Is Windows giving you the runaround and not starting FlexLM automatically, even though you set it specifically to start at Power Up?
You can spend days trying to troubleshoot it (and still not solve it), or you can replace the whole process of opening LMTools, clicking on the Start/Stop tab, clicking the stop button, clicking the start button and then closing LMTools (Yes, it takes 6 annoying clicks and mouse travel all over the screen), to only 2 clicks:
Replace this entire process:
With this:
Done!
To create this button is not complex. Just follow these steps once and you’ll be done.
Now that you can't take it anymore, let's do the hard work once:
How to set up the STOP-START button
1) Create a text file with Notepad and place these command lines into it:
@echo off
cd C:\MSC.Software\MSC Licensing\Helium
net stop MSC_Licensing_Helium
net start MSC_Licensing_Helium
lmutil lmstat -c %MSC_LICENSE_FILE%
rem lmutil lmdown -c %MSC_LICENSE_FILE%
rem lmgrd -c %MSC_LICENSE_FILE%
2) Save the text file as StopStartFlexLM.bat in a convenient location (ensure that the file extension is saved as .bat and NOT .bat.txt)
To see file extensions in File Explorer:
3) At this point you can test if the code works by right clicking the file and choose Run as administrator:
a. If you see a Command Window open and the following text appears briefly, the code works and you can continue to the next step to remove more mouse clicks in the process.
4) Create a Shortcut from the file:
5) You can rename the new file and ensure that the file type is “Shortcut”:
6) To ensure that the file runs as administrator (otherwise it won’t work), set the following property (right click the file and go to Properties > Shortcut > Advanced):
7) If you wish to give it a new icon, download this file and set it under Properties too.
8) In Windows 11, the option to pin this shortcut to the Taskbar directly is not available, but windows can be tricked into thinking the file is pinable, by adding "explorer" in front of the text in the Start In section.
9) Now the file can be dragged to the taskbar (there still isn't an option to pin it to the taskbar, but you can drag it there).
10) Once on the taskbar, you have to remove the "explorer" from the Start in line to enable it to run correctly.
11) Now the button should be on the taskbar and ready to Stop and Start the license server for you with a simple click.
12) Now the button should be on the taskbar and ready to Stop and Start the license server for you with a simple click.
If your installation is different or the button doesn’t work as expected (after following all the steps), check the following by editing the created file again:
a. The path in line 2 must be the same as where your installation of LMtools is (see below):
b. Ensure that the name of the FlexLM service in lines 3 and 4 are the exact same as in LMTools:
c. The environment variable in lines 5 to 7 must be the same as what your software uses:
