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BillCroshier1-Visitor
1-Visitor
October 22, 2012
Question

Host ID changed?

  • October 22, 2012
  • 5 replies
  • 3980 views
What would cause the Host ID on a particular machine to change?

I have a user that was using editor version 6.0 M040 on an MS Windows XP machine for about the last three weeks including earlier this morning. This user rebooted the machine because Outlook seemed to be running slowly. An attempt to use editor after the reboot has failed with a Licensing Error dialog. We are using node-locked licensing with 'PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE' pointing to the file provided by PTC (lm_<some number=">_standard.txt) stored on the machine's C:\ drive. The Host ID being reported on this error dialog is different from the one submitted to get the original license file.

The user is not trying to remotely connect to this PC which I know from earlier posts is not supported using this 'improved' license manager.

Any clues? I only have 30 users, but if this is going to happen randomly we're going to have to do something different.

Thanks,
-Bill

William Croshier
Systems Technical Information Development
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
100 Plastics Avenue Pittsfield, MA 01201
Mail Stop: Rm 2510-567
Phone: (413) 494.5181
Fax: (413) 494.5811 (Please call ahead)

    5 replies

    B
    berard1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    October 22, 2012
    If you do an ipconfig /all you should be able to see what MAC address is
    being referenced. (Which PTC is using to define the Host ID)

    We had problems when we originally setup users using their ethernet port,
    but then they switched to WiFi. In some versions of windows, the adapter
    gets disabled when not in use.

    While PTC suggests to use the host id from the most commonly used adapter,
    I found it best to just turn off the power saving features.

    keith

    On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 10:28 AM, Croshier, William J. <
    william.croshier@gd-ais.com> wrote:

    > What would cause the Host ID on a particular machine to change?
    >
    > I have a user that was using editor version 6.0 M040 on an MS Windows XP
    > machine for about the last three weeks including earlier this morning. This
    > user rebooted the machine because Outlook seemed to be running slowly. An
    > attempt to use editor after the reboot has failed with a Licensing Error
    > dialog. We are using node-locked licensing with 'PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE'
    > pointing to the file provided by PTC (lm_<some number=">_standard.txt) stored
    > on the machine's C:\ drive. The Host ID being reported on this error dialog
    > is different from the one submitted to get the original license file.
    >
    > The user is not trying to remotely connect to this PC which I know from
    > earlier posts is not supported using this 'improved' license manager.
    >
    > Any clues? I only have 30 users, but if this is going to happen randomly
    > we're going to have to do something different.
    >
    > Thanks,
    > -Bill
    >
    > William Croshier
    > Systems Technical Information Development
    > General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
    > 100 Plastics Avenue Pittsfield, MA 01201
    > Mail Stop: Rm 2510-567
    > Phone: (413) 494.5181
    > Fax: (413) 494.5811 (Please call ahead)
    >
    A
    AndyEsslinger1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    October 22, 2012
    Bill,

    I think the hostid (MAC address) is physically located on the primary network interface card (NIC). My laptop shows about five different MAC addresses, but the program that ptc published for determining the correct one seems to always pick the same entry for me. Anything that causes the MAC address to be read from a different NIC will kill the license. That is probably going to be a Windows registry entry or a wire plugged into a different connector (wireless vs. wired may also be a factor).

    -Andy
    \ / Andy Esslinger LM Aero-TechOrderData
    ______-/\-______ (817) 279-0442 1 Lockheed Blvd,MZ4285
    \_\/_/ (817) 777-3047 FortWorth,TX 76108-3916

    P
    ptc-9533431-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    October 22, 2012
    I had the same problem. Originally the hostid was generated for the wifi
    on my laptop even though it was plugged into the network. I switched wifi
    off because I got tired of the messages about connections avaiable popping
    up all the time. That then caused Arbortext to generate a new ID.

    Now this wouldn't be so bad if you could just hop on the PTC website and
    generate a new key. No instead you have to send the key in (uaually from
    users environment) and then wait to recieve email to my personal account.
    So rather than fixing the problem in 5 monutes it might be hours before I
    cna get to my email and then back to the users machine.

    ..dan


    > What would cause the Host ID on a particular machine to change?
    >
    > I have a user that was using editor version 6.0 M040 on an MS Windows XP
    > machine for about the last three weeks including earlier this morning.
    > This user rebooted the machine because Outlook seemed to be running
    > slowly. An attempt to use editor after the reboot has failed with a
    > Licensing Error dialog. We are using node-locked licensing with
    > 'PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE' pointing to the file provided by PTC (lm_<some<br/>> number>_standard.txt) stored on the machine's C:\ drive. The Host ID being
    > reported on this error dialog is different from the one submitted to get
    > the original license file.
    >
    > The user is not trying to remotely connect to this PC which I know from
    > earlier posts is not supported using this 'improved' license manager.
    >
    > Any clues? I only have 30 users, but if this is going to happen randomly
    > we're going to have to do something different.
    >
    > Thanks,
    > -Bill
    >
    > William Croshier
    > Systems Technical Information Development
    > General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
    > 100 Plastics Avenue Pittsfield, MA 01201
    > Mail Stop: Rm 2510-567
    > Phone: (413) 494.5181
    > Fax: (413) 494.5811 (Please call ahead)
    >
    B
    BillCroshier1-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    October 22, 2012
    Dan,

    You hit the nail right on the head. This user got tired of getting the wifi pop-ups and physically switched off the antenna which seems to have forced the ID to the wired NIC during reboot. I'll just have to remember to disable the wifi while getting the ID before I request licenses. This should work for both wired and wireless so long as the user doesn't disable the wired while connected wirelessly.

    Thanks Dan and to all that replied (Keith, Andy)

    -Bill
    x5181

    B
    berard1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    October 22, 2012
    I should note that even though the license app only shows one ID, Arbortext
    still works as long as any valid MAC is present. So using ipconfig to get
    your list of MAC addresses, and thus, your list of possible Host IDs, is
    an option.

    Sounds like you figured out your problem with the WiFi switch, but in
    Windows 7, it actually _diables_ the Ethernet port by default when not in
    use, so you might still need to manually set that adapter to stay awake at
    all times.

    I also commiserate with Dan on the new license turnaround. We tend to do
    mass-updates in January of each year when all of our writers fly in for a
    conference. Last year, I had to write a special windows app for them to
    run ahead of time in order to compile a list of MAC addresses. That
    allowed me to setup licenses in advance so they could be installed in one
    fell swoop, rather than waiting 20mins to an hour between each request.
    Ugh.

    keith

    On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 11:31 AM, Croshier, William J. <
    william.croshier@gd-ais.com> wrote:

    > Dan,
    >
    > You hit the nail right on the head. This user got tired of getting the
    > wifi pop-ups and physically switched off the antenna which seems to have
    > forced the ID to the wired NIC during reboot. I'll just have to remember to
    > disable the wifi while getting the ID before I request licenses. This
    > should work for both wired and wireless so long as the user doesn't disable
    > the wired while connected wirelessly.
    >
    > Thanks Dan and to all that replied (Keith, Andy)
    >
    > -Bill
    > x5181
    >
    >
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