Troubleshoot license files

If your license file generation is not successful, a page appears saying why the generation failed.

When you generate a new license file for an existing Data Archive server, the generator looks at the machine identification information in the existing license file. The machine signature file (MSF) identifies a computer based partly on its hardware and software configuration. If your new MSF does not match the information in the existing license file, then you get an error. Here is what might be wrong:

• The most common reason for failure is that the machine signature file does not match the file on record for that Data Archive server. If you generated the MSF on the wrong computer (for example, on your desktop rather than the Data Archive computer), the MSF will not match the existing license file.

  Solution: Run the MSF generator on the Data Archive computer and generate the license file with this new MSF file.

• You generated the MSF with an older version of MSFWinGen. This utility has been updated numerous times, and different releases of Data Archive correspond to a different MSFWinGen version number. This can become a problem even if you used a current version of MSFWinGen at the time of a previous upgrade. We recommend that you verify your License percent mismatch each time you generate a new license.

• You significantly altered the hardware or software configuration on the Data Archive computer (for example, you added new drives or changed the operating system or network card), or moved the Data Archive server to a different computer, license file generation might fail.

  Solution: You probably need a new license file.

• Someone at your workplace may have generated the license file on a different computer.

  Solution: Make sure that the file was generated on the Data Archive computer. On the MLA web page, find the Activation History column and click View to see the name of the last user to generate a license file. If the person is within your organization, please contact them to find out where the Data Archive license file should go.

• The license activation system restricts the number of attempts to generate a license file on the same Data Archive server. License activation fails if you attempt activation:

  • too soon after previously generating a license

  • too often in a 24-hour period.

    Solution: Check to see the history of when the license file was generated. See View license activation history.