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PTC stopped supporting USB adapters/network cards for Creo licenses

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
August 18, 2020
8 replies
39503 views

Hello dear Creo/ProE users,

We just wanted to install newest edition of Creo 7, that is Creo 7.0.1.0 but no succes.

PTC seems that has decided to (add/delete few lines of code) eliminate usage of USB network cards with no annoucement or anything simmilar.

In newer computers is only wireless card and if it doesnt work, Creo 7.0.1.0 and newer cannot be used!

Does anyone has any tought on this or possible solution?

Best Regards,

CreoUser

Best answer by NihalVelpanur

Hi CreOUser,

Thanks for bringing this up. PTC is aware of the change and it will be fixed in 7.0.2.0. This was the result of a licensing change due to how Windows 10 queries MAC addresses from physical and virtual adapters. For node-locked licenses, unfortunately there is no workaround for 7.0.1.0 other than using a PCI based adapter. This change does not affect floating licenses, however.

Best,

Nihal Velpanur

Creo Product Management

M

MartinHanak

24-Ruby III

@Cre0User wrote:

Hello dear Creo/ProE users,

We just wanted to install newest edition of Creo 7, that is Creo 7.0.1.0 but no succes.

PTC seems that has decided to (add/delete few lines of code) eliminate usage of USB network cards with no annoucement or anything simmilar.

In newer computers is only wireless card and if it doesnt work, Creo 7.0.1.0 and newer cannot be used!

Does anyone has any tought on this or possible solution?

Best Regards,

CreoUser

Hi,

try following:

install Creo 7.0.1.0 and Skip Licensing during installation
modify parametric.psf manually in Notepad (enter the right information into ENV=PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE row and ENV=CREOPMA_FEATURE_NAME row)

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Hi Martin,

Thank you for suggestion.

Tried it already, it doesn't work.

I think in Creo 7.0.1.0 there is new "functionality" that doesn't want to read HOST ID from USB network adapter.

BR,

Creo User

M

MartinHanak

24-Ruby III

@Cre0User wrote:

Hi Martin,

Thank you for suggestion.

Tried it already, it doesn't work.

I think in Creo 7.0.1.0 there is new "functionality" that doesn't want to read HOST ID from USB network adapter.

BR,

Creo User

Hi,

unfortunately I cannot test your problem on my PC.

My suggestion (if Creo license do not have to be assigned to USB network card):

1.] Move Creo license to WiFi network card HOST-ID.

2.] In Windows open Command prompt as Administrator and run two following commands

netsh interface ipv4 set global dhcpmediasense=disabled

netsh interface ipv6 set global dhcpmediasense=disabled

3.] In WiFi network card properties turn Power saving off (when WiFi network card is not connected to network)

Question: Does Creo 6.0 or older work with new license file ?

L

LukaszMazur

16-Pearl

My colleague is using WiFi USB network card and runs Creo 7.0 without any problems, so it doesn't have to be PTC's doing that prevents you from running Creo 7.0.
What kind of license are you using for this USB card, locked or floating? And what errors do you get when you try to start Creo 7.0?

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Hello Lukasz,

It is locked license.

It works in Creo 7.0.0.0 but not in 7.0.1.0.

Error is (-9) invalid host.

BR,

CreoUser

M

MartinHanak

24-Ruby III

@Cre0User wrote:

Hello Lukasz,

It is locked license.

It works in Creo 7.0.0.0 but not in 7.0.1.0.

Error is (-9) invalid host.

BR,

CreoUser

Hi,

invalid host error message probably tells you that HOST-ID included in license file is not available in ipconfig output.

Open Command prompt window and run:

getmac command

ipconfig /all command

Check whether HOST-ID included in license file is present in command output.

Note: Windows 10 can randomize your adapter's MAC address ... see https://winaero.com/blog/enable-random-mac-address-in-windows-10-for-wi-fi-adapter/

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Hi to all,

So we tried everything and it is what we tought at the beginning, you can see CS26634:

License file is generated on USB or Dock station network card

Open command prompt and type "ipconfig /all"
Confirm with user whether the Ethernet adapter network card is not USB type
- If yes, transfer license file on generic network card adapter (Ethernet/Wireless)
- Reconfigure license server with new license file

Mac adress is only one so it is correct one, power options disabled, previos versions of creo works, ONLY when Creo installer od Creo 7.0.1.0 is run it shows HostId 00-00-00-00-00-00.

SO PTC DECIDED OVERNIGHT TO REMOVE FUNCTIONALITY OF USING USB ADAPTERS.

Any workaround, tip, comment..etc? (Except buying new laptop which is madness).

BR,

CreoUser

L

LukaszMazur

16-Pearl

Have you noticed that the KB article you mentioned is almost two years old (it was last modified 18th September 2018)? So it's hardly "overnight" removal 😉
At the moment I'm more inclined to see it as some kind of bug unless someone from PTC Tech Support will confirm it really was intentional.
Also, after reading rest of your post I got curious: you really use laptop without any built-it network adapters so the USB WiFi card is the only adapter you have?
It may be also trivial question, but is this USB network card connected to any network or is it simply attached to your computer? I think I saw some cases in the past when simple plugging the adapter wasn't enough and it had to be connected to any WiFi network for Flexnet to "see" it in the system and start serving the license. Maybe you got a similar case.

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Hi Lukasz.

It is overnight.

There is no statemet that it doesnt work on USB adapter and it worked for quite few years now.

You have to put effort to disable this functionality.

You didnt read it carefully 😉 check newer laptops, not old ones. Somen newer laptops only have wifi and no LAN. But this is offtopic.

Wifi connection has no impact on MAC adress of dongle (if it is not under power saver management).

Creo 7.0.0.0 works if wifi is connected or not. Creo 7.0.1.0 doesnt work in any situation and I am afraid that it wont work also in future releases 😮

At the end, I am searching solutions for keep using USB dongle and Creo on current laptop with not working wifi card.

BR,

CreoUser

J

jtezak

1-Visitor

Hi,

Creouser is right. PTC changed something between 7.0.0. and 7.0.1.

I just tried to upgrade my Creo 7.0.0. installation to 7.0.1. and suddenly my USB network card is not recognized any more. Creo install program says that my license is invalid and install program does not show correct MAC address. I skipped licensing and install license later in PSF, but Creo does not start, because my license is invalid. PTCHOSTID does not show USB adapter at all.

I implemented registry hack before, so my USB network adapter had number 1 and Wifi adapter 2 in registry, so USB adapter had priority over Wifi adapter.

I reverted back to 7.0.0. and everything is working again.

I have locked licence and I use USB network adapter to transfer license between laptop and workstation. This functionality is essential for me.

Everything worked fine up to Creo 7.0.0. And suddenly 7.0.1. breaks everything.

Thank you, PTC. You are working hard to push me away as a customer. If this is not a bug, I will finally give up and start using Solid Works, as most of my colleagues do.

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Hello,

I guess I am not the only one who figured this out.

I am sorry to hear that, not to be misunderstood.

And I really hope this is bug and not a feature.

In meanwhile we hope there is solution for keep on using USB Adapters for Creo 7 🤐

BR,

CreoUser

T

TomU

23-Emerald IV

Support for USB adapters WAS intentionally removed in Creo 7.0.1.0.

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS329290

M

MartinHanak

24-Ruby III

@TomU wrote:

Support for USB adapters WAS intentionally removed in Creo 7.0.1.0.

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS329290

Hi,

does this mean that PTC also stopped supporting for floating licenses,? They do not mention floating licenses in CS329290 !

If the stopped support only for locked licenses then it does not make any sense (from my point of view).

L

LukaszMazur

16-Pearl

I think it makes a lot of sense from PTC's point of view, though 😉
As we all know, locked license has been meant to be used on a specific computer, so you could use only on one workstation. Using USB stick we could work around that and move between computers, still using the same license. So, essentially, with a bit more hassle one could get similar behavior to floating license for a lower price.

So it wasn't necessary to do anything with floating licenses, just limit more locked ones.

K

kerzen

10-Marble

Hi,

being freelancer, companies supply you with their laptop so you can access SharePoint sites and other important company data. In my case i have my own laptop and workstation and also one laptop supplied by company I work as freelancer where I bring my own CAD license with me . I need flexible licensing so I can switch from one machine to another in maters of seconds. It needs to be flexible enough that i can carry my license away from my workstation for longer than one month. ( when i travel business) and when traveling, there is no chance to use VPN. Can you explain how you envision licensing in my case. Currently I am very disappointed with way you ended this feature. No info in advanced. This feature was and still is critical to my business! Looking forward to positive feedback!

Best Regards Klemen - your long time client!

T

TomU

23-Emerald IV

Looks like PTC is removing this restriction in the next Creo 7 release. KB article was just updated today:

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS329290

B

BenLoosli

23-Emerald III

You will just have to wait until November when Creo 7.0.2 is released.

N

NihalVelpanur

Answer

14-Alexandrite

Hi CreOUser,

Thanks for bringing this up. PTC is aware of the change and it will be fixed in 7.0.2.0. This was the result of a licensing change due to how Windows 10 queries MAC addresses from physical and virtual adapters. For node-locked licenses, unfortunately there is no workaround for 7.0.1.0 other than using a PCI based adapter. This change does not affect floating licenses, however.

Best,

Nihal Velpanur

Creo Product Management

C

Cre0User

Author

1-Visitor

Thank you Nihal and everyone,

It is good to see that PTC will keep supporting USB adapters as to this day.

BR,

CreoUser

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