Are SWx licenses "CD specific"?

[MMike1]

We've got 8 or 9 licenses here. Three of us have tried to upgrade to SW07, sp5. Only one of us was able to install it successfully. Mine said it couldn't find an i386 file somewhere. Another person had a differnt error.

The only difference was that the one gy who pulled it off, used the same DVD that he used for hs original install. (Long story but with desks moving around etc, the SWx boxes all got mixed up).

But I didn't think that mattered. I was pretty sur that at least with SW2005, it didn't really matter. The individual license ID was only really verified for the initial install.

Sufficed to say, with SW2005, I never had ANY trouble installing SP's. This is my first attempt at installing a SW07 sp, and now I'm having trouble. And the only thing I can think is that I'm using the wrong DVD...

 

[fcsuper]

The CD's themselves are not license specific. There are other reasons for the issues. Without knowing more details, here's just some ideas. Don't mix DVD installs with CD installs. This will create problems similar to what you are running into. Anotehr example, our VAR strongly recommends not to upgrade from an old version to a new version, nut rather to delete the old version and install the new version fresh. Of course, this applies if you are upgrading from 2005 to 2007, but not if you are upgrading a service pack unless you are trying to perform that upgrade from a CD instead from the file download at the SolidWorks website.

Matt
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
sw.fcsuper.com
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group

 

[audiv8]

We had an absolutely nightmarish time doing that very same install here on 4 computers. It took almost a day per computer. It turned out to be sp5.0 - we're back on sp4.0 and it installed fine.

As far as I know, SW has never been CD specific. The registration codes, however, are keyed to the serial numbers. Back in 98 a coworker decoded the relationship between the two just for kicks...

 

[MMike1]

Sorry....I was mixing issues....

I'm only trying to go from SW07 sp4 to SW07 sp5.....(with SW05, I was only referring to past experience at another job).

I downloaded the SP upgrade from the SWx site. I plinked in the dvd when prompted, and it can't find an i386 file....

Meh....I'll live with sp4 for now...

 

[NL8]

We had to uninstall SW from each machine here and install SW 07 SP 0.0 from the DVD's then do the 0.0 to 5.0 update. At that point it wasn't CD/DVD specific and ran just fine. It seems that the odds/evens rule is in effect....

 

[rockguy]

Once SolidWorks started using the Windows Installer you had to have the original install CD to upgrade SP's (an anti pirating measure I believe).I'm not sure the Windows Installer was in use in 2005. That might have been the old Install Shield way. Now that SolidWorks has gone to online activation in 2007 SP3 I don't think you even need the original install CD/DVD to upgrade (if you're using the download manager).

Rob Rodriguez CSWP

http://www.axiscadsolutions.com

http://www.robrodriguez.com

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/rob_rodriguez/

Eastern Region SWUGN Representative

http://www.swugn.org

http://www.nvtswug.com

SW 2007 SP 2.0

 

[dogarila]

It doesn't have to be the original, it could be an original similar to the original. What I mean is if your installation was originally from an SP0.0 CD (or DVD) you can't use an original containing SP3.0. If you have two or more originals similar to the one you installed your SW you can use any of them.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

A way around the need for the DVD is to copy it to your HDD and install SW from there. Then when updating, the install files are found automatically or can be pointed to if not.

 

[PDMAdmin]

I have been using admin images for years; that has worked very well for me. I rarely run into issues, and none of them has been a show-stopper so far. (I recently upgraded to SW2007 SP5 without any problems.) For the number of people in your user base, that might be worth considering.

 

[MMike1]

I tried shaking some supposedly magic healing beads at my computer. They didn't do anything. That's the last time I take IT advice from a homeless guy in a public restroom. I'm regretting trading my shoes for those beads. Live and learn I guess....

 

[SBaugh]

Whatever media you used to install the software is what you have to when you update a Service pack. If you used the DVD then you pop the DVD in the drive... if it gives and error you probably used the CD's instead.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

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