A)  Problem with a New Ansys Installation/License

Skip this step if you're NOT dealing with a new/upgraded installation and the software was recently working.

1. Did you install a new license?  If so, are you using the most recent version of the License Manager?
2. Verify you specified the correct License Server on the client computer.
3. Did you add the necessary Firewall rules on your License Server‍?
4. Did you right click the setup file and select "Run As Administrator" when installing?
   1. If not, properly uninstall‍ and then reinstall‍ the software.  
5. If you downloaded the software as a zip file package - did you extract the files before installing? 
   1. If not, properly uninstall‍ and then reinstall‍ the software.

B)  Problem with Client Settings or Preferences

1. Reset Ansys Profile Folder‍ (2 min)
2. Reset Ansys License Preferences‍ (2 min)
3. Run Product & CAD Configuration Manager‍ (5 min)

D)  Problems Checking Out or Returning a License

1. HOW TO - Verify Licenses Can be Checked Out‍ 

Related Articles

• HOW TO - Release a Stuck License‍ - Problems with licenses not checking back in or getting stuck.  
• HOW TO - Borrow an Ansys License‍ 
• ERROR - Cannot return a borrowed license‍

E)  Problem Caused by a Corrupt Ansys Installation

Uninstalling and reinstalling the software can often resolve odd or persistent issues with the software.  This can solve problems caused multiple possible things: subtle, but important installation steps being missed; bad settings not easily reset by other methods; broken dll registrations caused during windows or other software updates; corrupt files, etc.

• Uninstall‍ and then Reinstall‍ the Ansys client and or license serversoftware.
  • Follow all optional "comprehensive" steps if necessary.

F)  Problem Running Over Remote Desktop Software

1. Can you repeat the problem when working from the computer locally?
   1. If not, please contact SimuTech Support
   2. If so, please continue to the next step.

Note - connecting to a Linux machine via xrdp is not supported.

G)  Problem with Antivirus Blocking/Interfering With Ansys

Some antivirus programs can prevent Ansys from running and or corrupt the Ansys installation files during an install.  A common, but not only, symptom of antivirus related issues with Ansys is having an Ansys application crashing/closing or not opening at all when opened. We have not seen Windows Defender cause any issues with Ansys software, however, we have seen issues with other 3rd party AV products such as: McAfee, Norton, SentinalOne and Cylance in the past.

1. Identify Your AV Software
   1. If your computer is managed by your IT Department it's very common that, in addition to Window Defender, for additional 3rd party AV to be silently installed and is running in the background without appearing in the system tray or start menu.  In this case, please contact your IT Department for assistance is both identifying and disabling the AV on your computer.  
   2. Option for Power Users - open Task manager and review the process list to see if you can identify what AV product is running in the background.
2. Review AV logs
   1. If possible, review your AV software logs to see if it has blocked anything.  Again, your IT Department may need to be involved as many AV's aren't configured to view logs locally.
   2. It's common for managed computers to have AV software block but not alert the user to any errors, so disabling your AV and attempting to reproduce the problem is recommended.
3. Temporarily uninstall or disable your AV software and attempt to repeat the problem
   1. The disable function in some AV products does not actually disable all features so we recommend uninstalling the software temporarily so you can be 100% confident when ruling out AV as the problem.
   2. Also note, attempting to disable the software by killing the process in task manager often does not work as AV products often restart themselves to prevent malicious threats from shutting down the process.
   3. Even if the problem repeats itself after your AV is uninstalled, the problem could have been caused during the installation and you must continue to the next step before definitively ruling out AV as the cause.  
4. Uninstall/Reinstall Ansys
   1. With your AV still uninstalled/disabled, perform a comprehensive uninstall and comprehensive reinstall of the software.
5. Can you Reproduce the Problem?
   • NO - AV was the cause.  Reinstall or re-enable your AV software and work with your IT Department to have your AV allow Ansys.
   • YES - We recommend continuing to troubleshoot the problem to resolution with AV disabled/uninstalled to ensure it isn't one of multiple problems occurring simultaneously.

H)  Problem With Outdated System Drivers

Updating your bios firmware, chipset drivers and specifically the graphics/GPU drivers, have been known to solve both graphical and non-graphical problems with Ansys.  These steps are generally considered beneficial even if they don't resolve the issue at hand as these updates insure optimal system performance, security and reliability.   

• Dell System Owners - We recommend using Dell Command Update which will automatically check for and update all bios, chipset and system drivers for you, without having to download individual files.

• Graphics Drivers - Because Dell, HP and other system manufactures often lag behind on graphics driver updates, we recommend downloading these drivers directly from nVIDIA's or AMD's driver website whenever possible. 

i)  Problem is Unique to a Specific Model/Project File

Is the issue isolated to a single model, software version, or computer?  Please follow these steps sequentially.  

1. Can you repeat the problem using a different model on the same computer with the same software version?
   1. NO - this often indicates a problem with the model. Please continue with the next step if possible.
   2. YES - this often indicates a problem with the software installation (or possibly, but less likely a bug in the software).  Please continue with the next step if possible.
2. Can you repeat the problem with the same model on a different computer, running the same version?
   1. NO - this often indicates a problematic Ansys install or settings on the original computer.  Please uninstall‍ and then reinstall‍ the software
   2. YES - this often indicates a problem with the model or possibly, but less likely, a bug in the software. Please contact SimuTech Support for further help from an engineer.  
3. Can you repeat the problem with the same model using a newer version of Ansys on the same computer?**

   1. **WARNING 

      Before attempting this, make a backup of your model.  Opening a model in a newer version of Ansys will update the model and you will not be able to return to the previous version.

   2. NO - this often indicates a problematic Ansys install or a bug in the software.  If using the newer version is not a permanent solution and you have already uninstalled‍ and then reinstalled‍ the problematic version of the software, please contact SimuTech Support for further assistance.
   3. YES - This often indicates a problem with the model.  Please contact SimuTech Support for further assistance from an engineer. 

K)  Other Problems & Considerations

Here are several other items that to verify and consider:

• Check if Ansys client software is being blocked by the Client Windows Firewall ‍(not server firewall)
• Verify your Windows Installation isn't corrupted - HOW TO - Check & Repair Windows Installation
• Verify Ansys prerequisite Microsoft software isn't corrupted - HOW TO - Manually Reinstall Prerequisite Microsoft Software‍
• Were any Windows or security updates recently installed the may be causing the issue?
• VPN software can sometimes causes issues, specifically we've seen issues with Cisco AnyConnect and Fluent as it relies on network settings.  

Less common but other possible things to consider:

• Does your IT Department have any security or group policies that may be causing the issue?
• Does your IT Department having roaming profiles configured that may interfere with default installation locations? Contact SimuTech Support.
• Is there any windows file permission issues or warnings that indicate certain folders that Ansys installs to writes to may be restricted?