Licensing Issue

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
I tried to find the solution for this on the Apple forums, but I still can't fix it.

I am trying to load final cut studio on my G5. When I began, it said that the licensing file will not be written to the disc because the user does not have enough priveleges. Frankly, I didn't know what that meant, so I installed the software. It seemed to install fine, but when I go to open an app (I tried DVD SP4 and Soundtrack Pro), it asks for the name and serial number again, which I give it. Then it says there is a licensing data is corrupt.

I have two users set up (One is from my migration from the G4, which I never use), both of which are set up to be administrators. I tried loading the whole suite, and individual apps as both of the users and get the same issue. I even changed each user to NOT have admin priveleges in case that was the problem. Every possible combination, still no love.

I repaired disc permissions as well. When I originally loaded FCP (or any other app) a few months ago, I had no such issue. It all went smoothly. Basically the computer is telling me that I don't have the authority to load this software.

What am I doing wrong?

Jim
 
Hate to say it Jim, but perhaps you might need to reinstall your whole system. But before you do, do a few things for me.

1. Make sure that you are logged in as the system administrator.
2. Check to see where your Final Cut Studio apps are installed. Hopefully they are in your main apps folder and not any of the user applications folders.
3. Repair permissions
4. Reboot and hold the shift key down. This will boot you in Safe mode (and also run some tests). Log in as administrator when it get back to the login screen.
5. If you own Disc Warrior (if not, you should) pop that in and reboot (hold down C until you know the system is booting off the CD). When it loads up, run DW on your system drive. When this process finishes it will tell you if it found any errors. Repair if necessary.
6. Reboot
7. Try to launch FCP apps. If you still have the problems, I would suggest reinstalling the FCP studio. Make sure it is installing to your root applications folder.
8. After reinstalling, repair disc permissions.
9. Launch app. Hopefully you are able to enter seriel number and get into app. If not, I would start fresh. Proceed to:
10. Backup everything you need on another drive.
11. Do an erase and install of your OS.
12. Install FCP again.
13. With a fresh new system, see what that gets you. If you are still in the same place at that point, I would suspect something else is going on. Usually these installs are pretty straight forward when you have a system that is healthy, meets the requirements, and of course, you have a legit copy of FCP studio, which I have no reason to think you don't. So you should be good to go. I know reinstalling is a pain, but to be honest, when you run into major problems, which this sounds like it could be, the best approach is to start from scratch, especially if you are not in the middle of a project.

Good luck!

Steve
 
Thanks for the advice.

The software is completely legit, so no worries there.

Could this issue stem from the fact that there are 2 users on the system, and both are administrators? I used the migration assistant when I first set up the G5, and now I kind of regret it. I should have just used an external to move the files I wanted to move. I use the G5 only for editing. It's not even on the internet unless I hook it up to get updates.

But, back to your step 1. What do you mean by that...or should I say, how do I check to see if that is how I am logged in? Both user profiles show up as administrators. Is that what you mean?

2) they are in the main apps folder. Or at least they were. I deleted them assuming I was going to have to start from scratch.

3) I did that. Only came up with one error, but I repaired it.

5) Don't own it, but I will look for it.

7) tried to reinstall. It had been suggested to me that I delete FCP (which was already on my system from a previous purchase), because that might be the problem. I deleted that and tried to reinstall the whole suite. I got the same alert message (that the licensing file would not be written to the disc). SO now I don't even have FCP on my G5...which really sucks since I have deadlines to meet.

Is my root applications folder the one where all the other apps are? Because that is where it loaded.

So it looks like I'll be reinstalling my operating system. I guess that's not a big deal though, since all I use it for is editing. I can drop the stuff I am working on into the other internal drive and start fresh...

...but I am open to other options. I probably won't have time to do it until tomorrow night anyway.


And Steve, I gotta tell you, that is the most comprehensive answer i have gotten. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Yeah, starting fresh is probably the best bet at this point. I have a similar setup to yours. I have asystem that I use for avariety of things, and then I have my editing/audio workstation which is never hooked up to the internet, and which i try to keep as lean and mean as possible. Here are some suggestions for getting your system optimized and hopefully keeping it that way.

1. Install Tiger by using the Erase and Install option. Make sure to format the drive as Extended (Journaled). I tend to customize my install and don't install the other language versions. Quicker install and I don't think i'd ever have a need for them.

2. Use software update to get updates for OS, iTunes, etc. Depending on what version of FCP you plan on using (5, 5.1, 5.1.2, etc) poke around the forums and make sure there are no major bugs/ conflicts with a particular rev of the OS. That can sometimes happen, but generally speaking when you do a clean install like this, things tend to be okay. You're probably fine updating to 10.4.8, QT 7.1.3, etc.

4. After you do these updates REPAIR PERMISSIONS.

5. Go in and tweak system preferences. Make sure to do the following:
In energy saver make sure the drives don't go to sleep, don't put the computer to sleep, etc. These can cause problems. Also, make sure software update doesn't check automatically. Adjust your other settings the way you want them

6. Install FCP Studio.

7. Repair permissions.

8. Boot FCP studio, enter seriel number. By the way, if it asks you for your adminsitrator password, and it won't take it, even though you are entering the right one, you'll need to reboot the machine and try it again. For some reason, this happens frequently when I do installs of FCP.

9. Hopefully from there, you are off and running.

10. Maintain system. Repair Disc permissions once a week. Run Disc Warrior at least once a month, boot up in Safe Mode every couple of months. Only update when you need to and always ask some of the people who are on the bleeding edge what there experience has been like with any new versions of sofwtare before making the plunge. If you keep your machine off at night, it doesn't get to flush itself using the Unix utilities, so you might want to get something like Macaroni which will force your machine to do it. If you keep your machine on at night every so often, then your okay.

Feel free to keep me posted if this doesn't work out for you and we can explore some other possible issues.

Steve
 
Thanks Steve.

Ummm....where do I find the erase and install option?

I'll keep you posted. Thanks again

Jim
 
When you start up from the install CD and select your system drive, there should be an options button that you can click and get into a list of options. Select Erase and install. The other way to do this is boot from install CD and then up in the menu go to Disc Utility. Format your drive there and then do Install for first time option.

Let me know if this works for you.

Steve
 
Wow, that worked great. Thanks Steve. You saved my bacon. If you don't mind I'll keep you in mind if I have any future problems.

Thanks

Jim.
 
Cool, glad to hear it worked out. If I can be of any help in the future just let me know. These forums have helped me a great deal, so I don't mind giving back when I can.

Steve
 
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