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Solidworks not opening

Question asked by Cameron Sarkis on Aug 14, 2020
Latest reply on Aug 17, 2020 by Frederick Law

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I had an old license/product code provided by my university that stopped working, such that whenever I tried to run Solidworks, the dialog box (shown in the image) would pop-up but then when it goes away, solidworks doesn't open. When the box below disappears, any trace of solidworks in task manager also disappears.

My university provided a new license/product code that seems to work with other students. But I kept having the same problem. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Solidworks multiple times, and made sure that the new license/product code was entered correctly in the Installation Manager. I also made sure to deactivate the old license. Every time I have reinstalled Solidworks and tried to run, the activate license dialogue box appears and I've always made sure to activate the new license.

I contacted my university IT support, and they suggested coming here. Is there a solution to this?

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Cameron Sarkis @ Frederick Law on Aug 15, 2020 4:26 AM

Thanks so much, it worked.

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John Burrill Aug 14, 2020 10:32 AM

Solidworks will tell you if there's a licensing issue. if it's just quitting it's not even getting to your license information.

that usually indicates problems with the registry or driver set.

I suggest you launch Solidworks from the Rx app with Software OpenGL enabled and if that doesn't get you to your desktop, try launching Solidworks bypassing the saved user settings and using software defaults.

If Solidworks comes up with Software OpenGL enabled then you've got a video card compatibility issue. You should verify you're running a supported video card with certified drivers. You can run Solidworks with Software OpenGL enabled but your display will be laggy.

If Solidworks comes up with the options bypassed, then you either have a bad path for journal files or you've got folders specified that can't be resolved (usually because they were created in a different user account)

Finally, if those both fail, then try creating a new windows user (local administrator), logging on as that user and launching Solidworks. If it comes up, your windows user profile has become corrupted. This happens as the Windows registry mushrooms and features are added and removed from Windows. The only fix for this is to transfer your files to a new profile and recreate your desktop settings. Sucks but, it's a good idea to do it every couple of years to improve performance.

Let us know how it goes.

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Cameron Sarkis @ John Burrill on Aug 14, 2020 8:48 PM

Thanks so much for the suggestion John. I tried both, but Solidworks didn't open. I also tried just opening Solidworks normally after that, but still no dice.

I'm going to try a more thorough uninstall. I'll let you know how it goes.

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Cameron Sarkis @ John Burrill on Aug 15, 2020 4:26 AM

I have resolved the issue thanks for the help. The thorough uninstall is what it needed.

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Bernard Quijano Aug 16, 2020 4:07 AM

One cause of this problem is if you have installed two version of SW.

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Frederick Law @ Bernard Quijano on Aug 17, 2020 8:28 AM

I got 2017 -2020 running on my computer.

Using 2019 and 2020 daily.

With both open at the same time.

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Jim Riddell Aug 16, 2020 5:16 AM

Did you upgrade to Win10-64 build 2004 by chance?

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Cameron Sarkis @ Jim Riddell on Aug 16, 2020 10:12 AM

I did not.

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Jim Riddell @ Cameron Sarkis on Aug 16, 2020 11:44 PM

Cameron Sarkis wrote:

I did not.

Did you uninstall/de-activate the old license. That may be what is tripping up your new version.

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10 Replies

Frederick Law Aug 14, 2020 9:43 AM
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Try this:
Complete Uninstall of SolidWorks
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- Cameron Sarkis @ Frederick Law on Aug 15, 2020 4:26 AM
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  Thanks so much, it worked.
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John Burrill Aug 14, 2020 10:32 AM
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Correct Answer
Solidworks will tell you if there's a licensing issue. if it's just quitting it's not even getting to your license information.
that usually indicates problems with the registry or driver set.
I suggest you launch Solidworks from the Rx app with Software OpenGL enabled and if that doesn't get you to your desktop, try launching Solidworks bypassing the saved user settings and using software defaults.
If Solidworks comes up with Software OpenGL enabled then you've got a video card compatibility issue. You should verify you're running a supported video card with certified drivers. You can run Solidworks with Software OpenGL enabled but your display will be laggy.
If Solidworks comes up with the options bypassed, then you either have a bad path for journal files or you've got folders specified that can't be resolved (usually because they were created in a different user account)
Finally, if those both fail, then try creating a new windows user (local administrator), logging on as that user and launching Solidworks. If it comes up, your windows user profile has become corrupted. This happens as the Windows registry mushrooms and features are added and removed from Windows. The only fix for this is to transfer your files to a new profile and recreate your desktop settings. Sucks but, it's a good idea to do it every couple of years to improve performance.
Let us know how it goes.
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- Cameron Sarkis @ John Burrill on Aug 14, 2020 8:48 PM
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  Correct Answer
  Thanks so much for the suggestion John. I tried both, but Solidworks didn't open. I also tried just opening Solidworks normally after that, but still no dice.
  
  I'm going to try a more thorough uninstall. I'll let you know how it goes.
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- Cameron Sarkis @ John Burrill on Aug 15, 2020 4:26 AM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  I have resolved the issue thanks for the help. The thorough uninstall is what it needed.
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
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Bernard Quijano Aug 16, 2020 4:07 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
One cause of this problem is if you have installed two version of SW.
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- Frederick Law @ Bernard Quijano on Aug 17, 2020 8:28 AM
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  Correct Answer
  I got 2017 -2020 running on my computer.
  Using 2019 and 2020 daily.
  With both open at the same time.
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions
Jim Riddell Aug 16, 2020 5:16 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Did you upgrade to Win10-64 build 2004 by chance?
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- Cameron Sarkis @ Jim Riddell on Aug 16, 2020 10:12 AM
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  I did not.
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  - Jim Riddell @ Cameron Sarkis on Aug 16, 2020 11:44 PM
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    Cameron Sarkis wrote:
    
    I did not.
    Did you uninstall/de-activate the old license. That may be what is tripping up your new version.
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Solidworks not opening

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