Recently, I upgraded the 3D animation software I use. It is, sadly, copy-protected (a fact which inconveniences only the legitimate users of the software, as pirates use cracked versions that don't require the CD to be in the drive when the program starts up).

Anyway, it's giving me a really bizarre problem: it'll only run once, and then every subsequent attempt to run it results in a crash. There are only two ways to run it again: reboot the entire computer, or (and this is the bizarre part) run it without the CD in, whereupon the copy-protection complains and exits the program, but then it'll run just fine the next time I try to start it. (After which I have to run it again without the CD.)

So I do all the usual troubleshooting, to no avail, and I call the company's tech support line. We try a few things, but all we can narrow it down to is that it's failing in the copy-protection module — but it appears to be specific to my computer (it works just fine on my work laptop).

So instead of just telling me to reformat my hard drive and reinstall all of my software, like most companies would do, they're sending me a USB dongle which can be used instead of the CD to satisfy the copy protection. I offered to pay for it (I support these guys and don't want to take cash out of their pockets), but they refused, saying they want to make sure I stay happy with them.

Well, it worked; these guys really are amongst the best.