This bug has been fixed in Release 2009a (R2009a). For previous product releases, read below for any possible workarounds:
This issue was a bug in license file generation. This issue may occur if you activate MATLAB 7.6 (R2008a) with an R2008b license file. MATLAB 7.6 (R2008a) has an issue in the licensing code where an R2008b license file may cause MATLAB to crash.
If you are experienceing this issue, there are a few workarounds:
1. Reactivate MATLAB automatically using the Internet:
If your machine has Internet connection and you have activation permissions, you can reactivate the license automatically. To do so:
- Navigate to your $MATLABROOT\licenses folder (where $MATLABROOT is your MATLAB installation folder)
- Delete (or move to another folder) any file that starts with the word license (ex: license_mycomputer_R2008a.lic)
- Go to the Start menu to MATLAB > R2008a > Activate MATLAB R2008a
- Choose to activate automatically using the Internet
- Log into your MathWorks account and complete the activation.
MATLAB should now launch normally.
2. Reactivate MATLAB manually:
Following a similar procedure to option 1, you can obtain a new R2008a license file from the License Center and update MATLAB with that license file. To do so:
- Go back to the License Center and reactivate the same Host ID, choosing the R2008a as the release to activate.
- Download the new R2008a license file (license.dat) to your machine .
- Navigate to your $MATLABROOT\licenses folder (where $MATLABROOT is your MATLAB installation folder).
- Delete (or move to another folder) any file that starts with the word license (ex: license_mycomputer_R2008a.lic).
- Save the new license.dat file in your $MATLABROOT\licenses folder.
MATLAB should now launch normally.
3. Point MATLAB directly to your licenses folder:
Using this workaround involves modifying the shortcut you use to start MATLAB to point directly at the licenses folder. To do so:
- Right click on your shortcut to MATLAB
- Right Click and select Properties
- Locate the Target field. Generally this should be set to:
"$MATLABROOT\R2008a\bin\matlab.exe"
(where $MATLABROOT is the installation folder for MATLAB on your machine)
- To point to the licenses folder, you will need to append a space, -c, another space, and the path to the licenses folder ($MATLABROOT\licenses). For example:
"C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2008a\bin\matlab.exe" -c "C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2008a\licenses"
- Press OK to save the changes.
MATLAB should now launch normally.
If you continue to experience an issue starting MATLAB, contact the Installation and Licensing team here:
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