Launch of ARM DS 2023.0 hangs at "Checking existing product setup..." in Product Setup dialog

I have a few more data points.

• I can install the same software on another Windows 10 Pro / 64-bit workstation that has gone though less S/W installs and de-installs, no VMs, no WSL, etc. and it skips the "Checking existing product setup..." dialog and goes directly to the "Select a license" dialog.
• I can run that machine in safe mode w/ networking and it works
• Running on my normal workstation, even in safe mode w/ networking does not work.
• I've repaired the installation without effect.

I was able to install the S/W on a clone of the C: drive dated 4/19/22, so some actions in the interim have corrupted something.

It would really be helpful if a software engineer familiar with the beginning of the ARM installer could look in the S/W to see what it might be waiting for.

If you delete the workspace that is being created (probably C:\Users\<username>\Development Studio Workspace), and restart the IDE does this resolve the issue?

Was this workspace used by a previous version of the tool?

Thank you for your comment. On your suggestion, I deleted the workspace and the problem remains. That said, ARM has put a a file called .log in the .metadata directory that contained this tidbit:

!SESSION 2023-08-14 18:29:47.426 -----------------------------------------------
eclipse.buildId=unknown
java.version=11.0.9.1
java.vendor=Oracle Corporation
BootLoader constants: OS=win32, ARCH=x86_64, WS=win32, NL=en_US
Command-line arguments:  -os win32 -ws win32 -arch x86_64

!ENTRY org.eclipse.core.jobs 4 2 2023-08-14 18:29:50.091
!MESSAGE An internal error occurred during: "Checking existing product setup...".
!STACK 0
java.lang.NullPointerException
	at com.arm.licensing.license.LicenseFile.validateAll(LicenseFile.java:221)
	at com.arm.licensing.license.reader.LicenseReader.getValidLicenses(LicenseReader.java:255)
	at com.arm.licensing.ui.wizard.CheckExistingSetupPageViewModel.startCheck(CheckExistingSetupPageViewModel.java:67)
	at com.arm.licensing.ui.wizard.ui.CheckExistingSetupPage$CheckExistingSetupJob.run(CheckExistingSetupPage.java:75)
	at org.eclipse.core.internal.jobs.Worker.run(Worker.java:63)

One more data point: I installed v2022.2 and immediately got to the licensing dialog. So, there appears to be some interaction between my workstation post 4/19/22 and v2023.0. When I start v2022.2, the Development Studio Workspace/.metadata folder is created without the .log file.

Thank you for this - the Java version seems OK (same as my set up anyway).

I can't replicate your scenario, but I will share this log with the development team.

Thank you very much!!

If you delete the below folders and restart the IDE, does it resolve the issue?

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\arm\ds\<version>
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\arm\ds\licenses

Probably also a good idea to delete the workspace folder (again).

I deleted the 2023.0 folder in C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\ARM\ along with the workspace folder. I relaunched 2023.0 and obtained the same result (hang). Another .log file was created with the similar entries. It appears that a call to validateAll is being performed with a NULL pointer because no licenses have been set up yet. It should be an easy fix.

Hi again Ken,

Apologies for the ongoing trouble.

It may be overkill, but perhaps an uninstall, delete the entire /AppData/Roaming/Arm/ds folder, and reinstalling, may be the quickest solution?

Regards, Ronan

I deinstalled both 2022.2 and 2023.0, and deleted the Roaming/Arm folder, which had entries related to those two installs plus an old DS-5 install. I deleted the Development Studio Workspace folder, rebooted and installed 2023.0. Starting 2023.0 still results in a hang.

Like many systems, I have an environment variable "LM_LICENSE_FILE" set to "C:\FlexLM\license.dat". On a hunch, I renamed the "license.dat" file to something else and created an empty "license.dat". 2023.0 launched successfully, being rewarded with the expected "Add License" dialog:

 I added one comment line:

# IMPORTANT

...to "license.dat" and received the "Activate product" dialog:

I removed the comment and substituted the first "feature" in the file, which happened to be for ModelSim:

INCREMENT msimcompare mgcld 2023.120 30-mar-2024 0 CFC395FD7C6058EB16C8 \
    VENDOR_STRING=CD6B950A HOSTID=FLEXID=9-72c52260 SN=283629548 \
    SIGN2="101F FA0D 8C47 C6FC 46B9 AAD1 6DAB BE9E 9671 B790 17CB 9032 \
    D99A 05CA C53C 1D09 5F30 3424 4F2D 5B59 0431 90F2 C45A B7AB BA48 D0AB \
    B8AC D045 5B42 BC37"

...and got the above "Activate product" dialog. Lastly, I put both the comment and the feature in the same file thus:

# IMPORTANT
INCREMENT msimcompare mgcld 2023.120 30-mar-2024 0 CFC395FD7C6058EB16C8 \
    VENDOR_STRING=CD6B950A HOSTID=FLEXID=9-72c52260 SN=283629548 \
    SIGN2="101F FA0D 8C47 C6FC 46B9 AAD1 6DAB BE9E 9671 B790 17CB 9032 \
    D99A 05CA C53C 1D09 5F30 3424 4F2D 5B59 0431 90F2 C45A B7AB BA48 D0AB \
    B8AC D045 5B42 BC37"

...and got the usual hang dialog:

Hopefully, that will give your development engineers enough to replicate and/or fix the issue.

Hi again Ken,

Thanks for this information - yes, LM_LICENSE_FILE is searched for a license (as is ARMLMD_LICENSE_FILE).

I suspect the lack of an Arm DS license therein caused this issue.

I'll update the development team.

Hope you can now proceed with the tools.

Regards, Ronan

Perhaps. If the ARM DS feature isn't the first feature, I fear that the software will hang.

Hi Ronan. I successfully applied for a 30-day evaluation license for 2023.0, but I fear that if I exit DS, I won't get back in. Will I be emailed either a product activation code or a text file that I can include in my "license.dat" file? TIA!

Open Help > License Manager, and you will see where the license file is created (should be in AppData). You can make a copy of this if necessary.