How can I get my registration / product key information
Table of contents
Activation Issues and Questions
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Information and Usage
My XApp will not group
Saved groups with Chrome or Edge will not have Chrome/Edge open or opens outside of the group
Snapping (WinKey + Arrow keys) are not working with Groupy enabled
How do disable / enable Groupy from a command line
Self Support Options
Install Error: "This Operation has been cancelled due to the restrictions in effect on this computer."
Test in Windows Sandbox
Groupy Clean Boot
Purging and re-installing
X app will not group
Some apps will not allow for reliable grouping (Adobe Acrobat reader for example) and have to be excluded.
Saved groups with Chrome/Edge will not have Chrome/Edge open or opens outside of the group.
Chrome and Edge are notorious for having many running processes even when no browser window is open. This makes is problematic for Groupy to open Chrome/Edge in saved groups consistently. To solve this, you can turn this setting in Chrome/Edge off:
Chrome: Settings, Advanced, System:
Edge: Settings, Systems and Performance, System:
Note: If you set that to off, when you close Chrome, all Chrome process will also stop (Hangouts for example). Even with that setting, you need to check task manager to ensure there are not running Chrome processes.
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Snapping (WinKey + Arrow keys) are not working with Groupy enabled
If you use 'Combine if possible':
WinKey + Arrow keys should snap apps apps as you would expect. Note that some apps / tabs cannot use 'Combine if possible' as they use a custom titlebar - Microsoft Office being a notable one.
How to disable / enable Groupy from a command line?
The exact command line to disable is:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Groupy\GroupyCtrl.exe" unload
Simply re-enabling the service will restore it:
net start Groupy
Testing Groupy in Sandbox
In an effort to create a clean install environment without having to reformat your system, Windows 10 & 11 Pro have a "VM" (Virtual Machine) like feature called Windows Sandbox. This will replicate a freshly installed operating system without any other software installed. This is a great test to see if other programs conflict with Stardock products.
The following guide will walk you through the steps to enable Windows Sandbox:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-overview
After Sandbox is set up, install and activate your Stardock product to see if the issue you are having is also being reproduced in this new environment or if it is working correctly in this mode.
NOTE: If you have a single activation Stardock product, you will be asked if you want to deactivate your other PC to proceed to install it in the Sandbox environment. After finishing the test, you will eventually be asked to activate on your other PC again and can do so.
Groupy Clean Boot
A "clean boot" starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program. This is similar to starting Windows in Safe Mode, but provides you more control over which services and programs run at startup to help you isolate the cause of a problem.
Creating a new Windows Administrator Account
For testing, please create a new Windows Administrator account.
Windows 7:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-user-account#create-user-account=windows-7
Windows 8:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-user-account#create-user-account=windows-8
Windows 10 & 11:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/create-a-local-user-account-in-windows-10
Log in under that account and try. If it fails, and while still under that account, please click the link below for performing a 'clean boot' under it:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135
Re-enable Stardock Product
After you've loaded Windows in a clean state, please download this file:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/GroupyStart.zip
Run the batch file in it to start the Groupy service.
Groupy purging and re-installing
Obtaining the purge file
Please follow this link:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/groupyPurge.zip
Save the file to your downloads folder.
Purging the application
Double-click the downloaded purge file and select "Run as Administrator" if you're on Windows 7/8/8.1/10.
If you are running Windows 8/10/11, you may be notified that Windows is protecting your PC. Select "More info" and then "Run anyway".
Reboot the computer and reinstall the application. It is important to get the most recent version of the application.
Reinstalling
For trials:
Please ensure you have the most recent trial available:
https://www.stardock.com/products/
For Stardock direct purchases
For getting your product and key, please see the following:
https://www.stardock.com/support/productkeyretrieval
For Steam Purchases
Even after using the purge file, you still need to use the 'uninstall' option in the Steam client:
After, re-Install from Steam and Steam only.
Please DO NOT change any of the default settings until you verify that the application is running as expected in its default state.
