You can recognize a half-Key from a certified KEY by looking at the file size. Using Windows Explorer, right click on the KEY file and select Properties. The file size is displayed in bytes. The half-KEY files are 1,202 bytes in size. The certified KEY files are 1,600 bytes in size.
Some e-mail virus-checkers can alter the size of the certified KEY file while scanning incoming messages. This causes the Key file to become unusable. The Key file will not be recognized as being a valid license if its size is anything different from 1,600 bytes. When you receive your certified KEY file, always verify that the file size is exactly 1600 bytes. Note that it is not sufficient to view the file size in K-bytes because this is a rounded value, you must look at the file properties to know the exact size in bytes.
If a certified Key file gets corrupted, it is possible to re-run the procedure to create the Key file on the same computer that it was previously installed on and submit it for certification. The number of license credits is not decreased. When two identical Key files are submitted for certification, the license credit is only decreased once.
The procedure type you perform (install, uninstall, reinstall) is recorded in the KEY file on the client computer and on Board’s web site where a licenses management system is running. This system will debit or credit your account depending on what type of action you select. If you try to perform two identical installations on the same machine, your account will only be debited once because the system recognizes that only one of these requests is valid. If you successfully complete an uninstall, your account will be credited for the license type which you uninstalled. Similarly, if you successfully complete an upgrade, you will be credited for the license type previously registered, and debited for the upgraded license.