License activation and troubleshooting

Owned by Jan Schnabel
Last updated: Oct 18, 2024 by Lutz Klabuhn
8 min read

If this document doesn’t help to solve your problem, please contact ztz-license@kistler.com.

Single User (local) License

The activation of the single user license is quite simple if the computer is connected to the Internet. Just start jBEAM after the installation and enter the license key into the dialog shown up:

If the direct activation fails e.g., due to firewall restrictions, please follow the steps in section Online activation

If the system isn’t connected to the internet, please follow the steps in section Offline (File-based) activation.

Floating (Network) Licenses

The following documentation should guide you through the activation process of the floating license. Please consider that, if an offline activation is necessary, it may take a while since it requires E-Mail communication.

License server

To install the license server and activate the licenses follow these steps:

Installation

  1. Download the Wibu CodeMeter User Runtime from https://www.wibu.com/us/support/user/downloads-user-software.html#download-211 and install it on the license server. If you already have an installed CodeMeter Runtime, please ensure that it's of version 7.3 or later.

  2. Enable network license server

    1. Open the app “CodeMeter Control Center” and press the button “WebAdmin” in the lower right section of the window

    2. In the WebAdmin (browser window) navigate to Configuration/Server/Server Access

    3. Enable the Network server and press Apply

    4. If the network server is already running, please verify the network port. If it differs from the default (22350), it may require later adaptations of the jBEAM batch file or the installer.

    5. Alternatively, there is a documentation available how to start CodeMeter service as network server without using CodeMeter WebAdmin: https://www.wibu.com/support/faq/faq/category/codemeter-networking.html#faq-93

License activation (online)

This section will describe how to activate the license online (license server connected to the internet). If the system isn’t connected to the internet, please follow the steps in section Offline (File-based) activation.

The following instructions are based on the official CodeMeter manual.

  1. If the license server is connected to the internet, just navigate to the previously mentioned (license key) link or open the page http://software-licenses.kistler.com and enter the license key manually.

  2. If you have the option to select different license containers on the activation page, please use “Kistler Software VM”

  3. Finally press

jBEAM (License Client)

On client side run the jBEAM installer with admin rights. After installation you need to specify the license server host name. in the batch file start_jBEAM.bat (located in jBEAM installation directory)

  • Edit the batch file e.g., with Notepad. You will potential need to do this as administrator

  • Replace the line SET startParameters= by
    SET startParameters=LicenseServer=xxxxxxx (instead of xxxxxxx use the actual host name or IP addresss of the license server - If necessary, the port number can also be specified i.e. :22350)

  • Execute the batch file to start jBEAM

If you installed a new jBEAM build after June 2024, you will find a start_jBEAM_config.txt file in the installation directory. You can copy this file as normal user to the %APPDATA%/jBEAM folder and enter the server name under SET licenseServer=xxxxxxx.

Dongle License

tbd

Enhanced configuration

Offline (File-based) activation

If the target system (workstation for single user license or local license server for network license) does not have Internet access, the license can also be activated offline. In this case you need another system with internet access (called online system in the following instructions)!

  1. At the target system: create a license request

    1. install CodeMeter User Runtime if necessary (in single-user case the jBEAM installer already did this).

    2. Open the app CodeMeter Control Center

    3. Look for an existing license container called “Kistler Software VM”

      If it’s missing, import the Kistler license container into CodeMeter: on the online system download Kistler_Software_VM.WibuCmLif from the Kistler Download Server, transfer it to the target system, and double-click on the downloaded file or drag&drop it into the CodeMeter Control Center window.

    4. Select the container “Kistler Software VM” and press "License update".

    5. press “Next”

    6. Select "Create license request", press “Next”

    7. Optionally change the destination folder and press “Commit”

      If you are requested for a firm code to create the license request file, use 6000670.

    8. Press “Close”

    9. Transfer the created WibuCmRac license request file to another computer with internet access (online system)

  2. At the online system: Download the activated license

    1. visit WebDepot via http://software-licenses.kistler.com and insert the license key (ticket ID) which you can find on your license certificate or sometimes on the delivery note

    2. press the "Activate license" button

    3. click "File-based license transfer" link

    4. select generated WibuCmRac license request file and click "Activate & Update now”. If there is no button “select file”, the license is not able to be activated offline. Please contact our license support ZTZ-License@kistler.com in this case.

    5. click "Download license update file now"

    6. Transfer the downloaded WibuCmRaU license update file to the target system

  3. At the target system: Import the activated license

    1. Open the app CodeMeter Control Center

    2. Select the container “Kistler Software VM” and press "License update".

    3. press “Next”

    4. Select “Import license update”

    5. Select the previously downloaded and transferred WibuCmRaU license update file and press “Commit”

    6. After the WibuCmRaU file has been imported successfully, a confirmation message is shown:

    7. Finally press “Finish”

  4. At the target system: create the receipt. Please note that creating and uploading a receipt is necessary if you later want to be able to move your license to another system.

    1. Open the app CodeMeter Control Center

    2. Select the container “Kistler Software VM” and press "License update".

    3. press “Next”

    4. Select “Create receipt”

    5. Then select the file name for the receipt and click on "Commit".

    6. Transfer the created WibuCmRaC receipt file to the online system

  5. At the online system: Upload the WibuCmRaC license receipt

    1. If you have closed the browser window in the meantime, visit WebDepot via http://software-licenses.kistler.com and insert the license key (ticket ID) which you can find on your license certificate or sometimes on the delivery note and press “Continue License Transfer”

    2. Select the WibuCmRaC license receipt file and press “Upload receipt now”

Deactivate or move a license to another computer (single user or floating)

jBEAM licenses can be moved to another system e.g., if you as distributor needs to test the software before delivering it to your customer or if a system is needed to be set up again.

  1. To move the license, visit WebDepot (http://software-licenses.kistler.com ) at the system where the license is currently activated and insert the license key (ticket ID) again.

  2. Then press the button Re-Host Licenses:

  3. In the following dialog press

  4. After deactivating the license on the original system, you should be able to activate it on the new system.

Delete a corrupt license container

First locate your CodeMeter installation folder and execute the cmu32.exe file with the following parameters. Do this in Windows Command Prompt (cmd) and use the following parameters:

"c:\Program Files (x86)\CodeMeter\Runtime\bin\cmu32.exe" --lt-cleanup --container -s <container-serial>

Make sure you do not omit the quotation marks when copying the above command line!
Only replace the placeholder <container-serial> with the damaged container ID, e.g. 130-557054596

Find out your ticket id (license key)

To get the license key of an activated license do the following steps:

  1. Open the app CodeMeter Control Center

  2. If there are multiple ones, select a Wibu Container and open Webadmin

  3. Click on the product code of the jBEAM license you want to analyze (usually there should be only one)

  4. Copy the license key (entry Extended Protected Data #127; hexadecimal encoded ASCII) to the clipboard

  5. Convert it to ASCII, e.g. with an online converter like Hex to ASCII String Converter Online Tool - Coding.Tools

What does a specific Error Code mean?

There are several situatiations, where the activation or usage of a license may fail. In these cases usually an error code like the following may displayed:

Error Internal error during license transfer. Please contact the support. 0x18088006 CodeMeter License Central WebDepot v19.07.210.616.ws …

There is a list of all error codes available at software-licenses.kistler.com/testtools/errorCodes.php. On this page you will usually also find a description and help for the particular error.

Please note that the German version of the page currently offers significantly more information than the English version.

Creating a CmDust.log file

For tracking down Sometimes it is useful to create a CmDust.log file to detect problems in the license background processes.

  1. (if you are using a CmDongle, connect your CmDongle).

  2. Search for and start the CmDust application in the Windows start menu: Start -> All Programs -> CodeMeter -> Tools -> CmDust or simply type “CmDust”.

  3. A command line window opens automatically and closes again after a few seconds.

  4. Shortly after it, a new explorer window will open and point you to the newly created file "CmDust-Result.log" in your user directory.

  5. Then please send us this small "CmDust-Result.log" file by e-mail. (ZTZ-License@kistler.com)

Finding the CmAct files

In some cases it is necessary to analyze the so-called CmAct files in addition to the CmDust.log file to diagnose license problems.

These files are located in the following directories, depending on the operating system used
Windows: Windows: C:\ProgramData\CodeMeter\CmAct
Linux: /var/lib/CodeMeter/CmAct
MacOs: /Library/Application Support/CodeMeter/CmAct

It is best to zip the contents of the entire directory and send it to us. (ZTZ-License@kistler.com)