Advance Steel Installation Troubleshooting Guide


Advance Steel : Professional Steel Detailing Software Solution for AutoCAD This page offers solutions to the most common issues that might be encountered while installing GRAITEC's Advance Steel software.

Several tools, developed for troubleshooting Advance Steel installation problems, can be downloaded from this page.




This guide covers:

Error code problems


Symptom: Advance Steel displays the flexlm License Finder dialog

  • Cause:
    The license file or the license server was not found at the location specified in the registry. The most common situation is that a firewall blocks the communication with the server.

    • FLEXlm License Finder

  • Solution:
    • Specify the license Server or the license file using this dialog.

    If it still does not work the current user might not have permission to write to the registry. In this case reinstall the license. In the case of a server license, the problem can be caused by a firewall or antivirus. See Troubleshooting communication with the license server.

Error code 5: "No such feature exists"

  • Cause:
    • One of the necessary features is missing from the license file. The most likely cause is an incorrect license file.

  • Solution:
    • The error message also shows the expected feature name, the location and the name of the currently used license file. Check that the current license file is the desired one and that the feature is present.

    HSReal or HSEval features must exist in the license file. HSEval must exist if it is an evaluation license and HSReal if it is a normal license.

Error code 8: "Invalid (inconsistent) license key"

Error code 9: "Invalid HOST"

  • Cause:
    • The host ID detected does not match the one specified in the license file. The most likely cause is a problem with the hasp driver or wrong license file.

  • Solution:
    • The error message indicates the expected HOSTID and the used license.

    Read the HOSTID and compare it with the system HOSTID to identify the type of license used. See Finding the HOSTID.

    Three types are possible:
    - Disk serial number
      "HOSTID=DISK_SERIAL_NUM=6c908396

    - Ethernet card ID
      HOSTID=0007e9417ec9

    - HASP dongle
      HASP HOSTID=DSC=HASPGR-0X64B1A5CC

    In case of Ethernet card HOSTID or disk serial number HOSTID the most common error is an error with the license file.

    Another problem can be a disabled network adapter. In this case you need to enable it. Some laptop Wireless network adapters are disabled by a hardware switch and not only by a software setting.

    In case of a dongle a common problem is related with the Aladdin driver.

    1. Make sure the latest version of the driver is installed.
    2. Use GetHaspDongleId.exe tool to check the ID of the dongle inserted in the computer. It is possible to have more than one dongle inserted in the computer (either USB or LPT). If so, remove all other dongles before using the tool. If the tool displays the ID then the driver is correctly installed.

    A common problem, which is difficult to find, is the misspelled HOSTID (for example, the license contains O instead of 0 (zero)).

    Note that all HOSTID digits are hexadecimal values and cannot contain S but 5, nor O but 0 etc.

Error code 14: "Cannot find SERVER host name"

  • Cause:
    • The server host name is incorrect or is not recognized by the domain controller.

  • Solution:
    • Check that the specified host name is correct. If it is then use the SERVER IP address instead.

    See Connecting a workstation to a server IP address.

Error code 15: "Cannot connect to license server"
Error code 92: "Feature removed during lmreread or wrong server line hostid"
Error code 95: "Network connect to this host failed"
Error code 96: "Server node down or not responding"

Error code 33: "Bad encryption handshake with vendor daemon"

Error code 88: "System date has been set back"

  • Cause:
    • The date checking system has detected the computer date has been set back.

  • Solution:
    • Check the computer date, and then use the FixDate.exe tool to correct the problem.
    For details, please contact technical support.

Error code 103: "Terminal server remote client not allowed"

  • Cause:
    • Customer is using Windows Vista

  • Solution:
    • Generate a new license with TS_OK. Contact the technical suport for a specific license.

Troubleshooting license file installation


Symptom: System crashes and closes AutoCAD immediately after the Advance Steel splash screen

  • Cause :
    • The license file or one of the system files has an invalid date.

  • Solution :
    • Check the license file date; if it is 2049 then copy its contents to a new file, using Notepad.

    For files use the FixFileTime.exe tool. A log will be created in the same folder as the executable, mentioning any problems encountered and corrected.


Installing a license with License Installer


License Installer

The Advance Steel 2009 License Installer shows existing license settings.
The license installer has now the possibility to overwrite existing settings or to add new license settings in parallel with the existing ones:

GRAITEC License Installer

Installing a license

Using License Installer (LicenseInstall8x86.exe) is the usual way of installing a license.
  • To install a local license, simply double click on an *.aslic file that was issued for that computer. The license should not be a server license! Then click install.
  • To become client of an Advance Steel license server, simply double click on the *.aslic file that was issued for that server. The license file must be a server license. Then click install.

Installing a license for both Advance Steel 8.1 or older and Advance Steel 2009

Advance Steel 8.1 and Advance Steel 2009 use different licenses that are not compatible (users cannot use the license for Advance Steel 2009 with Advance Steel 8.1).
If you use local licenses (locked for a computer), in order for Advance Steel 8.1 and Advance Steel 2009 to work together, both licenses must be installed: one for Advance Steel 2009 and one for Advance Steel 8.1. The License Installer must be run two times: one time for AS 8.1 license and one time for AS 2009 license.

If you use server licenses for Advance Steel you cannot install both licenses for Advance Steel 8.1 and Advance Steel 2009 on the same license server. One computer must have a license server installed for Advance Steel 2009 and other computer for Advance Steel 8.1.

Check for the correct version of License Installer associated with the *.aslic files.

If an old version of the License Installer tool appears on double-click on a *.aslic file then user must manually associate the new License Installer tool (the one with overwrite checkbox) with the *.aslic files. Old License Installer tools overwrite always settings in the registry for the GRAITEC_LICENSE_FILE value. So when you install a license for Advance Steel 2009 with an old License Installer, then the license for Advance Steel 8.1, if existed, is deleted from the registry.

Common tasks


Checking and correcting the flexlm registry

The license registry settings are written in:

  • For Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit the settings are in: HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / FLEXlm License Manager
  • For Windows XP 32-bit are in : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / FLEXlm License Manager
  • For Windows XP 64-bit are in : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Wow6432Node / FLEXlm License Manager

Use regedit to open this registry key. The key contains the GRAITEC_LICENSE_FILE value indicating the path to the license file.

The GRAITEC_LICENSE_FILE value is used both by Advance Steel and Advance Concrete.

The values can contain a path (e.g., C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Graitec\AdvanceSteel\License\AS81.dat) or a server address (e.g., 7621@graitec_server).

For server addresses the first number is the vendor port. This must match this number from the license file installed on the server:

SERVER XXX DSC=HASPGR-0x5a971635 7621
VENDOR GRAITEC
FEATURE HSBASIS GRAITEC 8100 01-oct-2009 20 START=11-mar-2008 TS_OK \
SIGN=C4E51342B6D8
...

On the computers running a license server, look for the “Graitec License Server” subkey.

The subkey contains the following values:

- License: path to the license file used by the license server
- Lmgrd: path to lmgrd.exe
- LMGRD_LOG_FILE: path to the log file, it is empty by default. Set a path to get more information if the server fails.

Finding the HOSTID

Three numbers can be used as hostids:
  • The Ethernet card physical address
    • View it by typing ipconfig /all at the command prompt.
    This number is in the format: "00-13-20-6b-de-10"

  • The volume serial number
    • View it by typing dir c: /w/p at the command prompt.
    This number is in the format: "54c3-db43"

  • The HASP dongle ID
    • View it by using the GetHaspDongleId.exe tool.

If the computer has several Ethernet cards then any of them can be chosen. The preferred card is a non-wireless card. The license does not work if the card is disabled which happens more often with wireless cards.

Connecting a workstation to a server IP address

1. Log on to the server.

2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all.

3. Look for the IP address then log on to the workstation

4. Open regedit and browse to the FLEXlm License Manager key as shown in Checking and correcting the flexlm registry.

5. Find the GRAITEC_LICENSE_FILE value and type port @ ip address.
For example: 7621@192.168.153.1

Manually starting the license server

Check if the license server is running, log on to the server machine and start the Windows Task Manager (CTRL-SHIFT-ESC).
1. Select the Processes tab.
2. Select Show processes for all users at the bottom of the page and look for graitec.exe and lmgrd.exe. If they are missing it means the license server is down.

To start the license server manually use the lmtools.exe tool.
1. On the first page select the Configuration using services option and choose Graitec License Server in the list box:

lmtools.exe tool

2. Select the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
3. Click Stop server then the Start Server button.

Be aware that the server does not start in certain situations:

  • Cause 1:
    • The ports are used by other applications.

  • Solution 1:
    • Change the used ports (See Changing default ports used by the license mechanism).
    If the customer is using the same machine as a license server for other software that uses flexlm (e.g. AutoCAD®) – a common cause – it is better to use a combined license. If you encounter these situations please attach the other license and ask for a combined license.


  • Cause 2:
    • On a Vista server computer you can encounter the situation where the license service was not started during system startup. This happens because Vista drops a service start if it fails to start in a certain amount of a time.

  • Solution 2:
    • Manually start the license server. Alternatively, remove the service and create a batch file that starts the license server on system startup.
    The command line to start the license server is: lmgrd.exe -c license_fullpath -l log_fullpath

Configuring firewall exceptions for the Standard windows firewall

To configure the firewall exceptions, add lmgrd.exe and graitec.exe as exceptions regardless of the port used.

To configure firewall exceptions:
1. From the Windows Start menu access the firewall configuration: Control Panel > Security Settings > Firewall
2. On the Exceptions tab click Add Programs.

Changing default ports used by the license mechanism

The license server communicates with workstations via two TCP ports. The default values of these ports are:

Component Advance Steel Advance Concrete
graitec.exe 7621 7622
lmgrd.exe 27000 27000

To change the values of these ports add the following text in the license file:

SERVER XXX DSC=HASPGR-0x20c1d0ce 7621
VENDOR GRAITEC port=27000
FEATURE INT_VER GRAITEC 8100 permanent 1 TS_OK SIGN=15DFB30036E0
...

You can type any valid port number instead of 7621 and 27000.

Note: It is not necessary to re-crypt the license after changing this text, but it is necessary to restart the server. To restart the server, see " Manually starting the license server".

On the client side it is also necessary to change the default port. This can be done by re-installing the license or manually by replacing 7621@server with new_port@server.

For the registry, see Checking and correcting the flexlm registry.

Troubleshooting communication with the license server

  • Symptom:
    • On the server side everything seems to be OK, but the client cannot connect to the server.

  • Cause:
    • The communication between the server and the client might be blocked on the server side, in the middle (router or other hardware firewall) or on the client side.

  • Solution:
    • Server and client:
    Check for the existence of firewall, antivirus, or any spyware software. Disable them temporarily and re-check the license availability. There are cases when the antivirus software (Panda) still blocks the ports even when it is disabled. In this case it must be configured or uninstalled.

    Router:
    Ask the network administrator to open the connection on ports 7621 and 27000. If this is not possible ask the administrator to open any 2 ports and perform the steps specified in Changing default ports used by the license mechanism.

Checking network connections status

To see if a network card is disabled:

- In Windows XP: From the Start menu select Control Panel > Network and Internet connections > Network connections
- In Windows Vista: Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Manage Network Connections

To enable a connection right click the icon and select Enable.


Tools used for troubleshooting


Tools used for troubleshooting the Advance Steel installation:

Tools Description Useful for Download
FixFileTime.exe Fixes the system files that have a modification date later than the current date and that cause crashes. System crashes and closes AutoCAD immediately after the Advance Steel splash screen Contact the technical support
FixDate.exe For customers that accidentally set back the computer date Error code 88: System date has been set back Contact the technical support
GetHaspDongleId.exe Detects the HASP dongle ID Error code 9: Invalid HOST.
KillerLicense.exe For customers that want to move the license to another computer Contact the technical support Contact the technical support
lmtools.exe Used for FlexLm driver problem detection Error code 15:Cannot connect to license server;
Error code 92:Feature removed during lmreread or wrong server line HOSTID;
Error code 95:Network connect to this host failed;
Error code 96:Server node down or not responding.