Tag Archives: entitlement

Why update or upgrade to ArcaOS 5.1.1?

If you’re holding off upgrading from ArcaOS 5.0 to 5.1 or updating from 5.1.0 to 5.1.1, here are a few things to consder to get you off the fence.

ArcaOS 5.1.1, over a year and a half in development, incorporates over 50 improvements and refinements, from smoother installation and better integration with other operating systems to better stability and usability of the system. Here are a few points to consider from the changelog:

Now available in four languages (with more on the way): English, German, Spanish, and Russian. More comfortable computing in your native language? This is all made easier with ArcaOS 5.1.1.
For existing English installations, upgrading from 5.0 or updating from 5.1.0 could not be easier. Back up your system, boot from the installation media, select the option to update/upgrade, and select your existing installation from the list. The rest of the procedure is automatic.
Multimedia support has been upgraded and enhanced. Not only has the multimedia subsystem been translated to the system language, but if you have a CD collection and a modern PC, ArcaOS now handles digital transfers and supports the GnuDB CD track identification database.
Both remote control of the ArcaOS system and control of other systems from ArcaOS has been greatly enhanced with a new VNC server and client, supporting features found in UltraVNC, such as chat, file transfer, and encryption for web clients.
Of course we’ve also included the latest ACPI and updated device drivers for USB, video, mouse (new, major revision), FAT32 filesystem (for better interoperability and data exchange with other operating systems), and even a new keyboard driver for better operation on more hardware.

In short, 5.1.1 is the most stable, best performing ArcaOS release to date, and provides a truly modern OS/2 computing experience for PCs. It’s also quite at home in a virtual environment, running under Oracle VirtualBox or VMware ESXi or Workstation.

Best of all, for ArcaOS 5.1 licensees with active support subscriptions, the update from 5.1.0 to 5.1.1 is absolutely free. Let your subscription lapse? You can still renew and get the 5.1.1 release for no additional charge. Still running 5.0? Now is a great time to take advantage of the steep upgrade discounts offered to upgraders.

ArcaOS 5.1.1 now available

Arca Noae is proud to announce the general availability of ArcaOS 5.1.1 in English, German, Spanish, and Russian.

ArcaOS 5.1.1 continues to support installation on the latest generation of UEFI-based systems, as well as the ability to install to GPT-based disk layouts. This enables ArcaOS 5.1.1 to install on a wide array of modern hardware. Of course, ArcaOS 5.1.1 is just as much at home on traditional BIOS-based systems, offering enhanced stability and performance across both environments.

This release is free of charge to those with active ArcaOS 5.1 Support & Maintenance subscriptions, and there is no charge for requesting additional language ISOs (though your total number of ArcaOS 5.1 installations may not exceed the number of ArcaOS 5.1 licenses you have).

ArcaOS 5.1.1 can be used for new installs or to upgrade any prior English version of ArcaOS 5. If installing from USB stick, the USB install stick may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once built, the USB stick can be inserted into any USB port in the target system to boot into the ArcaOS installer/updater in either UEFI or traditional BIOS mode (alternatively, the DVD image may be burned to physical media and also booted to either UEFI or traditional BIOS systems).

For a complete list of updates in this release, see the ArcaOS wiki. Be sure to review the README.TXT, as well, as this contains critical information to ensure that you get up and running fast, and includes tips for getting things adjusted right away.

This upgrade is available at a steep discount with your valid ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription (and your remaining subscription time will be added to the included support term). To download your fresh ISO, simply visit your customer portal page and select the Download Center link on the navigation panel to the left. From there, click the “Upgrade to 5.1” button, and proceed to checkout.

If your ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription has already expired, you may still upgrade at less than the cost of a new ArcaOS 5.1 license. Follow the procedure above to order your upgrade, and the discount will be reflected in your cart.

New ArcaOS 5.1.1 license purchases are initially built as English. To request a different language, simply visit your Download Center, select the Build ISO Again button, and choose your language.

Need more convincing? How about a commercial operating system which doesn’t spy on you, does not report your online activity to anyone, and gives you complete freedom to choose the applications you want to use, however you want to use them? How about an operating system which isn’t tied to any specific hardware manufacturer, allowing you to choose the platform which is right for you, and fits perfectly well in systems with less than 4GB of memory or even virtual machines?

Arca Noae is committed to continuing the development, support, maintenance, and refinement of the OS/2 platform. The next release of ArcaOS is already in the works. The future looks bright for Arca Noae and ArcaOS!

The ArcaOS Download Center is now the Download Center

In January of 2023, we introduced the ArcaOS Download Center. We have now expanded this download center to include all subscriptions and their associated downloads. As a result, the link in the left navigation area has been renamed simply Download Center.

If you are not familiar with this handy tool, as mentioned above, in the left navigation area, you should see this link. Clicking it will bring you to a consolidated listing of your ArcaOS licenses and associated downloads followed by your other subscriptions and their associated downloads. In addition, no matter which type of subscription you have, you’ll be able to see at a glance when the subscription is set to expire.

Clearing up some more upgrade confusion: Subscription downloads

It’s important to remember that when an ArcaOS 5.0 license is upgraded, the existing ArcaOS 5.0 license is converted to an ArcaOS 5.1 license. This does not create a new license for another system. If the ArcaOS 5.0 license has a Support & Maintenance subscription in effect, any remaining time is added to the ArcaOS 5.1 subscription. Several actions take place automatically on Arca Noae’s side of the transaction and other actions should take place on the customer’s side.

First, on the Arca Noae side:

The existing ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription for that license is terminated as of the date of the upgrade of its associated license to ArcaOS 5.1.
With the termination of the ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance, access to associated downloads for ArcaOS 5.0 is removed If you have more than one ArcaOS 5.0 license with current support and are only upgrading one of those licenses to 5.1, the associated downloads will still be available for your other ArcaOS 5.0 licenses.
Whatever time was left on the ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription is added to the included subscription for ArcaOS 5.1. So, if you recently renewed your 5.0 subscription, and it had 12 months before the next renewal, your new ArcaOS 5.1 personal license will now have 18 months of support & updates (6 months from the new ArcaOS 5.1 subscription plus the remaining 12 months from the old ArcaOS 5.0 subscription). You don’t lose anything.

On the customer side, the installation of the ArcaOS 5.0 license being upgraded should be upgraded to ArcaOS 5.1. It is a violation of our license terms to upgrade a 5.0 license to 5.1, install the 5.1 license on another system or partition, and to continue using the 5.0 installation. One license is consumed per bootable installation, regardless of the edition (personal or commercial). If that license has been upgraded, the upgraded license is only valid for the upgraded ArcaOS version. An upgrade does not create a new license for another installation.

If you would like to maintain access to ArcaOS 5.0 downloadable content, but would also like to install ArcaOS 5.1, then we invite you to purchase a new ArcaOS 5.1 license from our store or from your preferred authorized reseller. In that case, the two subscriptions will be separate, and their contents will be available in your ArcaOS Download Center as long as the respective subscription remains in force.

For more information, please refer to this FAQ item.

Upgrading to ArcaOS 5.1? Here’s how

If you’re a current ArcaOS 5.0 licensee, the upgrade to ArcaOS 5.1 is available at a discount. With a valid ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription, your discount is even bigger (plus, your remaining 5.0 subscription time will be added to the included 5.1 support term).

To upgrade and download your 5.1 ISO, visit your customer portal page and select the ArcaOS Download Center link on the navigation panel to the left. Click the Upgrade to 5.1 button, and proceed to checkout.

Once you’ve completed the checkout process, your initial ArcaOS 5.1 ISO will be built in English. When other languages are available for ArcaOS 5.1, you may request any additional ISOs (free of charge, as long as your Support & Maintenance subscription remains in effect) from your ArcaOS Download Center by selecting the Build ISO again button and selecting the language you would like.

Once an ArcaOS 5.0 license has been upgraded to ArcaOS 5.1, support and updates for the 5.0 license will cease. Not all ArcaOS 5.1 associated downloads will be applicable to 5.0, and licensed updates for one version are specifically not licensed for use with the other version.

If your original ArcaOS 5.0 license order contained more than one license and you only wish to upgrade one or some of them but not all, please contact support.

See this post for a summary of pricing options for ArcaOS 5.1 upgrades.

ArcaOS 5.1.0 now available

After years in development, Arca Noae is pleased to announce the general availability of ArcaOS 5.1.0.

In a first for any OS/2-based distribution, ArcaOS 5.1 supports installation on the latest generation of UEFI-based systems, and includes the ability to install to GPT-based disk layouts. This enables ArcaOS 5.1 to install on a wide array of modern hardware.

ArcaOS 5.1.0 can be used for new installs or to upgrade any prior version of ArcaOS 5. If installing from USB stick, the USB install stick may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once built, the USB stick can be inserted into any USB port in the target system to boot into the ArcaOS installer/updater in either UEFI or traditional BIOS mode (alternatively, the DVD image may be burned to physical media and also booted to either UEFI or traditional BIOS systems).

This upgrade is available at a steep discount with your valid ArcaOS 5.0 Support & Maintenance subscription (and your remaining subscription time will be added to the included support term). To download your fresh ISO, simply visit your customer portal page and select the ArcaOS Download Center link on the navigation panel to the left. From there, click the “Upgrade to 5.1” button, and proceed to checkout.

ArcaOS 5.1.0 is available in English ONLY, with other languages planned to follow in the near future.

I want ArcaOS 5.1!

TO CLARIFY: ArcaOS 5.1 HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED. Please read this post all the way to the end to get all information.

ArcaOS 5.1 is complete and waiting for release. The holdup is really related to our distribution system, which is based on the WooCommerce platform.

Until we can produce multiple versions of ArcaOS ISOs, in multiple languages, WE MUST HOLD UP THE ArcaOS 5.1 RELEASE.

While WooCommerce is a capable ecommerce solution, Arca Noae’s requirements to be able to allow ordering of a personalized ISO have now become considerably more complicated than they were for the 5.0 release in 2017. Instead of only spinning the same ISO with personalization data for each customer, we now must continue to have 5.0 ISOs available, and offer 5.1 ISOs in several languages. In addition, instead of maintaining one subscription channel for ArcaOS, we now must maintain two separate channels, one for 5.0 and one for 5.1. Upgraders will also need to change subscription channels when they upgrade ArcaOS. This work has proven more complicated than we had anticipated.

In the meantime, we have taken steps to upgrade our infrastructure to expand our capacity to build and warehouse more ISOs, and we are now at a point where the missing pieces of the puzzle are just the software enhancements for the website to bring everything together.

We have always avoided stating narrow windows for anticipated delivery dates, and take great efforts to avoid the appearance of vaporware. ArcaOS 5.1 is real, and it is coming…soon.

In the interim (and after the release of ArcaOS 5.1), ArcaOS 5.0 will continue to receive critical updates and support, and from time to time, we may even release new bugfix ISOs for ArcaOS 5.0 (generally when an update impacts the installation experience).

It is also important to note that not all languages for ArcaOS 5.1 will be made available when English is released, nor will all non-English languages be released at the same time. Translations of German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and others are in varying states of completion. As we deem a certain language ready for release, we will make it available.

We appreciate everyone’s continued patience. We want to bring you ArcaOS 5.1 as much as you want it!

Welcome to the new ArcaOS Download Center!

Along the way to the much anticipated ArcaOS 5.1 release, we have been working behind the scenes to upgrade our build and delivery systems. To this end, you should notice a welcome addition to your customer portal: the ArcaOS Download Center.

In the left navigation area, you should see this new link. Clicking it will bring you to a consolidated listing of your ArcaOS licenses and associated downloads. No more scanning through all of your orders to find the right one.

We hope you enjoy this new feature.

Beware of used ArcaOS licenses offered for sale

Happy New Year!

Recently, we’ve become aware of several ArcaOS licenses being offered for sale on various platforms. This post is a reminder to check the validity of any used license before paying for it.

All ArcaOS licenses are generated by Arca Noae. If you order through one of our authorized resellers, that reseller places an order for your software with us, and we provide the custom ISO for you, registered to an account in your name.

While it is entirely permissible to transfer a license (see paragraph 9 of the ArcaOS End User License Agreement ), such a transfer must include a hard copy of the license and proof of entitlement. Proof of entitlement means some documentation to prove that the company or individual transferring the license does indeed have the right to do so (it must indeed be registered to that company or individual).

Upon transfer, the transferor must notify Arca Noae of the transfer and provide contact information for the transferee. Without this, it will not be possible to renew support for that ArcaOS license – including a late renewal.

It is worth noting also that only the ArcaOS license is transferable. Support is not. Thus, when an unsuspecting user purchases an existing ArcaOS license and he or she wants to access related downloads for updates or even request an updated ISO, a new ArcaOS Support & Maintenance subscription will be required. The cost of the used license plus new support may be far more than a new license with included support and the ability to renew that support at a discount.

If you are considering the purchase of a used ArcaOS license, be sure to ask for a copy of the registrant’s name, email address, and serial number, and contact us first so that we may be able to determine whether the license is, in fact, legitimate. If it’s not, it will not be valid for purchasing a Support & Maintenance subscription, so technical support, updates, discounted upgrades, and bug fixes will never be available.

Have a question? Be sure to read our FAQs

We’ve discussed the wealth of specific information available in our wiki pages in previous blog posts here and here, but there is still another resource available to get quick answers to “how do I…” and other questions: the Arca Noae FAQ.

Searching the FAQ is easy: just type one or more terms into the search box at the top. To browse questions and answers by category, select one of the available categories from the list, and scroll. Another way to search the entire Arca Noae website is to just use the site search box to the right of most pages.

If a FAQ answer has been helpful, please be sure to let us know by clicking the appropriate feedback link at the bottom.

If you happen to find something which doesn’t seem quite right (outdated or perhaps in need of further explanation), please drop us a note to let us know. If you have a suggestion for something to add, please tell us. We continually add questions as they are asked more frequently (hey, it’s a FAQ, after all), and we’ll be sure to consider any suggestions.

Just as the links to the wiki and the ticket system, the FAQ is available from the Support dropdown on the main menu.