Issues with Trial Licence tied to a MAC address

Computer details:

• Windows 10

• GraphPad was installed, which needs a trial key

The trouble is that GraphPad binds its trial usage to a MAC address. When a Fresh Start machine is cloned, it usually ends up with the same MAC address. Normally that's not a drama, but here the application says the licence has already been used, because it was activated on a previous clone. The computer might be on a different server or in a data centre on another continent, even in New Zealand, and it will still pop up this error.

So the workaround is to change the MAC address. In Linux this is straightforward and well documented, but in Windows it's a bit trickier.

Changing the MAC address inside Windows using the usual methods won't cut it, because the qemu.conf file for the machine will override any change you make within the OS. So you can alter the MAC address in Windows 10, but on its own that still won't do the job.

The reason is that the qemu.conf file already has a MAC address configured to work with the machine. This address can be modified to provide a different MAC and let you use a new licence key.

For this to actually take effect, you'll need to set 'Network Isolation' on each machine to 'Disabled', and then the MAC address from qemu.conf will be used.

If you're having this problem, please get in touch with DaDesktop Support for assistance.