Beyond Comapre Trial Reset

## Beyond Compare Trial Reset!

> ⚠️ Disclaimer  
> This document is for **educational purposes only**.  
> Modifying registry entries related to software licensing or trials may violate the software’s license agreement and is **not recommended**.

### Background

Beyond Compare stores per-user configuration and state data in the Windows Registry under:

- `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scooter Software\Beyond Compare 4`
- `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scooter Software\Beyond Compare 5`

One of the values stored is named `CacheID`, which acts as a locally generated identifier.

### Technical Note

Removing this value causes the application to recreate it on the next launch.  
Depending on the version and licensing implementation, this may alter how prior usage state is interpreted.

### To reset the trail period - 
Open cmd as admin and run this command to delete the next registry key:

reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scooter Software\Beyond Compare 4" /v "CacheID"
Or
reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scooter Software\Beyond Compare 5" /v "CacheID"


### Recommendation

If you rely on Beyond Compare for regular or professional use:
- Purchase a license from Scooter Software
- Request an official trial extension
- Consider free alternatives such as WinMerge or Meld