Mathcad 15 Windows 8 License Problem.

[bcarpenter]

I can't get Mathcad 15 to recognize a license under Win 8.

First some background; I have been installing, and licensing Mathcad for a long time (First ver. text only under Dos) the computer lists three different MAC addresses, tried all three. I receive the license file rename it "license.dat" and put it in "c:\Program files(x86)\Mathcad\Mathcad15\license" when I start Mathcad it says the license file has an error or it can't find the license server and offers to run the license setup manager, so I run the manager point it to the license file hit finish and it still cant find it. What's going on? I am stumped.

[Werner_E]

I had similar problems. It seems that PTC has changed the license procedure abit. For some reason MC is not happy if we simply copy the new license to the old place.

Try the following:

Leave the license.dat in the license directory but rename lit to anything else like licensenew.dat. When you start MC it will fail and you get the option to start the license .... (don't remember the exact wording). Say yes and chose "use existing license" and point it to the licensenew.dat. MC will copy that file as license.dat in its license directory and should be happy.

Hope it works for you, too.

[bcarpenter]

I have installed and obtained licenses for Mathcad products for many years now. We have used Mathcad in our courses since the DOS days.

Lately I keep running into laptops that will not run Mathcad due to license issues. I first try the MAC address that setup identifies normally that works, but increasingly I run in to computers (always laptops) that not only reject the MAC address that setup identifies; no MAC address that I can identify (ipconfig /all) will work.

I have uninstalled, reinstalled, requested new licenses, transferred from MAC address to another, renamed the license file to something other than "license.dat", example " newlicense.dat".

Nothing works, what gives? Is there any thing I am missing?

the common thread is;

Always a laptop.

Windows 7 or 8.

Laptop has many MAC address for various devices (some virtual) including bluetooth, firewire wired TCPip, wireless and so on.

What do I do next?

[Werner_E]

Strange, indeed.

Mathcad 15 (as opposed to Prime) should be happy with a license created for any NIC in the system, even a virtual one.

So any MAC you see with ipconfig /all should work.

There once was posted a utility which gives you the MAC of the primary NIC (by whatever method PTC decided to determine it) - you shouldn't need it for MC15, but you may give it a try:

http://communities.ptc.com/blogs/vpalffy/2011/06/29/mac-adress-reader--unique-computer-identification

http://communities.ptc.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/1717-27743/MAC_Reader-en.exe

So if you delete or rename the license.dat in ...\Mathcad 15\licenses\license.dat and then point the license manager to a license file, is there a license.dat appearing in that ...\licenses\ directory? It should (a simply copy ofthe file you offered).

I guess you have sufficent rights when you install and license the software and I think even if you have not, thanks to Win8 automtzic virtualization you should get MC to run, at least for the user who installs the license file.

What do I do next?

Its about two months since you posted this question and no one here seems to have any solution to offer. So I guess its time to contact PTC support. If they can help, please post a short description what the problem was - may help others in the future.