VectorWorks Dongle Trouble-Shooting Document
by Protection Team, Nemetschek, N.A.
(Revision 7
01/23/2008)
This document was aimed to cover existing dongle issues, from installation to
interaction with VectorWorks which end users/distributors have faced.
Content:
I. Single Dongle Problems
II. Network Dongle Problems
(A)
FAQ
(B)
Cross Reference Table of LM/HDD versions
(C)
Multiple Licenses & Multiple Dongles
(D)
VW Server Setup Notes
(E)
VW Client Setup Notes
(F)
VW Common Protection Dialogs
(G)
Dongle ID Checker Utility
(H)
Remote Update System
There are two types of dongles technically which in turn divides this document into
two main sections:
First type is individual/single dongles and they always go with B-series serial numbers.
One dongle represents one VW license only and their color is purple. Further, you may
“hear” some senior employees use the term “pros” for single dongle. That practically
doesn’t mean anything to us!
Second type is multi-license or network dongles. As the name implies they hold some
number of seats; each seat represents one VW license, therefore, each network dongle
can have from one to 1000 license for VW. Network dongles are red and they need to be
programmed before customer usage. Network dongles are used for VW Educational
version for the most part (this version of the app has different file format and printing
capabilities due to non-professional usage). At last but not least, network dongles always
go with C-series serial numbers.
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Therefore, Single dongles with B-series and Network dongles with C-series; as simple as
that!
I.
Single/Individual Dongle Problems:
FAQ:
1) Customer has purchased a new computer with the latest operating system or has
upgraded his operating system to the latest version and now the dongle does not
work.
Solution: Ask the customer if the dongle lit when plugged into the USB port of their
computer. If it does not light up, then they have a bad/no dongle driver and must reinstall; refer to Problem (2) of this section. However, if it does lit, ask the customer for
the version of operating system they are running on this new computer. Then ask
them to use the driver on the CDs or send the customer detailed instructions and a
link to Aladdin’s website to download the latest dongle driver.
i) Dongle Driver Installation Instruction for Win XP/2000: Now, you want to
download the latest dongle driver, called HASP4_driver_setup.zip. Please
click on this link to download the dongle driver:
http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.asp. Download this file
to your desktop. Once the file has finished downloading, double-click on the
file to extract the files to your computer. Located on the left-hand side of the
window is a link to Extract all files. Click on that link. A folder called
HASP4_driver_setup should appear on your desktop. Open this folder. Make
sure the dongle is not plugged into your computer. Then open the file called
HDD32.exe. This will install the latest dongle driver onto your computer. Then
plug the dongle in USB port and you should see Windows confirming the new
USB key in a yellow tool-tip window beside the clock (during new device
recognition step). The dongle should lit.
NOTE: For Windows users, if they connect the dongle before installing a driver,
Windows may install a version based in the update program of this operating
system. Therefore, you may need to uninstall any remaining drivers through
control panel before further re-installation.
ii) Dongle Driver Installation Instructions for Mac OS X 10.x (including 10.4
Tiger): To download the dongle driver, please click on this link:
http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.asp. Click on the
HDD_Installer_MacOSX.dmg file (version 1.9, released on 3/2006). Once this
file is downloaded, make sure you unplug the dongle from the computer.
Install the dongle driver then plug the dongle into your computer. If it lights up,
the dongle is working properly.
2) If the dongle does not lit when plugged into the USB port of the computer.
Solution: Have the customer download the latest dongle driver and provide them with
instructions on how to install the dongle driver for the right operating system. (Please
refer to the above dongle driver installation instructions for the appropriate operating
system that the customer is currently using.)
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Note: Further, when a second device is plugged in to motherboard (sound/stereo or
other USB) while the dongle is in use, it is rare but possible to see the dongle turn off!
So in that case VW will have to restart of even you may need to restart the PC.
3) Blinking Dongle.
Solution: Have the customer download the Dongle ID Utility from this link:
http://www.nemetschek.net/dongle/. If the dongle ID utility does not display the
dongle ID number then that dongle is bad and needs to be replaced. Have customer
mail the dongle back to us in a padded envelope. Once received, have Carol issue a
new dongle for the customer.
4) VectorWorks dongle has been found but does not match the one specified by your
serial number.
a) Solution: Check the last 6 characters of the customer’s serial number and the last
6 characters of the dongle ID number. The dongle ID number is located above
the code, “WEMOR/WAAWQ” on the dongle itself which will be in an 8 digit
format. They could also use the Dongle ID Utility to read the ID (recommended).
If the last 6 characters of the serial number and the last 6 characters of the
dongle ID number do not match, then a new serial number must be created for
the customer. Make sure that they are not inter-mixing the serial numbers and
dongles if they have more than one. Then, have Carol create the new serial
number for the dongle.
b) Solution: If this is under Mac, then try deleting VW preferences under (in Finder)
User/Admin>Library>Preferences>VectorWorks 12/11 Preferences file. And
startup VW afterwards. This should as for a serial number and it is very likely to
accept the serial number.
c) Solution: If the last 6 characters match of the customer’s serial number match the
last six characters of the dongle ID number, then check the entire serial number.
Make sure that the customer is using a Mac serial number (starting with a
B1MUSZ) for Mac computers and a Windows serial number (starting with a
B1WUSZ) for Windows computers. The bolded character represents the
operating system used under that serial number (X for cross platform).
II. Network Dongle Problems:
(A) FAQ
5) A user gets a dialog upon launch or afterwards saying:
Network Dongle Protection Error: Program number specified is not in the program list
of NET HASP 4 Memory.
Solution: This happens when the dongle has not been programmed properly (i.e.
human error involved while setting the dongle up). Have Carol remotely program the
network dongle only if the network dongle is on a Windows computer. If this is Mac
user, they will have to mail the dongle to NNA.
6) Failed to Start Aladdin device driver. Failed to start a service in the service control
database.
Solution: Uninstall the License Manager (LM); Install latest HASP dongle driver; Run
the LM setup again to reinstall it.
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7) HASP License Manager cannot find the configuration access program
/contents/MacOS/Imguicfg (This error message usually occurs when customers are
installing the HASP LM on Tiger 10.4 server computer.)
a) Solution: Can have a VW 12.5.0 DVD sent out to them & have them follow the
instructions located in the Network Licensing folder on how to install the LM and
the fix for the LM for Tiger (10.4).
b) Solution: Have them download the dongle driver for Tiger 10.4 and the HASP LM
for Tiger 10.4 to the desktop of the computer.
Instructions: As of Summer 2006 Aladdin has divided the LM version for Panther
(OS 10.3.9) and Tiger (OS 10.4.X). The user can get the proper License Manager
IMG file based on their server’s OS. They can use the “uninstaller” to take any
previous LM and re-install the new LM. Please note and there is no need of using
a HOT_FIX for OS 10.4. Also, they can use the activity monitor (Admin
Processes) to with the “hasplm” running the background.
8) Network Dongle Protection Error: No recognizable network dongle is connected to
the network dongle server (HASP License Manager). VectorWorks will now quit.
a) Solution: This problem has almost always been seen with HSAP 4 dongles (along
with VW 11.5.X and later). It is a result of Aladdin’s bug in their HASP Device
Driver (HDD) which introduces some unknown problem to our communication (i.e.
VW client with LM). We have created a Zip file that contains information on how
to recognize a dongle type (for end users). This Zip file will be located on new
12.5.0 DVDs as well as a public area on Nemetschek, N.A. website. This Zip file
will provide two different LM and device drivers in two separate folders: one for
HASP 4 and other for HASP HL dongles. Our workaround to this problem is to
have HASP 4 users install their specific package for LM and HDD.
Alternative Solution: Further, you may encounter this error message if the server
computer with the HASP LM and the network dongle are on a different subnet. Ask
the customer if the server computer is on a different subnet than the client computers.
If so, you need to email the customer the nethasp.ini file with instructions on how to
modify the ini file and where to install this file. Everybody should have a copy of the
email Katie sent out with the nethasp.ini file. If not, you can download the nethasp.ini
file from Aladdin’s website: http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/vendor.asp.
The file is called, Standard Nethasp.zip. For more information on Nethasp.ini please
read the section on “VectorWorks Client Setup.”
Important note: There are those rare occasions where the first 2 previously stated
solutions do not solve the problem. If this occurs, ask the customer to walk you
through the installation steps for the dongle driver and the HASP License Manager.
Please note that if they installed the HASP LM first and then the dongle driver, they
will get the Network Dongle Protection Error message. Walk the customer through
uninstalling the HASP License Manager and the dongle driver. On a PC for any
version of VW, go to Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs then locate the HASP
Device Driver and HASP License Manager programs. Select them one at a time and
click the Remove Button. On a Mac OSX 10.3.9 using the VW 12.5 installation DVD,
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you can locate the HASP License Manager from the Applications folder. Select the
HASP License Manager then drag the application to the Trash. On a Mac OSX
10.4.x using the VW 12.5.0 (or recent versions) installation DVDs, the HASP License
Manager is running in silent mode.
NOTE: Disabling the NetBIOS option of the HASP LM allows windows
workstations to remain connected (in case of frequent disconnection), without
receiving the “no dongle on dongle server” error.
9)
RUS error message: Wrong HASP ID #
Solution: The cause of this error message can be from the wrong text file being sent
to the customer when remotely programming a network dongle in the field. To
resolve this problem, check with customer to see if the name of the text file matches
the customer’s dongle ID number. If it does not, you must talk to Carol to have a new
file created and sent to the customer.
10)
RUS error message: Configuration file does not match the connected HASP key.
Configuration indicates HASP 4 Net-20. Connected HASP type: HASP4 Net-5.
Solution: The wrong type of network dongle key was provided to us from Aladdin.
Talk to Carol or Maryann about obtaining the correct network dongle key for the
customer.
11)
Network dongle is connected to a Bluetooth USB hardware key which is attached
to the server. The client computers cannot locate that network dongle resulting in the
Network Dongle Protection Error message or the VW software times out after a while
with no error message.
Solution: Send the customer the nethasp.ini file with instructions on installing this file
in the root of the VectorWorks folder on all the client computers. Make sure to tell the
customer to enter in the IP address of the server computer in the NH_SEVER_ADDR
line within the nethasp.ini file.
Important NOTES:

When users install LM on Windows they MUST allow Firewall rules to be
modified by the LM so that clients can see the server easily.

The LM on Windows MUST be installed as a service.

When users use the HL dongle driver, after connecting the dongle WINDOWS XP
is likely to throw another installation dialog such as “Add new Hardware”. User
must cancel these dialogs or their driver may be overwritten.

HASP LM on Mac OSX runs in silent mode. That means that no application file is
placed in the Application folder of the OSX operating system. To check to see if
the HASP LM installed properly on the computer, open the hard drive icon on the
desktop. Open the Applications folder. Then open the Utilities folder. Open
Terminal. At the prompt, type in:
- cd /usr/libexec. Next, hit the Return key.
- Now, type in: ls. There should be a listing for the HASP LM called hasplm.
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
Alternatively, you can open “Activity Monitor” application from under utility
application and choose all processes; then sort process listing by Name or User.
You should find hasplm which indicates the license manager is running actively
on this machine.

The new HASP HL network dongles will not work is multiple HASP LMs are on
the network at the same time.

When clients are on different subnets, broadcast parameter of Nethasp.ini must
be disabled.
(B) Cross Reference Version Table
The DRS has the most up-to-date info for dongle driver compatibility. Please see this:
http://thirdparty.nemetschek.net/distributors/vw_info.php#DongleDriverVersions2008
LM 8.31 & Dongle Driver 5.20.x.x Windows HASP 4/HASP HL users
Download @
ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/new_releases/driver/HASP4_driver_setup.zip
LM 8.30 & Dongle Driver 1.91 Mac HASP 4/ HASP HL users
Download @
ftp://ftp.aladdin.com/pub/hasp/hl/mac/HDD_Installer_MacOSX.dmg
Dongle Physical length (end to end including the USB part):
HASP 4 = 2 inch or 50 mm
HASP HL = 1.5 inch or 37 mm
(C) Multiple Licenses & Multiple Dongles:
Multiple License Managers can cause VW clients to lose direct communication with
appropriate Server station; obviously, only one workstation has the right dongle; and only
that station should have LM.
No Multiple Dongles per workstation or per sub-net. Even though Aladdin claims the LM
can handle more than one dongle, it is not recommended to have more than one dongle
associated with a LM per subnet.
Q: As a follow up to our install...can the v11 dongle and the v12 dongle and software co-exist on
the same license server?
A: NO! NO! NO! These versions conflict with each other when installed.
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(D) VectorWorks Server Setup Notes:
Server is the workstation which holds the dongle and runs LM. It is best that the
server should not be used to run VW. According to Aladdin, some workstations cannot
see the LM service running on itself. Even if the user tries to specify the loop-back
address (127.0.0.1) for VW to use the server to run VW may still not work. Aladdin does
not provide any reasoning to this. It may depend on the network card of that specific
workstation.
There is a known issue with Windows Server 2003 having the dongle and the LM. In
this case VW clients tend to start up but they either freeze for HL dongles or throw
“Network Protection Error” dialog for HASP4 dongles. Aladdin is investigating clientserver communication when Win Server 2003 serves a subnet.
Perhaps the easiest setup is to have a Win XP workstation to have the LM and dongle
installed. We have seen Macs, XP and Win 2000 clients to run VW fine without
intermittent (with an XP server). However, network traffic and different sub-net setups
may easily alter the ideal case. That’s when ini files come into the game in order to
specify the IP address of server. For more info on ini files see VW Client setup.
In case you want to suggest a user to re-install LM and dongle driver for an HL on
Windows platform (which most of intermittent issues popup from), you can either email
the latest LM or direct the user to download it from the web. The key here is that HL
License Manager (currently V 8.31) will install the dongle driver automatically afterwards.
Hence the user should have no driver/LM installed and no dongle attached; after
installation user should restart the PC and avoid any Windows Hardware Configuration
setup that may pop up.
As you may know, Firewalls should be OFF! Sometimes they turn ON; depending on
administrator’s operations. So if you find a user cannot launch VW and gets a dialog
about “unrecognizable serial number” (or similar message) while they were able to
launch VW before, make sure they have their Firewalls OFF and network nodes can
send packets without any interruption. Make sure “pinging” is possible both ways; hence,
the server should be able to send packets to all clients and vise versa.
Moreover, users tend to switch the USB port they use for dongle connection. On
some hardware including Mac/Win Laptops and Keyboard, these ports behave differently.
So, if user setup their dongle with a certain port on their Laptop, when they change the
port and light does not come on, then they should use the same port and avoid any
further hardware configurations. Also, Keyboard USB ports are typically hazardous
(especially with KVM switches).
(E) VectorWorks Client Setup Notes:
A common pitfall for some users is that the “client” workstation needs the dongle driver!!
This is not true. The only thing the client workstation needs is VectorWorks, a
corresponding serial number for the dongle at server end and appropriate Ethernet
connection.
INI files are external scripts, designed by Aladdin to give more flexibility for each client
that runs a protected application (VectorWorks in our case). … LM errors and warnings
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Multiple .ini files: The number of .ini files should not be more than one, on the client side.
Otherwise it can create unpredictable conditions. Further, installation of Aladdin Monitor
creates a second .ini file which can cause a problem for the client.
nh_server_addr:
Possible values <address1>, <address2>
Description Set IP addresses of all the HASP License Managers you want to search.
Unlimited addresses and multiple lines are possible.
Possible address format examples include: IP address: 192.114.176.65
nh_server_name:
Possible values <name1>, <name2>,...
Description Communicate with the HASP License Manager
with the specified name(s). Maximum: 6 names, up to 7 characters each (not casesensitive).
nh_tcpip_method:
Possible values TCP, UDP
Description Send a TCP packet or a UDP packet. Default setting is UDP
nh_session:
Possible values <number>
Description Set the maximum length of time during which the protected application tries
to establish
communication with the HASP License Manager. Default value is 2 seconds
nh_send_rcv:
Possible values <number>
Description Set the maximum length of time for the HASP License Manager to send or
receive a packet. Default value is 1 second.
Note: When method is TCP, tcp_broadcast parameter should be disabled.
(F) VectorWorks Common Protection Dialogs: (under development for 12.5)
There are a number of dialogs which are more common in alerting users with associated
problems. Some of these dialogs are too general and need some clarification; however,
these dialogs are under a break down project for future VW versions. Some of common
dialogs are listed below:
When you get: “The serial number is invalid or there are no more network licenses
available” one of these is taking place:
A. A bad SN is in place.
B. Network Licenses/seats are at full capacity.
C. LM is not visible to VW client workstation on the network. In this case Client
workstation cannot see VW server due to cable cottage, firewall or out-of-subnet
workstations (i.e. the server is located in another subnet.
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When you get: " Network Dongle Protection Error: No recognizable network dongle
is connected to the network dongle server (HASP License Manager)" the following
has happened:
A. No dongle attached.
B. Bad version of dongle driver or LM.
C. Attached dongle is missed programmed or not valid.
The user is very likely to be a HASP 4 owner; hence they should get the right version of
Dongle DD and LM to work around this issue.
(G) Dongle ID Checker
This utility displays a lot of useful information for troubleshooting
network dongle problems - primarily the programmed seat count for a
locally connected network dongle. It is currently a test version
available only for Windows Vista 64 and 32 bit versions as well as
previous Windows versions.
http://thirdparty.nemetschek.net/distributors/NOT_IN_P4/DongleIDWin.zip
(H) Remote Update System (RUS) Notes and Tips:
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Always grab the right driver for the right dongle. If you have an HASP4 and you cannot
launch RUS client, then uninstall the driver and re-install HASP4 Device Driver from
Aladdin’s support site.
Further, a common problem is that a distributor reports on “not being able to launch
RUS” while they are sure about HASP 4 driver being installed. In this scenario it is likely
for a human error to be involved. NNA’s marketing department sends the RUS
executable that works with either HASP 4 dongles OR HASP HL dongle but NOT both at
the same time. So, if the distributor has the RUS and cannot execute it, you will have to
see what type of dongle they are trying to program. So, if it is HASP 4, check with the
marketing (Marianne/Carol) if that specific distributor was expected to program their
HASP 4 dongles and not HASP HL.
This is what you should see when you open the NNA prepared zip file for remote
programming a dongle:
After unzipping the main file from NNA you should see four files - the text file named
“5252B06A.txt” is a variable name and it depends on the dongle ID you sent to NNA for
remote programming. Please pay attention to the dongle type before sending this ID as
you need to specify what type of dongle you are asking for remote programming (i.e.
HASP 4 or HL).
Dongle Physical length (end to end including the USB part):
HASP 4 = 2 inch or 50 mm
HASP HL = 1.5 inch or 37 mm
.... The Dongle Trouble shooting document (article 325 of interanet) goes over what the
RUS is in NNA's dongle based protection system; here we want to address a common
but yet misterios issue regarding the RUS and our Internationl coordinators/sales.
When remote programming a dongle, the type of dongle is choses which is H4 or HL and
then NNA runs the approapriate application to set a password txt file which has the same
name as the TARGET dongle id at the remote site; then this file along with "Remote
Update System.EXE" is sent to the site and they attach the dongle and run RUS....
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the typical problem is always one but there are two solutions!! And only one works.
Problem: User attaches the dongle and runs RUS ... the the RUS disapears after a
second!
Solution 1: The old answer is that the user has a 'new' driver - they must have a HASP 4
driver and not a HL. This is a typical and works fine for the most part.
What if this does not work and the user/distributor keeps getting back to us? Well, we
could have replaced -human error- our dongle programming tools or the RUS with the
opposite type.
Solution 2: Has two parts PART I:
Test the zip file sent to distibutor/user ... unzip it on a test machine (this is best on
Merrianne's PC or Carol's or Tara's) and put a WAAWQ or targeted type of dongle in
USB ... run the RUS inside the unzip folder .... if RUS does not come up then you have a
BROKEN-or-WRONG type of RUS.....
PART II:
The only hakish solution is to grab another RUS.exe from a back up folder for that type of
dongle and run PART I again ... you are liekly to run it this time.....
RUS or Remote Update System.EXE is on several machines in sale as well as
Protection Team back DVD and the Protction team volume on
\\nnafiles\engineering\EngineeringLibrary\Protection\HASP or DONGLE folder ..
Good luck
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