How to get PTC to use new license instead of old one?

[RB_7471070]

I am using Creo Parametric 2.0 M250

One of our licenses has expired. I used the installation tool for PTC to see the new license but the software is still stuck on the old license. What do I do?

[KenFarley]

When licenses expire (assuming you are working with subscription licenses) you need to replace the outdated license file on the license server with a new one you get from PTC. The instructions I wrote up for our folks to do this are as follows:

The Creo license file must be updated on a yearly basis. Doing so is somewhat simple, but
can have troublesome ramifications if not done properly. Here's how it's done:

(1)  Obtain the new license file from PTC. If no changes have been made to the configuration
     of the server (new name, Host ID, etc.), this can be done with a simple web inquiry.
(2)  Copy that file to the desktop of the server. You're going to be modifying it based upon
     the settings of the currently active license file.
(3)  Traverse the directory tree to the current license file. It will be in a directory that
     is of the format:

     C:\Program Files\PTC\FLEXnet Admin License Server\licensing\license.dat

(4)  Open the current license file, and verify that the PTC Host ID and other info in the
     comments (lines that begin with "#") agree with the new license file. If all is okay,
     copy the two lines that start with "SERVER" and "DAEMON". These lines should look
     something like:

     SERVER INNOVENT-LIC PTC_HOSTID=XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX 7788

     DAEMON ptc_d "C:\Program Files\PTC\FLEXnet Admin License Server\x86e_win64\obj\ptc_d.exe" "C:\Program Files\PTC\FLEXnet Admin License Server\licensing\ptc.opt" 

     These two lines tell the licensing software what computer is being used to host the
     license, and the paths to the software it needs to run.     
(5)  Open the new license file on the desktop, and replace the two "SERVER" and "DAEMON"
     lines with the ones copied from the current license file.
(6)  Run the "Services" program to bring up the list of all running software services.
(7)  Scroll down to the "lmadmin_ptc" service.
(8)  Using the right mouse button, STOP that service.
(9)  Rename the current license file in the Program Files\PTC\FLEX... directory to
     "license-old.dat". This is done as a precaution in case something was not done
     correctly, so things can be reverted back to the previous state.
(10) Rename the new license file on the desktop to "license.dat".
(11) Move/copy the new "license.dat" file to the Program Files\PTC\FLEX... directory.
(12) In the Services program, right click on the "lmadmin_ptc" entry and hit "Start".
(13) The lmadmin_ptc program should now have a status of "Running".
(14) Verify that things are okay by running "ptcstatus" on one of the computers in the
     network, or by trying to run Creo.
(15) If all is well, you are done. Close all the programs and files involved, and log
     out of the server.

Hopefully this makes sense to you. The big roadblocks in fixing these things are having the right permissions to change things on the server and getting the new license file from PTC.

[RB_7471070]

 Thank you for the reply but we do not use a license server.  Our Engineers are standalone so the license is on their machines.

[KenFarley]

I'd imagine the process is basically the same, except the new file is saved on your desktop and the various install directories are on your machine. You'll need to have administrator privileges to mess with the services and such, but otherwise it's probably identical to what I described.

Ah the good old days, when I had autonomy on what was running on my machine...

[TomU]

Actually, local install doesn't require services.  The license file is just referenced by the .psf file.  Just need to make sure the name and location matches what is specified in the .psf file.

[RB_7471070]

 Thanks for this information.  Quick question:  So under my /PTC folder where might I locate this .psf  object so I can make the change?

[BenLoosli]

\PTC\Creo4m080\Creo 4.0\M080\Parametric\bin

Replace your version information with what I have.

[TomU]

It's just a plain text file.  You can view it in any text editor.  Notepad, Notepad++, etc.

[RB_7471070]

So I found the .psf object and made the change for the new license file but now it is a txt file and not a psf. Also when I start CREO it is still complaining about the old license. I am confused.

[Dale_Rosema]

You could always call your VAR and have them link to your machine and have them fix it. It is partly what they get paid to do.

[KenFarley]

Hmmm, seems like you opened the .psf file, but maybe when you went to save it the default .txt extension was used. Perhaps there are permissions problems on writing to the directory?

If it was me, I would save a copy of the original .psf to something with the extension .psf-old, but it might be too late for that.

Some windows installations are weird about writing file into the C:\Programs directories. They won't let you overwrite things, but you can rename  or delete the existing file and then write the new file. Hard to determine without seeing any error messages.

[RB_7471070]

LOL - yes I saved the original .psf file under a different name so I still have it. And yes I had to change permissions so I could edit the object and save it. By using notepad to make the change it is now a .txt and not .psf.

[KenFarley]

Then just rename it to a .psf. Click on it and right-mouse-button, look for Rename.

[TomU]

The icon that Windows chooses to assign to the .psf file doesn't matter, but the file extension does.  Do you have file extensions displayed?  If yes, make sure the extension is still .psf and not .txt.

[BenLoosli]

Did you restart the license server to activate the license file after you installed it?

Putting the file in the license location is only 1 step in the process.

You need to have the license management software read the file and then restart the license manager.