I spent over 5 hours trying to install, impossible. I tried EVERYTHING, followed to the letter the advice of Encyclopedia Universalis, visited discussion forums on potential problems with the installation on Windows 8. Nothing worked.
So I contacted customer service through their contact form. It was there over 15 days. Still no answer. There are 6 days I tried calling their hotline service that is always busy and does not even leave a message on the answering machine. Hop, it hangs in your face you please call back later.
So even though I have great respect for the product Encyclopedia Universalis, the online version the support are a disaster.
In talking with a friend, she told me that a few years ago, she had not managed to install it and finally gave up.
But I'm not ready to give up, even when the price is EURO 149.-