Uninstallation does not remove license

[Anonymous]

I have Product Design Suite Premium 2017 (perpetual license with maintenance plan / standalone) and am trying to figure out how to "deactivate" it from my old computer. I already went through the hoops to get it activated on the new computer, so the new computer does have valid activation on the software. I just want to make sure that the Autodesk activation servers recognize that the software is not installed/activated on my old computer. I don't want to run into license problems in the future, especially since I have the perpetual license + maintenance plan....should I ever not continue with the maintenance plan, I want to make sure I know how to manage the license transfer process when upgrading hardware.

Here's what happened: I uninstalled the software on the old computer. Then, I installed the software on the new computer. Bam, error 10 (activation limit exceeded). So I went through the multi-question process and received an activation code, which worked, and I used it on the new computer. Then, I saw this screen:

 

It says, "Uninstalling Autodesk Product Design Suite Premium 2017 does not remove the license." So, now I'm worried that Autodesk activation servers think the software is still being used on the old computer.

I thought I should reinstall the software on the old computer and run the license transfer utility to remove the license from the old computer. For whatever reason, the new installation of the software on the old computer thinks it's on a 30 day trial, and is asking to activate the software. I am wondering if I should just let it be and not activate the software on the old computer. But, I still want to make sure the software is deactivated from this old computer!

How can I deactivate the software on the old computer? I need to know before I decommission the old computer. I don't want to run into license problems in the future (especially in the event of a perpetual license with no maintenance plan situation) where Autodesk thinks there are more instances of the software installed than the EULA permit.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Otto]

Hello mattytraxx

It looks like you’re seeing "Licensing System Error 10: failed to start AdLM". This error sometimes occurs due to a problem with the Flexlm network license manager. The following article(s) should help you resolve the problem:

Problems configuring the Autodesk Network License Manager (FLEXnet)

Common Flexlm error codes

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[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

The only thing that you can do is to use the License Transfer Utility (LTU) on the old machine and push your (activated) license to the cloud.  Then on the new install, use that cloud based activated license to active the new install.

However I will tell you the LTU has its issue and in my opinion its not worth the work and frustration that it may lead to.

Each organization has a "magic" number of standalone activation for the product they have.  Just install and activate your product on the new machine and be done with it.  Then perform a clean uninstall per these instructions on the old machine and you will be good to go.   No need to worry about anything else.

Yes at some point you can reach the max activation limit but if you do you just contact Autodesk and they will assist you.

Hope that helps...

[Darin.Green]

In addition to @Mark.Lancaster post...

If you tried transferring the license from one system to another but the license doesn't get downloaded onto the new machine, it's due to one of the following:

• The same version of PC1 applications is not the same as on PC2

• Serial Number mismatch between PC1 and PC2

That being said, once those issues are corrected on the destination machine (serial number, or software mismatch), you should be able to copy down the transferred license.

If after making the changes still doesn't work, just activate the software on the destination machine.

Note: If you activate the new machine, make sure you uninstall the software from the old machine along with deleting the following directories:

• C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\

• C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet

[Anonymous]

@Mark.Lancaster, Thanks, I guess using the License Transfer Utility was what I was looking for:

Indeed, it says "Exporting the license will deactivate the product on your computer." A few follow on questions--

1.  Is there anywhere I can online (in my Autodesk account) that shows the fact that I have a license "floating" in the cloud?

2.  Does this need to be done per product version? In other words, if I had 2016 installed before, but I only uninstalled that version (and did not use the License Transfer Utility), and then installed the 2017 version on the same computer, does the 2017 version of the software use the 2016 activation info? Or do I need to export the 2016 version using LTU also?

[Anonymous]

@Darin.Green

Regarding your tip:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

[...]

Note: If you activate the new machine, make sure you uninstall the software from the old machine along with deleting the following directories:

• C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\

• C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet

---

It's my understanding that Flexera Software have many customers (not just Autodesk), so removing the entire C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet directory could be dangerous. Specifically, the clean uninstall guide says to remove only these files:

    adskflex_########_tsf.data

    adskflex_########_tsf.data.backup   

    adskflex_########_event.log

Assuming the adskflex_* files are the only files in the directory, then it seems safe to remove the entire directory.

[Darin.Green]

@Anonymous

That is correct. If you have standalone licenses for other products, just delete the adskflex_* files.

Also, to answer your other question about exporting different versions.

1. Is there anywhere I can online (in my Autodesk account) that shows the fact that I have a license "floating" in the cloud?
   • No. Those files are locked down, and the only way you have access to them is through the LTU.
2. Does this need to be done per product version? In other words, if I had 2016 installed before, but I only uninstalled that version (and did not use the License Transfer Utility), and then installed the 2017 version on the same computer, does the 2017 version of the software use the 2016 activation info? Or do I need to export the 2016 version using LTU also?
   • You cannot use an exported 2016 license for 2017 products. They are version specific.
   • As long as you're within the subscription range (2017 back to 2014) then you should be able to export the other versions as well.

The next question would be, how do I export the other versions. This is done by finding the

• Browse to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and open the Autodesk application folder you need to export the license of.
• Locate and run the License Transfer Utility - <application name>

or, use the command line and type in the following: (Notice the arguments after the exe file)

• AutoCAD 2017 - "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\ADLM\R12\LTU.exe" 001I1 2017.0.0.F -d SA -l en-US
• Autodesk Inventor 2017 - "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdLM\R12\LTU.exe" 208I1 2017.0.0.F -d SA -l en-US

The only difference is the product key and version.

Hope that helps.