Licensing Troubleshooting FAQs

The following table describes error or warning messages that may occur when applying a GENESIS license.

Message

Solution

Demo period has expired.

Activate your license or restart demo mode by clicking the link in the red banner in Workbench. There is no limit to the number of restarts that you can perform.

Error. File is Corrupted.

Contact the Support Center and ask for a re-send of the license file.

Error. License Version is Out of Date.

Get a new license for the currently installed version.

Failed to apply the license file: Site code {{used site code}} from the license does not match the site code of this machine {{expected site code}}.

You are attempting to use the license on an incorrect machine. Activate the license on the machine for which it was issued. If you want to use it on a different machine, you need to transfer the license.

Error Initializing Software Licensing. (Displayed in the License Utility in place of the site code.)

GENESIS cannot read the hardware identifiers that it uses to generate the site code. This typically occurs on a virtual machine that has no SMBIOS UUID assigned, such as some QEMU-based virtual machines. Assign an SMBIOS UUID to the virtual machine.

Error. Unable to Copy File to {{file location}}

Make sure that you have the necessary permissions to copy the license file to the specified location. Check that the file location is not blocked by another program.

Access Denied to '{0}

Make sure that you have the necessary permissions to copy the license file to the specified location.

WARNING: License Exceeded!

You are using a licensed feature without having the corresponding license, or you have exceeded the number of licensed objects (such as data points). Open License Monitor to get more details.

The following table outlines additional issues that may arise with a GENESIS license.

Issue

Solution

After changing the server or domain name, GENESIS opens in demo mode, and my license is invalid.

Go back to the old machine name, kill the license, and then change the server name and activate the license again.

When I try to deactivate a base node license, I get an error message, and the system does not allow me to proceed.

You must first deactivate the licenses of any additional nodes that are connected to your base node.

When I try to activate an additional node license, I get an error message, and the system does not allow me to proceed.

You must first activate the base node license.

Resolving a Missing Site Code on a Virtual Machine

A software license is bound to the site code of the computer where it is activated. GENESIS generates the site code from hardware identifiers, primarily the SMBIOS UUID. Some virtual machines do not report these identifiers. This occurs most often on virtual machines that run on QEMU, including Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE), where the UUID was never set. In this case, the License Utility displays Error Initializing Software Licensing instead of a site code, and you cannot activate a license.

To assign an SMBIOS UUID to a virtual machine:

  1. On the virtual machine, open PowerShell and run the following commands to check the hardware identifiers:

    (Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystemProduct).UUID (Get-CimInstance Win32_BaseBoard).SerialNumber (Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor).ProcessorId

    If every result is empty, or contains only a placeholder value such as all zeros (00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000) or all F characters, continue with this procedure.

  2. On the virtualization host, assign a UUID to the virtual machine:

    The site code depends on the SMBIOS UUID. If you change the UUID of a virtual machine that already has an activated license, the site code changes and the license stops working. Assign a UUID only when the virtual machine does not have one.

    • Proxmox VE—Open a shell on the Proxmox host and run the following commands:

      uuidgen qm set <VMID> --smbios1 uuid=<UUID>

      • <VMID>—The ID of the virtual machine, as shown in the Proxmox web interface.

      • <UUID>—The value that uuidgen returned.

      You can also set the UUID in the Proxmox web interface. Select the virtual machine, and then edit the SMBIOS settings (type1) entry on the Options tab.

    • QEMU without Proxmox VE—Add -smbios type=1,uuid=<UUID> to the QEMU command that starts the virtual machine.

    • Other hypervisors—Refer to the hypervisor's documentation to set the SMBIOS system UUID.

  3. Shut down the virtual machine completely, and then start it again. The virtual machine reads SMBIOS values only when it powers on, so restarting Windows is not enough.

  4. Repeat step 1 to confirm that the UUID now shows the value that you assigned.

  5. Open the License Utility. The site code is displayed, and you can activate your license.