Paint Tool SAI Reset Tutorial

UPDATED TUTORIAL (2/19/2013):

Hello Dear Reader! It came to my attention that when you google, Paint Tool SAI reset tutorial, my entry is a first hit. So, that's gotta mean something. Also, I've noticed a spike in my view counts, always referring to my SAI reset tutorial. So this means, there are those who reads my blog. Well, I'm just GORRAM happy about that.

Even so, I think you guys deserve a visual presentation. So I print-screened the step-by-step procedure and I pray to the gods that this might be more effective. If not, then you just try other blogs out there and even Youtube tutorials if tutorials like this are too-wordy for you. There are a lot of tutorials out there each have their way of doing the reseting. I've encountered tutorials that requires opening a certain word document for the program destination and others just about as complicated. But since, this is the one that works for me, this is the one that I'm gonna share to you guys. I hope you like this~! ***Click the pictures for better viewing.

OH MY GLOOOOBBBB~!
You think your life is over and you scramble the net to download another SAI program to install.
Well, don't fret! I come to save your world!
I'm The Doctor! So, Allons-y!

Here's a fool-proof Paint Tool SAI Reset Tutorial for those who once panicked for an unsaved masterpiece due to trial version expiration. Trust me, these are very simple rules, you can do it easily. I got the tutorial from Chaotic Casino and I'm attaching his link here, just in case mine doesn't work. (You can also view his comments on how to solve certain stuff if you have the same questions relating to SAI reseting). And I know you found this tutorial because you don't want to go buying a certain code that you don't know if it works.

Okay, preparations before you do the victory dance:
~~> Transfer all your SAI projects in a USB/External Hard Drive for a while. Don't have one? Beg, Steal or Borrow. It is best if you keep all your SAI projects in one folder destination to avoid hunting them all down when doing this. Trust me, I had to go through all my folders just to find that one .sai project.
~~> Empty also your Recycle Bin for SAI projects. The ones you've thrown away coz your works are ugly, which are, let's be honest, quite a lot.

Now for the magical step by step procedure. (Most of the instructions came from Chaotic Casino, I sorta tweaked some of it due to my own reseting experience. I'm using a Windows 7 Ultimate.)

1. GO TO WINDOWS START-UP PANEL > CONTROL PANEL > FOLDER OPTIONS > CLICK VIEW > UN-TICK (NO CHECK IN THE BOX) 'HIDE PROTECTED OPERATING SYSTEM FILES (RECOMMENDED) > EXIT. This would let you see your systems' hidden folders.

Yes, yes, I know. Serenity.

Folder Options! That one that looks like a folder! Click it!

A wild window appears. Click the VIEW tab. Scroll down till your see  HIDE PROTECTED OPERATING SYSTEM FILES (RECOMMENDED) - do not check the box. EXIT.

2. GO TO COMPUTER > LOCAL DISK > PROGRAM DATA (WILL APPEAR AS A TRANSPARENT FOLDER) > SYSTEMAX SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOLDER.

Yes, Serenity Again. 

Click LOCAL DISK (or depending where you installed your program).
You gotta imagine, I got no partition. So if all hell breaks lose. I'll die.  

Click the PROGRAMDATA (appearing as a transparent folder) That's why you gotta untick the Recommended thingy a while ago so you could see ProgramData because it is hidden.

Click the SYSTEMAX SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT folder. 

3. Now, here's where it gets a little bit complicated. CLICK SAI FOLDER > DELETE THE 'NOTREMOVEME.SSD' It will appear as a transparent folder. Then CLICK THUMBNAIL FOLDER, delete all the .SSD files. AFTER DELETING THEM, DELETE THEM AGAIN IN THE RECYCLE BIN.

Click the SAI folder.

Delete NOTREMOVEME.SSD - HA! You are a Cybermen. You DELETE stuff. Click also the THUMBNAIL folder and delete the .SSD files.  Only the vlc-looking button should remain, aka the thumbnail icon.
NOW, DELETE ALL YOU'VE DELETED IN YOUR RECYCLE BIN. 

4. DELETED THE DELETED FILES? GOOD. GO TO PAINT TOOL SAI PROGRAM ON START-UP  > RIGHT CLICK SAI, RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR > POP-UP WILL APPEAR, CLICK YES > THEN ANOTHER POP UP, CLICK OK.

Nice Icons, eh?
RIGHT CLICK SAI Program > RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR > POP-UP will appear (Not Printscreen-able, sorry), CLICK YES. 

Then, this message will appear and click OK. The next should be the scanning process. If it doesn't work, make sure you deleted .ssd files. Those thingies are quite notorious for coming back from the dead like Daleks or Cybermen or Stormtroopers or Reavers or... you get the idea. Remember to KILL them too in the Recycle Bin... Send them all into the VOID and the blackness of space.

5. THE PROGRAM WILL DO A SCAN LASTING FOR ABOUT 2-3 MINUTES (DEPENDS). REMEMBER YOU SHOULD HAVE NO .SAI PROJECTS AND .SSD FILES ANYWHERE IN YOUR COMPUTER, EVEN THE RECYCLE BIN. YOUR USB OR HARD DRIVE SHOULDN'T BE PLUGGED-IN BECAUSE IT WILL BE SCANNED. ***HINT: SUCCESSFUL SCANS ARE QUICKLY SCANNED, BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING TO SCAN. DOY! IF THE SCAN TAKES A WHILE, I'M SURE YOU GOT A .SAI PROJECT TUCKED SOMEWHERE IN YOUR FOLDERS. IF IT DOESN'T PROCEED TO SCANNING, YOU HAVE TO DELETE .SSD FILES, AGAIN IN THE SAI FOLDER OR THE SYSTEMAX FOLDER. (Did I mention they are the Daleks?). REDO all the step 4 again, you may have miss something, prolly the one in the Recycle Bin and the Thumbnail folder. 

Pray it will be a short scan, cause if it takes a while longer, I'm sure you'll Avada Kedavra your own computer and we don't want that, right? We want it nice and shiny like Serenity.

***Sometimes, it will be a quick scan but when you launch the program again, it will say, you are still on trial program. Double-check the steps again, because it does happen. Sometimes, you gotta do the steps twice or thrice before the program launches itself and go back to trial day one.

6. CLICK SAI PROGRAM ON YOUR START-UP > VIOLA! YOU ARE NOW BACK TO TRIAL DAY ONE.

Lookee at the right upper right side of the screen, back to Day 1.
Now, you'll have a month-long happiness of drawing and sanity.
You can now do a summersault with a back hand spring and a split.
Or a smile would do...

REMINDERS:

***Oh, you will still be running on a trial for a month, you just have to do these steps again to go back to day one. I think it's okay compared to shelling out money for a code.

***Oh again, don't open SAI files that are older than 30 days because the program will reset again. So better avoid that. So better convert them to .JPEG or .GIF or .whatever file you guys need.

***Leave me a GORRAM Comment please, so I could improve on my grammar, the steps or whatever it is you deemed very lowly of me. Lol. Just tell me if it works. That would do and I will appreciate it very much.

I'm just sharing this little piece of information because I too once panicked over unsaved works and I couldn't afford that anymore. So, there you go~! Hope it works~! 


Love,
M