Software License issues can be complicated. Since we have a range of different instruments and corresponding software packages, they naturally all have slightly different licensing options. Some are quite simple (as in just download, accept the agreement and install) others are more complex (as in you won’t be able to download it directly from our website and installation involves authorization via a “license key”). In this post I’ll show you some potential issues with the latter kind. How can you resolve potential license errors or complications?

1 – The ideal license case – all goes smoothly

You have a brand new computer, with the latest Windows updates. You download the installation package, extract all, or receive it on DVD. Just follow the instructions and it should go smoothly. As part of the installation, a program with the name License Manager should appear on your desktop. Once everything is installed, launch License Manager, click “Activate License” at the bottom and follow the onscreen instructions. Your computer should be on the internet during this step. (There is also a procedure to do this offline). Within seconds your software should be activated.

2 – The almost license case – all goes until the activation

Everything in step 1 appears to go smoothly, but somehow the activation does not seem to work. In this case, try to do the offline activation method. But before you do that, go to www.malvernpanalytical.com/softwareactivation to check your license key. The website will tell you if your key has been used up or is invalid. If for some reason there are no activations left, or your key does not exist in the licensing system, it may be necessary to contact us for clarification and potential re-issue.

3 – The complicated case – not sure if activated or not

Maybe you changed some portion of your computer hardware that requires a relicense. In principle all you have to do is reactivate the license key. Go to License Manager and it should go smoothly. However, it may not. In fact, you may even notice on www.malvernpanalytical.com/softwareactivation that your active license key count goes down, even though you are not licensed. The reason for that could be that you need the very latest version of License Server, and not the one originally delivered with your software package.

For example, if you received your software years ago, with the then current license server version: if you want to activate that today, you require the latest License Server. Fortunately, the license server program is free. You can contact the helpdesk for the latest version, or download the latest ZSX software, which has License server bundled in. For some additional tips and older documents with further details, see below.

Finally, if you have any trouble with the license key, you can always contact us for support.