Mathcad 14 license exceeded

[David_A]

After I upgraded my hard drive (C: drive) to a larger disk, I used Norton Ghost to transfer the contents of the old C: drive to the new drive. Windows XP Pro booted up ok. But Mathcad, which was installed on the E: drive, didn't like the new hard drive and would not run. Note that I did not replace the E: drive with new harddisk, only the C: drive. The E: drive is where Mathcad was installed. So I put the old C: drive back into the PC, uninstalled Mathcad 14. Then I put the new C: drive back in and reinstalled Mathcad 14. The install works fine, but when I go to acquire a license, the web says I've exceeded my licenses. I have not. I only have one installation of Mathcad 14 (Single User). How can I get the software back working? Windows XP Pro SP3 4GB RAM C: drive has O/S E: drive is where Mathcad is installed

[RichardJ]

You will have to call the licensing people at PTC. Richard

[ptc-2859364]

I have a similar problem in that I want to transfer MathCad 14 from a desktop to a laptop. It looks at the hostID of the PC and will not run. We used not to have these problems when MathSoft owned the product. I will not buy a new license, nor will I ever upgrade. I've basically stopped using the product and started using something else.

[RichardJ]

Well, Mathcad 11 was also activated, and if you used up your licenses you needed to call Mathsoft. PTC does have more draconian licensing policies than just about any other company I can think of, but if you call they will probably give you another activation. Richard

[ptc-1648124]

I have a similar problem. I upgraded my computer from XP to Win7, but have numerous legacy applications that don't run under Win7. So I installed the Win7 feature of "virtual PC," and run these older apps under Win XP. That all works just fine, except for MathCad 14. When I tried to reinstall that (on the same PC, on the same C: drive, under the same XP OS), I was told I had exceeded the number of licences! I'm not trying to get MathCad working in any new way or on a different computer! I'm just trying to get back to where I was!! I have tried to contact PTC, but the web based contact link refuses to connect me, saying that I don't have a valid maintenance agreement! Has anyone been succesful in getting MathCad working again after a computer hardware or software upgrade??

[mzeftel]

Did you contact the phone numbers at http://www.ptc.com/support/mathcad_contacts.htm? Technical support prefers to be contacted by phone. Good luck with it! Mona

[JosephHallstrom]

I must agree that PTC / MathCad has become the most draconian program for transferinga licesne I have experienced. MathCad 14.0 will be my last purchase from PTC. I have sucessfully transfered licesnes from all my other technical software to a new laptop without the need to call in, which is a minor inconvience. To me the major issue is the inability to read knowledgebase documents with out a paid support subscription. I suspect that many single users could gain significant help to problems from this resource - just as we do with MICROSOFT and others. Frankly, Wolfram is easier to deal with and since mathmatica can open MathCad files, it may be time to make the switch.

[RichardJ]

"Joseph Hallstrom" wrote:

To me the major issue is the inability to read knowledgebase documents with out a paid support subscription.

[KeithHooks]

We had a guy leave our company and I'm trying to take over his Mathcad 14 license. Our reseller is telling me that I cannot transfer the license to a new machine. On top of that, I posed the hypothetical question "If I were to upgrade my PC, get a new workstation, or even replace my hard drive, would I still be able to use the software or would I be forced to buy another license?" He states that because I have a "single user" license, that I would have to buy a new license in those cases. Ridiculous.

[MikeArmstrong]

You could try contacting the Mathcad License and Install team directly.

-.

Mike

[TimHughes]

Related very old thread on license/install/maintenace issues and difficulties.

http://communities.ptc.com/thread/5993

When I next upgrade my computer I will just reinstall my old version of mcad 2001i ,which did not have a draconian lic policy.

Still good for day to day Engineering reports, and move on for heavy duty calculations to a different platform.

TH

[MikeArmstrong]

I don't have a problem with a license, just posting the e-mail address.

Mike

[RichardJ]

Related very old thread on license/install/maintenace issues and difficulties.

http://communities.ptc.com/thread/5993

That thread is regarding the first attempt by PTC to kill the Collaboratory, and has got little nothing to do with licensing issues.

BTW, all the weird looking posts where someone has been quoted but there is no other text in he reply are because in the second attempt by PTC to kill the Collaboratory they moved all the threads to this forum, but in some cases did a lousy job of doing it.

[RichardJ]

I have heard that others have got that response from resellers. But resellers have an interest in you buying again! I believe that if you contact PTC licensing directly, as Mike suggests, you will find out that the reseller was being rather less than truthful.

[KeithHooks]

Our reseller gave us the option of paying $85 to convert our single-use license to a locked license. I didn't really have any choice but to take them up on it. Supposedly this type of license will allow us to move it from machine to machine if we need to. It was still a big hassle that I would avoided if possible (and I'm still waiting on the license in order to run it).

The single-use license is garbage. This is the first case I've ever seen where a license does not allow you to re-install if something catastrophic happens. A harddrive crash or upgrading to a new machine requires you to buy a new copy of the software. I still can't believe how ridiculous that is.

Thanks for all the responses.

[RogerMansfield]

It is clear now, from reading posts to this PlanetPTC forum, that PTC treats single users differently from node-locked license users.

Single users are deemed to be temporary users with no standing, while node-locked license users (i.e., annual-maintenance-paying users) have standing, in that we have access to the knowledge base and upgrades so long as we keep paying the annual maintenance fee.

I have been told that with a node-locked license, you can move your two permitted copies (office and home, or in my case, primary and secondary) to other machines. I have not tried this myself, but I suspect it would be a hassle, because it involves dealing with PTC's licensing process and personnel.

I realize that this won't help you get back your single-user copy of Mathcad 14, but it would provide a remedy if you were willing to upgrade to Mathcad 15.

After more than fifteen years of single-user experience, I finally upgraded to Mathcad 15 last summer (June 2010). I try to regard the annual maintenance as dues to join an exclusive club of STEM professionals who really do math every day. PlanetPTC makes me feel like I really am in an exclusive club, and have a say.

I do truly believe that the reason Mathsoft, Inc. sold out to PTC was because the single-user revenue model just wasn't working. If PTC cannot make a go of it with Mathcad, then what?

Yes, those of us who still have Mathcad 2001i and Windows XP will have a fallback position (that I personally don't really care for -- Mathcad 14 has a better suite of ODE solvers*, and Mathcad 15 has DoE). But what about those who got on the Mathcad merry-go-round at Mathcad 11 or later?

Bottom line, at least for me, is: I want and need Mathcad, and I want it to be around for the long term. I'm assuming of course that I'll be around for the long term! So I'll pay annually to have a stake in Mathcad's future. Even if the licensing folks are hard to deal with. Even if the maintenance releases never seem to quite fix all of the problems that I have encountered in my own work. Even if I have to continue to read threads like this one, that really resonate with me.

*Please see http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/09/26/why-i-use-mathcad/

[mzeftel]

Hi all,

Mathcad 14 licenses are tied to your computer's Host-ID. Mathcad 15 licenses are tied to your computer's physical address. If you get a new computer, or update your hard drive, or have any other license or installation issues, you can contact - and you will be given a new license. We are moving single user licenses to node-locked licenses so that all users will have acess to maintenance and technical support. Maintenance entitles you to free maintenance (service) updates within the year.

We are working very hard to improve the user experience with licensing and installation.

Regards,

Mona

Mona Zeftel

Mathcad Senior Technical Consultant

PTC

[RichardJ]

Mathcad 14 licenses are tied to your computer's Host-ID. Mathcad 15 licenses are tied to your computer's physical address

Not quite. Mathcad 15 licenses are tied to the physical address of a network adapter in your computer. The distinction is not a moot point, because the computer may not have a network adapter available all of the time, and if you switch network adapter (e.g. turn off the wired connection and turn on the wireless connection) the address will change. The consequences of that are obvious.

[KeithHooks]

I also tried this approach yesterday - sending an email to -. I didn't receive any response and my reseller told me that there was no option for moving a single-use license. So again, I assumed I wasn't eligible for the move.

[bedmonds]

PTC does provide a replacement license to existing Single Users who have to move their copy of Mathcad to a new machine, or have to reinstall on a crashed machine. We also provide technical support to help you get the installation working again. There is no requirement that you must upgrade to get a new license.

You can submit your Single User licensing or installation request here: http://www.ptc.com/appserver/cs/mathcad_logger/options.jsp. You will need to have your Mathcad product code to complete the form.

Brent

[KeithHooks]

How long does that usually take? I filled it out yesterday and received no response, not even an email confirmation that it was in queue. Based on the screen prompts and the information I recieved from my reseller, I didn't have any reason to believe it would work for me.

[mzeftel]

You should hear shortly, probably today.

Mona

[KeithHooks]

I was desperate, so we went with the upgrade route, although I don't have my license for that yet either.

[RichardJ]

.. and the information I recieved from my reseller ...

I told you not to believe the reseller

[KeithHooks]

Like I said, I was desperate

[RichardJ]

You know, IMHO you should slap the resellers that make the claim that a new license is required. This is not the first time I have heard this. It's not good for customer relations when your (presumably authorized) resellers BS your customers so that they can make some extra money by selling unnecessary licenses.

[bedmonds]

We will certainly remind all resellers of the distinction between replacing a license for a crashed/replaced machine and issuing a new license for an additional machine.

[RogerMansfield]

There are apparently a lot of PTC resellers out there. But the one I am with for my Mathcad 15 node-locked license is Maintenance Reseller Corporation (MRC) of Woburn, MA. I seem to recall being told that they manage all of PTC's node-locked licenses.

P.S. The Mathcad 15 installation went smoothly. I did not have the problems that others have cited. I did lose Mathcad 14, but so far that has not been a problem.