Upgrade Registration Hell

[vroberts]

I installed my upgrade from MC14 to MC15 this morning and the registration process would not work. The correct MAC address was pre-inserted by the upgrade process in the non-editable field, byt the program claimed it could not find my sales order number in its database. I could see no way to provide that information since none of the fields screen could be edited.

I finally went to the licensing section of the PTC Support site, moved my license for MC15 from the correct MAC address to another MAC address on the same machine. I was then sent the two new license files by e-mail, and they worked.

But, I needed to move the license back to the original MAC address, since the MAC address I used to get past the non-working upgrade license process "disappears" when the computer is not connected to a hard wired Ethernet connection.

I went back on PTC Support and moved my license yet again from the substitute MAC address back to the original MAC address, which is a WiFI adapter.

I received my two new license files, but, the license wizard in MC would not run as long as it thought it had a valid license.

So, I disconnected the Ethernet cable, which made that adapter disappear, and enabled WiFi. When MC failed to find the licensed alternate MAC adapter it opened the license wizard and allowed me to install the new license tied to the WiFi card. This has the very same MAC address that was in the ID field during the upgrade, so it remains a mystery why I had to jump through so many hoops to get my upgrade licensed.

[PhilipOakley]

This is a known (*) issue. There is, inside PTC tech support, a note on the problem.

The basic issue is the way window works, and how many PCs are customised by the builder/supplier. What this can mean is that the wireless connection can become listed first (in the windows registry), if active, and PTC picks up the first listed MAC address for licencing - hence the problem.

I don't have access to the instructions for sorting the MAC address order to hand. You / others may be able to find similar instructions on the interweb.

Because the problem is not 'common' it isn't covered by the usual notes so you got stuck in that loop! The ethernet port is acting as a "hardware" dongle for the purpose of licencing.

Philip

[PMarshall]

I have the same problem with my upgrade. I have tried both the "I want to retrieve a copy of the existing license for this computer" and "I want to get a new Individual License for this computer". I both case I get a message that it can not retrieve information that was shown on the screen before I clicked on the submit button. I am using Windows 7 and IE8.

I have a call number, put in last night about 10:00 PM, but no response yet.