MATLAB Installation Guide for Windows    

License Manager Error Messages

After a successful installation, you may encounter problems starting MATLAB. Many of these problems have their root in the license manager used by the MathWorks products, FLEXlm. This section provides information about some of the more common license manager errors, listed in this table by error number.

License Manager Error
License Manager Error -2: Invalid License File Syntax
License Manager Error -3: Cannot Connect to a License Server
License Manager Error -5: License Checkout Failed. No Such Feature Exists.
License Manager Error -8: Invalid (Inconsistent) License Key
License Manager Error -9: Invalid Host. License Checkout Failed.
License Manager Error -10: Feature Has Expired
License Manager Error -11: License Checkout Failed. Invalid Date Format in License File.
License Manager Error -12: License Checkout Failed. Invalid Return Data from License Server.
License Manager Error -13: No SERVER Line in License File
License Manager Error -14: Cannot Find SERVER Hostname in Network Database
License Manager Error -15: Cannot Connect to License Server
License Manager Error -16
License Manager Error -18: License Checkout Failed. License Server Does Not Support This Feature.
License Manager Error -21: License File Does Not Support This Version
License Manager Error -25: License Server Does Not Support This Version of This Feature
License Manager Error -39: No License for Feature
License Manager Error -83: FLEXlm Version of Client Newer Than Server
License Manager Error -84: Missing Options File
License Manager Error -88: License Checkout Failed
License Manager Error -96: Server Node is Down or Not Responding
License Manager Error -97: License Checkout Failed

It can also be helpful to view the FLEXlm log file, lmlog.txt, in the $MATLAB\flexlm directory. To get more information about a FLEXlm license manager problem, see the FLEXlm End User Manual, available in PDF format in $MATLAB\flexlm\enduser.pdf or go to the GLOBEtrotter Software, Inc. Web site, www.globetrotter.com.

License Manager Error -2: Invalid License File Syntax

This error message typically indicates that there is a problem in your License File. On client systems, make sure your License File ($MATLAB\bin\win32\license.dat) has the following format.

Note that there should be a carriage return immediately following the USE_SERVER line.

License Manager Error -3: Cannot Connect to a License Server

This error can occur if the SERVER line in your License File is incorrect or missing.

To remedy this error, try the following:

License Manager Error -5: License Checkout Failed. No Such Feature Exists.

This message usually indicates that you are trying to use a product for which you are not licensed. Check your License File to see if you are licensed to use this product.

If you are licensed for this product, this error may be the result of having extra carriage returns in your License File. To avoid this, make sure that each line begins with either #, SERVER, DAEMON, or INCREMENT.

This error can also be caused by tab characters in the License File. Remove these tabs and replace with them spaces.

This error may also be the result of an incorrect system date. If your system date is set before the date that your license was made, you will get this error. See License Manager Error -10: Feature Has Expired to learn how to reset the system date.

License Manager Error -8: Invalid (Inconsistent) License Key

This error message typically indicates that your License File, $MATLAB\flexlm\license.dat, has been corrupted. This can happen if the License File was edited or if an e-mail program inserted extraneous tabs or carriage returns in the INCREMENT lines.

One way to check for extraneous tabs and carriage returns is to open your License File in a text editor and view all nonprinting characters. Remove all the tab characters and all carriage returns that are not at the end of a line.

Check that the contents of your License File matches the license data sent you by The MathWorks.

License Manager Error -9: Invalid Host. License Checkout Failed.

If you get this error on a system running an individually licensed MATLAB, make sure you are running MATLAB on the same system it was installed on. The MathWorks locks a license to a particular system.

You can also get this error if you replaced your hard drive or changed the partition on an existing hard drive. To remedy this situation, rerun the installer. At Step 5: Select the Products You Want to Install, click on the More Options... button on the Product List dialog box and select the Update license option. This option updates your license without requiring that you reinstall MATLAB.

You can also get this error if you try to clone a Release 13 installation from one system to another.

License Manager Error -10: Feature Has Expired

This error indicates that one or more of your license keys has expired.

Check the expiration date on each of the INCREMENT lines in your License File. If the dates in the license file have already passed, contact the Customer Service department at The MathWorks (through the Web or through e-mail at service@mathworks.com). When contacting The Mathworks, include your License Number and the Host ID of your license server.

If none of your product licenses has expired, check that your system date and time are correct:

  1. Click on the Start menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Click on Control Panel.
  4. Choose Date/Time.

License Manager Error -11: License Checkout Failed. Invalid Date Format in License File.

This error indicates that the start date or the expiration date in the License File is invalid. This can happen if the expiration dates in the License File have been changed.

You can also get this error if the space character between the number of users field and the 20 digit encryption code in the INCREMENT line is missing. Compare the INCREMENT lines in your license file with the INCREMENT lines in your original license e-mail. They must be exactly the same.

This error can also occur if the SERVER and DAEMON lines are missing from the license.dat file. The installer adds these lines to the License File as part of the installation process.

License Manager Error -12: License Checkout Failed. Invalid Return Data from License Server.

This error can be caused by your network setup. When the license manager tries to connect to the server, the DNS Server does not find it because it does not add the domain name suffix into the search.

If all of your client systems are having this problem, change the name of the server in the SERVER line to the fully qualified name:

  1. Change the SERVER line in all license.dat files on your network, which are located in $MATLAB\bin\win32, to have the fully qualified name of the server.
  2. Restart the license manager on the server. (See Starting and Stopping the License Manager.)

If only some of the clients in your network installation are having this problem, edit the TCP/IP Hosts file on your client systems:

  1. Open the file, C:\WinNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
  2. Add the hostname of your license server to this file. You can find your license server information in the SERVER line of your license.dat file.
  1. For example, if your SERVER line looks like this,

    Add the following line to your TCP/IP Hosts file.

  1. Save the changes to the TCP/IP Hosts file.

License Manager Error -13: No SERVER Line in License File

This indicates that there is no SERVER line in the License File. This line should be added by the installer during the installation process.

To remedy this problem, run the installer again or manually edit the License File, $MATLAB\flexlm\license.dat, adding the SERVER line. See License File for information about the format and contents of the SERVER line.

License Manager Error -14: Cannot Find SERVER Hostname in Network Database

If this error occurs on a client system, check to make sure that the hostname on the SERVER line in the license.dat file on your client system matches the hostname on the SERVER line in your license.dat file on your license server. Edit the SERVER line in the client license.dat file, if necessary.

Also, make sure that the server's hostname, included in the SERVER line, is listed in the C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file for Windows NT.

License Manager Error -15: Cannot Connect to License Server

This error message can have several causes but the most common cause is that the license manager isn't running on your license server.

Verify that both the license manager daemon and the vendor daemon processes, lmgrd and mlm, are running. You can check this via the Task Manager, which can be accessed by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete key sequence. Run these commands on the system on which your license manager is running.

If the license manager isn't running, see Starting and Stopping the License Manager for information about starting it.

License Manager Error -16

This error indicates that the path to the MATLAB vendor daemon, mlm.exe, is incorrect in your License File DAEMON line. See License File for an example of a DAEMON line.

License Manager Error -18: License Checkout Failed. License Server Does Not Support This Feature.

The most common cause of this error is updating your License File without restarting your license manager. Restart your license manager and then try to start MATLAB. See Starting and Stopping the License Manager.

If you get this error on a client system, but not your license server, the License File on the client probably needs to be updated. Copy the License File from the server onto the your client system ($MATLAB\bin\win32).

Here are some other possible solutions to this error:

License Manager Error -21: License File Does Not Support This Version

If you are getting this error on your license server, make sure you have installed the version of FLEXlm included with Release 13. Release 13 License Files will not work with the older FLEXlm versions.

If you have updated an existing license.dat file with new Release 13 passcodes, you still need to install FLEXlm 8.0d from the MATLAB CD.

If you are getting this error on one of your client systems and not on the server, make sure the License File on the client is in the following format.

The SERVER line in the client system License File should be the same as the SERVER line found in the License File on the license server.

Also, make sure you are using your Release 13 license and not a license from a previous release.

License Manager Error -25: License Server Does Not Support This Version of This Feature

This error indicates that you are trying to run MATLAB 6.5 with an old license. You must update your license.dat file with your new license passcodes.

If you do not have your MATLAB Release 13 license, contact Customer Service at The MathWorks.

License Manager Error -39: No License for Feature

You may encounter the following license manager error:

This table lists a typical cause of this error with possible solutions.

Possible Problem
Resolution
You are not listed as a user in your options file.
Check your options file and make sure your username is on the INCLUDE line for the product you are trying to use.
On UNIX computers, the installer creates the options file, named $MATLAB\flexlm\MLM.opt.

License Manager Error -83: FLEXlm Version of Client Newer Than Server

This error message usually indicates that the version of the license manager on the client system is newer than the license manager on the server system. When MATLAB starts, the license file is pointing to the wrong version of the license manager.

To correct the problem, change the path of the DAEMON line in your license.dat file. For a UNIX server, the DAEMON line for all license files should resemble this sample (the pathname of your daemon will be different).

For a PC server, the DAEMON line for all license files should read

where $MATLAB is your MATLAB installation directory. After changing your License File, be sure to restart the license manager.

License Manager Error -84: Missing Options File

License manager cannot find your options file.

Possible resolutions:

License Manager Error -88: License Checkout Failed

This error indicates that your system clock has been set incorrectly. Check that your system date and time are correct. To learn how to change the system date, see License Manager Error -10: Feature Has Expired.

License Manager Error -96: Server Node is Down or Not Responding

This error can occur if you are running DHCP (to obtain a dynamically assigned IP address) on your license server. MATLAB cannot connect with the License Manager because it uses TCP/IP protocols for communication and your IP address is changing.

To fix this problem, follow this procedure.

  1. Obtain the current IP address for your server. If you are on UNIX or Linux, use the ifconfig command. On a PC running Windows, you can use the ipconfig command at a DOS prompt.
  2. Edit your hosts file and change the IP address for your server's entry to be the correct IP address. On UNIX or Linux systems, edit the /etc/hosts file. On Windows NT and Windows 2000 systems, edit the C:\Winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file.

License Manager Error -97: License Checkout Failed

This error is often caused by trying to run both MATLAB 5.3 and MATLAB 6.5 on the same system with different license managers. If this is the case, run both copies of MATLAB with the same License File. See Performing Common License Management Tasks for more information.

If you are not trying to run MATLAB 5.3 but only want to run MATLAB 6.5, make sure you have installed FLEXlm version 8.0d from the Release 13 CD. MATLAB 6.5 will not run with an older version of the license manager.


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