-T for $150.  Just doesn't have bios chips which I'd replace anyway.

https://get-t.net/product/cpu168/

When I bought a few additional AVP's over time.  If I got one which didn't already have the E4690 video card in it.  I would get one of these from GET-T, replace the IGT 80GB SSD it comes with.  But with SSD's and RAM like 4-5 times as expensive these days (which is also crazy!).  The exact SSD's I paid $15 for last year are now $65!  And a pack of two, name brand 32GB DIMMs for 64GB total of very fast memory that I paid $45 for last year.  Now that memory with the same exact part number costs over $250!  Insane!  I never used them and they're still sealed in the package...  I should sell the unopened RAM for a profit.

So that can save some money too as the IGT SSDs work fine, and 80GB is plenty for most setups.  Plus, there is no guarantee that it will, but 95% of the ones I’ve bought had 4GB of RAM even though it's listed they only come with 2GB.  I believe in the 660's that IGT shipped or were already in a machine had 4GB of RAM in them by default. 

And they really don't want to do a lot of work with brainboxes at GET-T when they get say a pallet of them or tear down machines with 660's in them for recycling.  Instead of going through and removing parts to resell them.  They just blow it out with compressed air, power on test it with a diag key, remove the bios chips and ship it out.  Both the main and CPU fans are usually good too.  I've bought many of them, and half the time one or both of the bios chips were still in it!  They also really pack brainboxes really well for shipping!  I’ve never received a bad one from them and they were packaged so well that none have ever been damaged in shipping.

Then you have a good working brainbox again with really no effort.  Huge plus if your brainbox with a dead/damaged motherboard only had on-board video without the E4690 PCIe video card.  So I'd totally go with a complete/tested 660 brainbox than replace a motherboard.  If your power cable is for the older model brainboxes with the USB power supply box mounted on the top of the main brainbox, fairly easy to source the single power cable used on brainboxes like the 660 that have that USB power supply "inside" the main brainbox.  Since you also get at least one extra 2GB RAM stick, usually two, an IGT SSD, and an E4690 PCIe video card included and just put that in your machine instead.  Or if you only have one brainbox, for the price it’s good to have one as a spare.   And just put the box with the bad motherboard on a shelf for any parts that may still be useful from it. 

Why GET-T sells complete complete/tested brainboxes for $150 that have the video card already installed in them.   Yet they also sell the video card all by itself for $150 on their site I have no idea.  But no complaints here.  The few E4690 video cards for sale on places like eBay, the sellers are asking like $250 for just the video card.

Only reason for all this babble is I ordered another one from GET-T last week since they’re inexpensive, and I have 5 AVP’s so a brainbox on one of them will likely puke out at some point.  And they increased the price to $200 about 6 months ago, but they dropped it back to $150 recently.  No bios chips in it, but it did have 4GB of RAM installed.  Very clean, with good fans.

Installed the bios chips, put in new batteries.  Plugged it in and did a wipe and clean install with just a few random games installed to test.

And when it was all set up, I exited, closed up the machine.  And to my surprise.  It displayed the same “Game Theme License Tilt – Selected game theme is not licensed” that you experienced!  This was a first on any of my machines. 

But after about 10 seconds the tilt disappeared.  Never saw it again and everything worked just fine.  Put it on the shelf so now I have a spare all loaded up and tested.  My guess is it just came up because it was a total wipe and load of the machine and it was the first time it was in normal play mode with everything closed up, but who knows.  Still doesn’t explain why this would come up for anyone and not clear by itself.  But eh, eeproms “can” go bad.  It’s just really uncommon if it was flashed good originally.

Glad you found the problem and it wasn't a big hassle to fix!