Problems with Houdini

Hello guys I had houdini 2.0c it was registered and everything ok, it was the strongest engine between all my engines, always at number 1 in my own tournaments
but 2 weeks ago i uninstall it for a mistake, so i installed it again, and i registered it, but the strength of the engine is TOTALLY different
now is losing from all engines , its so much weaker, You can see it by looking at any game it play, it always play really stupid moves like Nf3-g1 or Bc5-f8 , etc.
and now in tournaments i make between my engines it end up something like number 10 or 11
how can I fix this?
P.s: in the configure the playing strength is 100, and evrything is to default nothing changed
and i tried to uninstall and install it again like 10 times , but always same problem ...

Hi,

First point is that the registration key is valid only for the EXE it was supplied with. To re-install you must use the same EXE again that you originally used - if you use one from somewhere else there is a copy protection mechanism built in that makes it play very weak.

Second point is that before being able to successfully re-install you MUST completely remove all traces of the previous engine. There are 2 steps to this you must do both:
a) uninstall the Houdini engine you have already installed. To do this delete the existing engine uci files from these locations (use the correct drive letter for you):
If Windows XP...C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\ChessBase\Engines.UCI
If Windows 7...C:\Documents and Settings\User\ApplicationData\Roaming\ChessBase\Engines.UCI

b) when you installed Houdini the first time it made an entry in your registry. You must clear this before you can re-install.Download this, extract it and double click it. This will remove the previous registry entry:
http://rghost.net/39515797

Now having done (a) and (b) - restart your PC and try the install again.

A quick way to check a Houdini engine is running at full power is to analyze this position:

r1b1kn1r/1pq1bp2/1np1p3/2N1N1p1/p2PP2p/P1Q1B1P1/1P3PBP/3R1RK1 b kq - 0 21

The engine should quickly give an eval of about +1.2. If not working properly it will instead start with an eval of about 0.2.

If you don't know how - for Fritz 8/9/10 - mark the FEN above and right click and "copy". Now in Fritz do file/new/position set up and then "paste FEN"then OK. Now with Houdini loaded do infinite analysis the engine should quickly give an eval of about +1.2. If not working properly it will instead start with an eval of about 0.2.

If you have Fritz 12 or 13 then copy the FEN string above. Now in Fritz it is INSERT/POSITION SETUP. Now click on the little grey box at bottom left called "paste FEN" . The position will appear on the board then click OK. Now do HOME/INFINITE ANALYSIS.


Good luck.

i tried that position and it gives -0.20 move = f6
and i noticed also that depth is very very low , in this case depth=16 after 15 sec of thinking

Ok - so that confirms that the copy protection mechanism built into the code has kicked in to cripple the engine. Have you tried what I have suggested above to do complete removal and re-install ?

i have just uninstalled houdini completely, from Arena uci , and from hardisk,
then i have runned the file u provided in last post, and i restarted pc, now i will try to install it again , fingers crossed (and thank you anyway for the long and detailed answer u gave me, lets try)

ok after installed, the depth is giving 19-20 which is much better than 16 of before, but the move is still f6 , and the evaluate is -1.16

Hi,

f6 is the correct move -why do you think it should be something different ? I get evaluation
+/- (1.18). Are you sure yours is -1.16 ?

You will need to manually delete this from your registry.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Houdini Chess]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Houdini Chess\Houdini 2.0]
"CustomerPro"="...."
"LicensePro"="...."

Hi,

In my post above I gave a download link to a reg file that does the same thing but automatically in one click:

" b) when you installed Houdini the first time it made an entry in your registry. You must clear this before you can re-install.Download this, extract it and double click it. This will remove the previous registry entry:
http://rghost.net/39515797"