Beware the "disc only" auctions for Dragon 8 and above. Nuance introduced activation with Dragon 8. I got a copy of Dragon 8 off eBay about two years ago. It installed and worked fine. About six months later I rebuilt my PC and installed it again. I tried to activate, and it wouldn't work. I called Nuance (they were called Scansoft at the time) and they told me that my copy had been activated over 10 times, their limit. What had happened is someone was buying real copies and counterfeit discs, and putting the same serial on five or more discs. Of course the fake discs work, and you leave positive feedback. But later they won't work, and there is no recourse. That same seller is selling right now on eBay, and is a gold Powerseller with 99.8% feedback. Buy only boxed retail if you want to install them more than once. Nuance will have no pity.

The discs looked authentic (they are not CD-R's). But here is how to tell that they are not authentic: The serials on the sleaves of fake discs are on a plain white sticker, 1/4 by 2 inches. The real serials on the back of the authentic discs are 2.75 by 3.5 inches, and the serial is there three times, and two can be peeled off. CD's are cheap to duplicate, but it is too much effort for the counterfeiters to make boxes and manuals. So beware of "disc only" auctions.

UPDATE: I just heard from someone who had a similar problem with a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.5 preferred that he recently bought. It came with a microphone, but no box or manual. The serial number on the sticker was there only once. Suspicious, he called Nuance, and they told him that the serial number of the copy he had just bought and never installed had been activated six times already. The same tactic from two years ago is still being used. Caveat Empator.

If you found this guide helpful, please take a moment to click the "YES" button below. Thanks